Review: 'The Idea of You' doesn't quite work

Amazon Prime Video, 2024.

New and available on Amazon Prime Video today is the romantic-comedy, "The Idea of You," starring Anne Hathaway as Solene, a single mom who gets entangled in a forbidden romance with the much-younger Hayes, a sensitive heartthrob played by Nicholas Galatzine...who just so happens to be a mega-star member of a popular boy band. 

Grade: C+

This is schlock territory, which serves as a major let-down considering that the film is directed by one of my fav directors and all-around humans, Michael Showalter. "The State" veteran has become one of the very best behind the camera, especially excelling in thoughtful romantic-comedies such as "The Big Sick" and "Hello, My Name is Doris." The latter film, starring Sally Field as an older woman looking for love, dealt with similar themes to "The Idea of You," but the execution was much better. That movie felt like it dealt with real characters...the sort of characters Showalter has had great success at portraying in the past. Solene and Hayes on the other hand, seem like the sort of characters that only exist in these kind of sub-par movies.

While the film and the story feels like a disappointment, it is elevated by Hathaway, who gives a far superior performance than this film deserves or that this script demands. But she can only do too much. "The Idea of You" seems like a good idea, but this is one fantasy that never feels grounded in any sort of reality.

Grade: C+

Genre: Romance, Comedy.
Run Time: 1 hour 55 minutes.
Rated R.

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin.

Co-Written and Directed by Michael Showalter ("Spoiler Alert," "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," "The Lovebirds," "The Big Sick," Hello, My Name is Doris").

"The Idea of You" is available on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024.