The Idea of You

The older woman/younger man romantic concept has not been explored like this in a contemporary rom-com – which is what makes The Idea of You unique. Smart, savvy Solene Marchand (Anne Hathaway – at her charming best) is a divorced, 40 year-old mom who owns an art gallery in the trendy Silver Lake section of Los Angeles. When her feckless ex-husband flakes out on a promised trip to Coachella, Solene agrees to chaperone their 16 year-old daughter Izzy and her friends. Based on Robinne Lee’s popular novel, it’s adapted by Jennifer Westfeldt and director Michael Showalter, who deftly hone in on what happens to a middle-aged woman who defies societal expectations and how its ramifications affect her teenage daughter.

Michael Showalter’s adaptation of Robinne Lee’s almost fan fiction novel The Idea of You is much better than it has any right to be. Starring Anne Hathaway as Solène Marchand, a recently divorced mother of sixteen-year-old Izzy (Ella Rubin) who finds herself falling for Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) a twenty-four-year-old boy band heartthrob. Showalter knows his rom-coms. He’s done satirical rom-com, tragic rom-com, and almost tragic but not rom-com, and now with The Idea of You he’s adding in spicy to the recipe. The Idea of You is a sexy and wise movie.