The Idea Of You Comes Out Today – Here’s What The Critics Are Saying

It’s shaping up to be a pretty good year for romcoms. The genre, which we initially believed died a quiet death sometime in the early 10s, is having a revival in 2024 – and the latest production to have fans buzzing is The Idea Of You. Here’s everything you need to know about the film‘s upcoming release, including where to watch the most recent trailer (hint: you can check it out below).

The Idea Of You: Everything We Know So Far

(c) Prime Video

What Are The Critics Saying?

It’s only been on Prime Video for a few hours, but The Idea Of You  is already shaping up to be a quiet hit with romcom fans. A quick look at the reviews and you’ll find that the reception has been largely positive, with Rotten Tomatoes even awarding it a score of 88 percent. Here’s what the critics have to say:

Empire, 4/5 Stars: ‘The film asks a lot of thorny, compelling questions about desire in the digital age: identifying that a nostalgic crush is different to a brand-new one, and that those feelings are wildly different at 17, 27 or 37. Equally, few films understand as well as this one how online hate (and the complexity of stans — extremely devoted fans) shapeshifts depending on the perspective, as fast as celebrity culture and the internet itself keeps changing.’ empireonline.com

Entertainment Weekly, Grade B+: ‘The Idea of You is a coming-of-middle-age tale and an earnest, cathartic love letter to unexpected connection and throwing social pressure to the wind in pursuit of something real. We may have fallen in love with the idea of this movie, but blissfully, the reality is even better.’ ew.com

The Guardian, 3/5 Stars: ‘Hathaway, returning to the kind of warm comfort food viewing many still know and love her for, is a compelling lead of considerable, rarely matched charm, adding more heart and soul to a film that often sorely needs it. And with Galitzine, a more believable pop star than he was a prince in Red, White and Royal Blue, there is enough electricity to power us through some otherwise underpowered patches (it helps too that the film’s fake music is strong enough to make us believe it).’ theguardian.com

Vanity Fair: ‘The Idea of You is far more considerate to its characters than a lot of its streaming brethren are to theirs. The writing is sharp, direct, pitched in a credible cadence. As the movie goes, it takes a pause from the swoon to examine the impossible hell of fame. Answers are not as easy as one might expect, there are consequences to flights of fancy. The movie does not float by weightlessly.’ vanityfair.com

What Is The Idea Of You About?

The Idea Of You is a romantic comedy following a whirlwind love affair between a divorced mother and the lead singer of a popular boyband. It is based on a book of the same name by Robinne Lee.

As Prime Video summarises, ‘The Idea of You centres on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.’

Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes Campbell, Raymond Cham Jr. as Oliver, Jaiden Anthony as Adrian, Viktor White as Simon and Dakota Adan as Rory in The Idea Of You (c) Prime Video

Is The Idea Of You About Harry Styles?

If the plot is giving you major Wattpad vibes, it’s because the plot draws on a lot of tropes we are familiar with: fandom, falling in love unexpectedly at a concert, dazzling pop-star doused in tattoos. However, author Robinne Lee has stated her novel is not fanfiction: rather, Hayes Campbell is a conglomeration of men, including Lee’s ex-boyfriends and husband, as well as Harry Styles, Prince Harry and actor Eddie Redmayne.

That said, August Moon, the band led by Galitzine, certainly bears resemblance to One Direction and Galitzine himself, as frontman Hayes Campbell, is certainly an iteration of Styles – fluffy hair, tattoos and all. This is just mixed in with influences from other dreamboats in Lee’s life. Interested in seeing this heart throb Frankenstein for yourself? Luckily…

Amazon Prime Has Released A Trailer

With just two months to go until The Idea Of You drops, Prime Video has dropped its first trailer – and you can watch it below.

The trailer shows Solène (Anne Hathaway) and Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) retelling the story of how they met. ‘We met at Coachella,’ Solène says almost disbelievingly, as the trailer pans to the pair locking eyes in a backstage trailer. Their interaction is suitably awkward for a romcom, and quickly transitions into some of the highlights of their romance – a second meeting at the gallery Solène works at, piano serenades, hotel rendezvous, trips on private jets and side-of-stage shout-outs. These come flanked by sleazy tabloid headlines and angry fans – but there is a cute kiss in the rain, so it doesn’t look all bad.

Who Stars?

The full cast for The Idea Of You includes:

• Anne Hathaway as Solène Marchand
• Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes Campbell
• Ella Rubin as Izzy
• Reid Scott as Daniel
• Jordan Aaron Hall as Zeke
• Jaiden Anthony as Adrian
• Raymond Cham Jr as Oliver
• Viktor White as Simon
• Dakota Adan as Rory
• Annie Mumolo as Tracy
• Perry Mattfeld as Eva

Ella Rubin and Anna Hathaway in The Idea Of You (c) Prime Video

Will There Be A Soundtrack?

Since this is a romcom with music at its centre, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that the film will have its own soundtrack. So far, Arista Records (the label responsible for the film’s songs) has released the first track from the film: ‘Dance Before We Walk’.

The song was written by Savan Kotecha and Carl Falk and performed by the fictional boy band August Moon, which consists of actors and singers Nicholas Galitzine, Jaiden Anthony, Raymond Cham Jr, Viktor White and Dakota Adan.

The full soundtrack from the film is expected to be released on 2 May, the same date as the film’s release.

When Will The Idea Of You Be Released?

The Idea Of You will stream on Prime Video from 2 May 2024. amazon.co.uk

Images courtesy of Prime Video