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The Idea of You

The Idea of You

Music · Comedy · Romance · 2024

40-year-old single mom Solène begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. 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.

Movie details

The Idea of You

“When the last thing you expect becomes the only thing you want.”

2024 Music · Comedy · Romance 1h 56m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.3 / 10

82.8K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

80 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

67 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

40-year-old single mom Solène begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. 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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Idea of You?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Showalter

Written by

Jennifer Westfeldt · Michael Showalter

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway

Solène

Nicholas Galitzine

Nicholas Galitzine

Hayes

Ella Rubin

Ella Rubin

Izzy

Annie Mumolo

Annie Mumolo

Tracy

Reid Scott

Reid Scott

Daniel

Perry Mattfeld

Perry Mattfeld

Eva

Jordan Aaron Hall

Jordan Aaron Hall

Zeke

Court is in session

Put The Idea of You on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.