In movies, especially romcoms in which two people fall helplessly, heedlessly in love, auditioning actors are asked to do a chemistry read to show they can ignite sparks. To judge by "The Idea of You," a deliciously swoony meeting of bodies and minds now streaming on Prime Video, Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine must have had a hell of a chemistry read.
Hathaway is all kinds of wonderful as Solène Marchand, a 40-ish Los Angeles gallery owner and single mother. Galitzine is Hayes Campbell, a 20-ish Brit pop star fronting the boy-band August Moon (think Harry Styles in One Direction). They connect when Solène takes her teen daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) to Coachella and stumbles right into Hayes as the rules of romance demand.
And, boom, something clicks. If it didn't, there'd be no movie. Luckily, there is a movie, and it hums with humor, heat and unexpected heart. Adapted from Robinne Lee's 2017 bestseller, "The Idea of You" is scripted by Jennifer Westfeldt and director Michael Showalter, who trade in the book's erotic sizzle for a frisky charm that plays better to a wider audience.
Showalter ("The Big Sick") has a way with tracing the curveballs sex throws at relationships. Both Solène and Hayes are well aware of their age difference. Hayes even sings about it onstage: "I know that you're a little bit older / but baby, rest your head on my shoulder."
Post Coachella, Solène follows Hayes on tour -- New York, London, Paris, Rome, the whole nine yards. Don't discount the pleasure of watching beautiful people make out in beautiful places. Movie memories are made of this. But "The Idea of You" goes the extra mile in lush.
MORE: Review: 'Past Lives' is one of the best movies of the yearThe script cuts beneath the surface to find what hurts and maybe heals in a love affair that grows into something more than casual. Solène feels blindsided by her brush with Hayes' fame and how her tabloid notoriety affects her daughter. And what future can horndog Hayes find with this woman nearly twice his age?
It's the actors who deepen the story by filling in the space between words. Kudos to Galitzine, who recently made his mark as the queer prince in "Red, White & Royal Blue" and as the sex-for-sale son of Julianne Moore in "Mary & George." As Hayes, Galitzine fully registers that Solène is a woman getting a raw deal from the sexist perception of her as a predator.
Still, it's Hathaway who centers the film with the grit and grace of her portrayal as a woman over 40 who defies the limits society puts on how she should behave. Hathaway can nail a laugh and then break your heart before you know what hit you.
MORE: Review: Dominique Fishback and Anthony Ramos excel in 'Transformers: Rise of the Beast'The book had a bummer ending that's been slightly softened by a film that hasn't given up on happily ever after. It even pushes the notion that the reality of who you love might just trump the fantasy version. There's something increasingly rare about a movie that celebrates lovers who learn to see themselves clear, damn what the world thinks.
"The Idea of You" stands high in the burgeoning romcom renaissance. Cliche quicksand doesn't drag it down like the recent hit "Anyone But You" dimmed the bright pairing of Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney with vapid writing and directing.
No such disaster befalls "The Idea of You," not with Showalter and his creatives providing the sass and sweetness that fuel liftoff. Sure, there's turbulence. Hathaway and Galitzine are impossibly gorgeous -- a forgivable sin of the genre -- but they infuse their roles with feelings we all can recognize, feelings that stay with you. That makes all the difference.
