The Idea Of You

⭐ 8/10

You know what, I didn't hate this movie.  In fact, I dare say I enjoyed it!  The premise is silly and it has its fair share of corniness, but gosh darn it I just buy Anne Hathaway as an actress! I thought her and the guy had good chemistry, and I thought that boy band stuff was admirably accurate.  They sound so much like One Direction, and the moments we get to spend with the band and their quick exchanges tell you a lot.

This might be an expectations thing, because I was expecting to despise this.  But the writing wasn't terrible, and although it wasn't completely unexpected it didn't hit the classic beats I thought it would.  The music is catchy, the relationship steamy, and the ex-husband is a guy from Veep that I like!

The worst line in the movie is when she is showing him art. She shows him her favourite painting, and he says, "what do you feel in this piece".  Gross. She takes a beat, and responds, "Everything".  Now that right there should have been enough to make me take out my phone, but I was engaged!  I was rooting for the heartbroken single mom and the sensitive pop star who hates the attention.

While I doubt this movie was actually set in LA, it feels like it has a budget with beautiful settings, some globe trotting, and care taken in the staging of scenes. This movie also paints a disgusting picture of paparazzi and fan culture, and if it weren't for social media there would basically be no conflict and they could love each other freely.  I long for that world.

I thought the ending was actually closer to something realistic compared to traditional romance movie fare, and there weren't a bunch of times when I would be angry at a conflict for occurring - it felt like conflict came from something real.  I'm just compiling my list of defenses because I know someone is going to come after me, but much like Hayes Campbell I can't deny my feelings, regardless of how wrong they might seem to the outside world. I hedged and started my review as a 7.5, but this is a full blown 8!