“The Idea of You” is a 2024 romantic drama film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jennifer Westfeldt, based on a novel by Robinne Lee available to watch on Amazon Prime. Starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Westfeldt, this movie is about the love between a single mother and a member of a popular boy band.
Plot Summary
Solène Marchand is a gallery owner, a divorcee and a mother of a teen daughter who planned a solo camping trip but was forced to take her daughter and her friends to Coachella because her ex-husband is called for them, and there she accidentally met Hayes, a member of popular boy band August Moon who are also supposed to perform in Coachella. Their attraction started to grow though Solène initially was uncomfortable with their age difference.
Introducing Solène
Solène is a hardworking gallery owner who after being cheated by her husband, started to have trust issues. She wanted to rediscover herself and decided to go on a solo camping trip while her ex-husband took their daughter and her friends to Coachella. But on the day of the event, Daniel bails on her with the pretence of office work and Solène has to take the teens to Coachella. Solène accidentally enters Hayes’ trailer to use the washroom and there they first meet. Although, for Hayes, he was attracted to Solène at first sight, she kept ignoring it because of their age difference.
Why Did Hayes Come To Solène’s Art Gallery?
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Hayes was immediately attracted to Solène. So after Coachella, he searched for her and her gallery and went to her store to buy some artwork. Hayes ends up buying the entire collection, which irritates Solène. As he wanted to see more art, she took her to a warehouse in Glendale. Hayes saw Solène’s passion towards art, which made him fall for her even more. They talked more about life and art, and she took him to her house for a meal, and they had fun together while cooking. After some time, falling for an emotional moment, they share a kiss which makes her even more uncomfortable and he leaves his watch in her house.
How Did Solène-Hayes’ Relationship Start?
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Hayes finds Solène’s phone number in the gallery inbox and invites her to join him in New York while her daughter is camping. Solène decided to give life another chance and flew to New York, where she met Hayes at his hotel. Solène accompanies Hayes and August Moon on their tour, hiding their relationship secret from everyone, including her daughter. On a trip to France, while she is having a conversation with other band members and their partners, Solène starts becoming insecure about her age and how her body looks and again remembers their age difference and feels ashamed. She remembers how stupid it is on her part to imagine a relationship with someone who is half of her age. Hayes confessed his love, but Solène couldn’t because of her insecurity and because of being judged.
How Did Solène-Hayes’ Love Dynamic Change After They Were Out In Public?
Solène-Hayes’ relationship is out in the public because they are pictured by paparazzi in Rome and she started to attract unwanted attention from her family and friends. Izzy, her daughter, supports her relationship and asks her mother to go after Hayes. Solène comes to Hayes’ recording studio, apologises for how she behaved towards him and confesses her love to him. Hayes meets Izzy and her friends and she tells Hayes that she is ready to do anything, even delete her social media for her mother’s relationship. They ignored what the world was saying and writing about them and started dating publicly and enjoying their life.
Was Their Relationship A Good Idea?
Daniel, Solène’s ex-husband, is not comfortable with Solène-Hayes relationship. Izzy was also okay with her mother’s relationship in the beginning, but it started to change as she was bullied by seniors in her school. Izzy and Solène’s relationship starts to go bad, and she does not want a relationship that will affect her relationship with her daughter or her daughter’s life. She meets Hayes at the airport and decides to end the relationship. At night, Hayes comes back to meet Solène, and they confess their love for one last time and kiss each other. Hayes promises to revisit and rekindle their love five years later when Izzy is out of school and when nobody will judge or question their love, and he leaves, leaving his watch behind.
The Idea Of You Ending Explained
Five years later, Solène is leading her solo life while her daughter is doing college in Chicago. One night, she sees Hayes performing on Graham Norton’s show where he mentions his plans to visit Los Angeles to visit a special someone. Hayes returns to the gallery, Solène is shocked to see him and they both share a teary reunion.
We hope you liked the detailed explanation of the movie! If you are interested in romantic comedies with heartfelt songs, we recommend you watch this movie with your loved ones.
