Yahoo News So, How About That ‘The Idea of You’ Ending?
We hereby call this meeting of the book-to-movie adaptation club to order. On today’s agenda? That ending. The Idea of You, the hit novel turned rom-com, premiered on Amazon Prime on May 2, bringing to a close the long national nightmare of missing Anne Hathaway. Everyone’s favorite actress returned to the romcom universe in a stunning fashion, and with bangs, no less!
Hathaway stars in the film alongside Nicholas Galitzine, of Bottoms fame. She, a freshly 40-year-old single mom, lowkey reeling from being cheated on by her ex-husband. He, the crushingly famous leader of a popular boy band. The setting? Coachella, the least romantic place on Earth. After a chance encounter in his trailer and her “you’re too young for me” cool mom energy, the pair strike up a whirlwind romance.
With her teenage daughter away at summer camp, Hathaway’s Solène agrees to accompany Galitzine’s Hayes Campbell on the European leg of his tour, under the guise of “extremely attractive art consultant.” As her spirit becomes freer, her eyeliner becomes heavier, and the pair’s jaunts become more careless.
They get the eyes judgement from 20-year-olds in low rise swimsuits, and Solène begins to feel the trickle of hypocrisy after all her time spent judging her ex-husband and his very young new lady. Before long, the two split up in a tearful exchange—largely brought on by the realization that Hayes has done this jig before, with another elder stateswoman.
Though the pair have split, their May December romance becomes the talk of the town, making its way across headlines and into the bunkbed of her aforementioned teenage daughter, who previously didn't know about the relationship between her mom and one of the world's most famous singers. Though moms everywhere are inspired, her daughter is left furious by the lie of omission, but even more furious by the sexism and ageism being spewed across screens.
Following a “go get your man-child” pep-talk from her daughter, Solène surprises Hayes at a recording studio with an apology. The pair reunite with the support of Solène’s daughter, until the mass national attention becomes a bit too much for everyone involved. Solène dumps the superstar for the sake of her daughter, and after one final night together, the two part ways, soft promising to find their way back to each other in the future. It’s a bittersweet ending and a litmus test in cynicism—do you believe these lovers are star-crossed or fleeting?
Cut to five years later. Solène is bangless, her daughter is living in Chicago for college, and Hayes Campbell is planning a hiatus following a massive solo career built on inspired heartbreak anthems. He returns to L.A. for rest and rekindled romance, showing up at a tearful Solène’s art gallery. And that, right there, is The Idea of You.
So, did they end up together? That is, again, a measure of your own personal cynicism, dear reader. Fame is fleeting and Anne Hathaway is forever, so we’ll call this ending a happy one.
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