Age difference between Solène and Hayes is explored in nuanced way.
Anne Hathaway stars in romantic comedy 'The Idea of You', directed by Michael Showalter.
Isabelle, Solène's daughter, pushes her mother to pursue happiness.
Solène Marchand is an art gallery owner, Hayes Campbell is a 24-year-old British frontman of August Moon.
Some critics argue age difference is problematic, others praise sensitive portrayal of unconventional romance.
Anne Hathaway stars in a new romantic comedy adaptation of the book 'The Idea of You'. The movie, directed by Michael Showalter, tells the story of Solène Marchand, an art gallery owner, and Hayes Campbell, a 24-year-old British frontman of the boy band August Moon. In the movie, Solène's 16-year-old daughter Isabelle plays a more significant role in pushing her mother to pursue her happiness. The final twist of the movie involves Solène and Hayes breaking up but reuniting five years later. The age difference between them is one of the main themes of the story, and it is explored in a nuanced way throughout the movie. While some critics have argued that the age difference is problematic, others have praised the movie for its sensitive portrayal of an unconventional romance. Despite some changes from the original book, 'The Idea of You' remains a charming and engaging romantic comedy that is sure to delight fans of the genre.
The Idea of You book introduces the unconventional romance between Solène and Hayes.
Solène had to put her daughter’s happiness before her own in the book.
Accuracy
The movie adaptation gives Solène and Hayes a happy ending five years later.
In the book, Solène and Hayes are 39 and 20 with much in common. In the movie, they are 24 and 40.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The author expresses her surprise and disappointment about the movie's ending being different from the book's tragic one. This can be considered an appeal to emotion fallacy as she is trying to elicit a specific emotional response from the reader/viewer by sharing her own emotions. Additionally, there are instances of dichotomous depiction when describing how Hollywood often gives happy endings and how women put others' happiness before their own.
The Idea of You wants to make you cry at the end. But the movie completely flips the scripts to give Solène (Hathaway) and Hayes (Galitzine) the happy ending they never had in the book.
She chose her daughter before Hayes, and she was also very aware that she was disappointing her best friend, Lulit, her business partner and the co-owner of her gallery, which was suffering from the Hayes relationship. She had to put those other things first.
I wanted it to feel like you were reading this woman’s diary. It's something that had really happened to her, and she’d gotten caught up in this role and romance, and it almost destroyed her and everything around her, and she had to let it go.
Another seemingly small change that actually has a massive impact on the story is how the movie ages Hayes up from 20 to 24. While the age gap is still an issue despite the change, the book version of Hayes can’t drink legally, which causes a lot of issues in both the text and subtext.
I wasn’t going to make him illegal, but I wanted it to raise eyebrows. I felt like 24 was playing it too safe. I mean, at my age now, 24 sounds crazy, but when I was writing the book 10 years ago, 20 sounded like just the edge of crazy.
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Anne Hathaway is 41 years old and has a long list of credits in movies that swing from standard commercial fare to auteurist masterpieces.
Solène Marchand is an art gallery owner whose ex-husband buys VIP meet-and-greet tickets for their 16-year-old daughter and her friends to meet Hayes Campbell at Coachella.
Accuracy
The movie explores the question: What if Harry Styles fell in love with a hot 40-year-old mom?
Solène mistakes Hayes’ trailer for the bathroom and they meet.
The Idea of You book introduces the unconventional romance between Solène and Hayes. Solène breaks up with Hayes due to the negative impact on her life. The book ends tragically with Solène never getting over her love, while Hayes moves on.
Anne Hathaway stars in a new romantic comedy adaptation of the book ‘The Idea of You’,
The final twist of the movie involves Solène and Hayes breaking up but reuniting five years later.
In the movie, they are 24 and 40.
Solène’s daughter Isabelle is older in the movie, which changes how certain scenes play out.
Accuracy
The book's controversial twist, where the heroine decides their romance can't continue, has been changed in the movie to offer a happy ending.
In the book, Solène and Hayes are 39 and 20 with much in common. In the movie, they are 24 and 40.
Deception
(30%)
The article makes selective reporting by focusing on the changes made in the movie adaptation of 'The Idea of You' and how it caters to those who were disappointed with the original book's ending. The author also uses emotional manipulation by describing how some readers were left unsatisfied and expressing her own opinion that the book is a tragedy despite its deceptive title as a romance novel.
Certain haters of Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You, a popular 2017 novel about a mother who falls in love with a very Harry Styles–esque singer, are going to love Michael Showalter’s movie adaptation (out today on Prime).
The charming Anne Hathaway rom-com makes some key alterations to the story. Will fans finally live happily ever after?
In the book, the heroine, who’s 20 years older than the hero, decides their romance can’t continue, and that’s it. Not so in Showalter’s movie...
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by referencing the reactions of readers on Goodreads. This is a fallacy as it does not provide any logical reasoning or evidence for her claims.
In the book, certain haters of Robinne Lee's The Idea of You...
One in particular, who specified that she might like the book more if Solène were 40 and Hayes were 25 or older, will doubtless be pleased.
Bias
(80%)
The author expresses a preference for the movie adaptation over the book due to its happier ending and changes made to the age difference between the characters. This could be seen as a subtle bias towards older women dating younger men and an assumption that older women cannot find happiness in real life without such relationships.
But I appreciate how deftly Lee convinces you both that this couple is in love and also that they absolutely could not stay together, rendering this not a romance but a tragedy. The homey, sweet Showalter movie chooses a different way, and it works. As fantasies go, it’s vaguely plausible, and as romantic comedies go, it’s a much easier sell.
I’m sure people on Goodreads who hated the premise of Lee’s The Idea of You will be soothed by these changes.
The charming Anne Hathaway rom-com makes some key alterations to the story. Will fans finally live happily ever after?
Unlike in the book, where this emerges as a prominent theme, nobody has said anything about Hayes wanting to have children.
The Idea of You author Robinne Lee clarifies that her book is not Harry Styles fan fiction despite using him as one of the inspirations for the character Hayes Campbell.
The author was raised by parents from Jamaica before its independence from the British and had an attraction to the wealthy British aristocracy.
Lee wanted Hayes to be a posh kid from a well-to-do family in Kensington, London.
Accuracy
Solène breaks up with Hayes due to the negative impact on her life.
Deception
(50%)
The author, Robinne Lee, states that Harry Styles was one of her inspirations for creating the character Hayes Campbell in her book 'The Idea of You'. However, she clarifies that it is not fan fiction and that she used bits and pieces from various people to create the character. Despite this clarification, the article repeatedly mentions Harry Styles as a significant influence on the book, leading to it being labeled as 'Harry Styles fan fiction'. This misrepresentation of the author's intentions could be considered selective reporting and emotional manipulation by using Harry Styles' name to attract clicks and generate interest in the article.
Some of the other guys are still in bands and alive and out there on tour, but they don’t get named ever. And that’s fine with me. You create your character and you make him what you want to make him. He feels very real to me, and I think Harry’s just what people gravitated to.
The Idea of You is now streaming on Prime Video.
But I think people were going to put that on it anyway because he was the only one of my inspirations that was currently in a British boy band that was popular at that time.
The first meeting between Hayes and Solène takes place at Coachella instead of an August Moon meet-and-greet in Las Vegas.
Izzy’s age is changed from 12 to 16, and she has a more significant role in pushing Solène to pursue her happiness.
Oliver, Hayes’ bandmate, does not have the same level of tension with Solène or Hayes as in the book.
The movie ends with hope for a potential reunion between Solène and Hayes five years later.
Accuracy
Hayes, the main male character, is aged up from 20 to 24.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority in the article when quoting Cathy Schulman explaining why Hayes' age was changed and why Izzy's age was increased. This is a fallacy because it does not provide any logical reasoning for the changes, but rather relies on the authority of Schulman to justify them.
Well, it was actually in reaction to Nick himself.
I think that we felt that it was going to be enormously valuable if Solene had someone she could speak to on a level that could have a little bit more depth.
There's a very long history in romantic movies of changing the ending so that the two main characters are together at the end.
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