August Moon is the most popular boy band ever. Teen and tween girls swoon over the five young men that make up the group. And even women old enough to be the guys’ moms have paid some hefty ticket prices to follow the band around the world.
Solène is not one of those women. Her only interest in August Moon is the fact that it used to be her daughter Izzy’s favorite band. But even teenage Izzy has lost interest since they’re “so 7th grade.”
But when Izzy’s estranged dad (Solène’s ex-husband) buys tickets for the both of them to meet and greet August Moon at Coachella, she accepts his invitation. And when he backs out of the trip last minute for a work thing, Solène takes his place.
Well, one mistaken trailer incident later and Solène finds herself being serenaded by the 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, one of the band’s members, in front of thousands of people.
A week later when Solène is back home, Hayes shows up at Solène’s art gallery. And after purchasing every piece in the place, they share a kiss.
Solène knows this is a bad idea. After all, Izzy used to practically worship August Moon. Hayes is young enough to be a son to 40-year-old Solène. And frankly, she’s still trying to emotionally process her divorce.
But Hayes is kind, talented and a feminist (which is an important quality in a man for her and Izzy). Not to mention he’s really good-looking. Izzy’s off at summer camp. And Solène is single.
How could dating one of the hottest and most heavily publicized pop stars on the planet possibly be negative?
Solène and Izzy are close. They bonded heavily after Izzy’s dad left them for another woman. But Solène chooses to keep her relationship with Hayes secret in an attempt to protect her daughter.
Unfortunately, that backfires pretty spectacularly when the tabloids catch wind of the relationship and publish pictures of the couple online. But Solène and Izzy talk through Solène’s deception and reconcile.
From that moment on, Solène puts Izzy first. She takes measures to ensure her relationship won’t negatively affect Izzy. And when things (namely paparazzi and bullies at school) become too much for the teen, Solène makes a personal sacrifice to prioritize her daughter’s mental health.
Daniel, Izzy’s dad, isn’t the most involved father. He’s woefully unaware of his daughter’s interests and seems completely numb to how his treatment of her mother affected her. (Not to mention that he bails on the August Moon concert when he should have been bonding with her.) However, he’s at least protective of her. When paparazzi swarm Solène’s house, he blocks them from photographing Izzy. And when Solène tries defending her relationship with Hayes, Daniel reminds her (perhaps a bit hypocritically since he didn’t do the same in his own relationship) that Izzy needs to be the priority.
For what it’s worth, Solène and Hayes really do seem to connect. The young pop star explains how growing up in the spotlight (he auditioned for August Moon when he was just 14 years old) has caused many people to feel like they already know him when they meet him. As a result, they don’t bother getting to know who he actually is. But because Solène didn’t know who he was, she never had those presuppositions. Rather, they got to know one another organically, something he’s rarely had the privilege to do.
Additionally, Hayes helps Solène work through some issues related to her divorce. She fears opening up to anyone because of how things ended with Daniel. But Hayes remains loyal to Solène, defending her even when the world turns against them.
None.
Solène and Hayes kiss and have sex in many scenes and montages throughout the film. During these encounters, we see a lot of skin and motions, but camera angles and undergarments hide explicit body parts.
Hayes and other members of the band are frequently seen shirtless. During their performances, their dance moves often involve pelvic thrusts and groin-grabs. And lyrics to their songs can be sexual and suggestive.
Many female characters, including Solène, wear revealing and/or form-fitting outfits. At one point, Solène becomes self-conscious about showing so much skin when she sees several women in their 20s wearing swimsuits hanging out with the band by a pool, and she dons a large cover-up. Later, she shrieks and slams her laptop shut after several news sites post pictures of her in a bikini with Hayes lying on top.
Solène also becomes self-conscious about the age difference between her and Hayes. Early on, she tells him she’s old enough to be his mother, but he just says, “but you’re not,” and they continue to kiss. However, when their relationship becomes public, many criticize the age differential, stating that Hayes should be dating Izzy (a still age-inappropriate choice) instead. One of Solène’s friends acts hypocritically, praising Solène for landing a younger guy when just a few months prior, she had denigrated Daniel (Solène ex-husband) for doing the same.
Speaking of which, Solène recounts the painful memory of her ex’s betrayal with a much younger coworker. Solène later found out that everyone at his office knew. And even though she offered to forgive him and work things out, he opted to stay with his new girlfriend instead. Later, when Daniel learns about Hayes, he tries to break the pair up even though he’s still with his mistress.
We hear that Izzy is bullied for her mom’s relationship (guys make suggestive comments about dating Solène when they turn 18; girls ask Izzy to steal a naked picture of Hayes from her mom’s phone). We also learn that Solène became pregnant with Izzy before she and Daniel got married.
Several young women accompany one of Hayes’ bandmates on tour, but it’s noted that none of them are dating; rather, they’re just “hanging out.” Solène is embarrassed when she learns that not only did Hayes also used to “hang out” with multiple women at once, but she isn’t the first older woman he’s pursued.
One of Izzy’s best friends acts effeminately and appears to be gay. Solène runs an art gallery that prides itself on “inclusiveness.”
An August Moon groupie (who is a grown woman pretending to be at the concert for her daughter) asks Solène if this is her first time getting “mooned,” meaning meeting the band. A woman mistakenly believes that a stranger was listening to her urinate to become aroused. Several single men flirt with Solène at her 40th birthday party, though one is recently divorced and clearly still has feelings for his ex-wife. We hear about other divorced couples.
We learn that the members of August Moon didn’t have to be super-talented to earn their spot in the band; rather, the boys—all minors when they first auditioned—just had to be good-looking. There’s a joke about an orgy.
None.
We hear around eight uses of the f-word and four of the s-word. God’s name is misused about a dozen times. There are a few uses each of “d–n,” “d–k,” “p-ss” and the British profanity “tw-t.” Solène is called a “whore” in the comments of an article about her relationship with Hayes.
Adults drink frequently. When Solène acts weird after kissing Hayes for the first time, Izzy (not knowing what’s happened) inquires if Solène has used edible marijuana again.
Solène experiences the ugly side of Hayes’ fame when paparazzi swarm her home, attempting to photograph the couple and even Izzy. Disparaging articles are written about her, many questioning her suitability as a mother. And, of course, folks gossip about her.
Hayes says that he isn’t close to his parents (who divorced when he was young), and that his dad only seemed to become interested in him after he became famous. He also laments that nobody seems to care about his musical pursuits (he learned to play guitar and writes songs even though it wasn’t required for August Moon). He recounts a time where he got to meet one of his musical heroes, only to learn the man just wanted a photo op for his teenage daughter, who was a fan.
Obviously, Solène spends a lot of time lying to Izzy about her relationship with Hayes. And Hayes helps perpetuate more lies, calling Solène his “art consultant” when she joins him on tour.
Daniel is critical of Solène’s house, calling it a “starter home.” And he attempts to use money to buy Izzy’s favor.
A man drinks spoiled milk and gags at the smell. A teenage girl says she’ll never be able to give up TikTok.
Let’s just get this right out of the gate: The problem with The Idea of You isn’t the age difference between Solène and Hayes; it’s the number of sex scenes this film devotes to them.
Now, there’s no nudity in those scenes, but that’s only thanks to some clever camera angles and skimpy undergarments. And language is another problem with several uses of the f-word.
We do see some nice moments between Solène and Hayes (she helps him feel like a real person; he helps her process the betrayal from her ex); and we see some good mother-daughter bonding with Solène and Izzy.
But we also see how Solène’s relationship with Hayes puts a strain on all three. Hayes becomes isolated by his own fame. Solène is picked apart online by complete strangers. Izzy is bullied by her classmates. And, of course, Izzy feels betrayed by Solène’s lies, in part because it’s a little too reminiscent of how her dad lied about his own extramarital affair.
So yeah, the idea of The Idea of You isn’t one most families will want to explore.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
