Is the Upcoming Anne Hathaway Romantic Comedy 'The Idea of You' Based on Harry Styles?
"It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself," the author stated.
Mar. 6 2024, Published 4:41 p.m. ET
The upcoming film The Idea of You tells the story of a 40-year-old, divorced, Los Angeles-based mom Solène (played by Anne Hathaway) falling in love with a 24-year-old member of a British boy band August Moon, Hayes Campbell (played by Nicholas Galitzine). Directed by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer, The Big Sick, The Eyes of Tammy Faye), the Amazon movie seems like it has a lot in common with another British boy band member who happened to fall in love with an older American.
Based on the book of the same name, the novel was originally published in 2017 and consistently sold more copies each year, becoming a sleeper hit. It really took off when Harry Styles solo fandom began to peak around 2020.
Is the movie based on him?
Is 'The Idea of You' based on Harry Styles?
In a Dec. 28, 2020 interview with Vogue, author Robinne Lee said, “This was never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles. It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole.”
While the book and film may be about those things, it’s not-not based on Harry Styles. In the same piece she says there are some blatant similarities between actual events in Styles life and in the book, she just happened to write them before they happened in real life. She also says, “I made him into my dream guy, like Prince Harry meets Harry [Styles].”
It doesn't hurt that since the publication of the book, Harry dated a divorced mother close to Solène's age, Olivia Wilde.
Plus, the marketing for the film is not avoiding the Harry Styles comparisons. The Aug. 25, 2022 Entertainment Weekly announcement of the film ran with the headline, “Anne Hathaway to star in film adaptation of Harry Styles fan fiction The Idea of You.” The description of the film also leans into the similarities.
“Hathaway stars as Sophie, a 40-year-old divorced mother whose husband left her for a younger woman. After he cancels a trip with their 15-year-old daughter to Coachella, Sophie steps in to save the weekend, braving the crowds and desert heat. But soon, she meets 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (loosely based on Styles) — the lead singer of the hottest boy band on the planet, August Moon (again, loosely based on One Direction) — and her weekend trip turns into a whirlwind, life-changing romance.”
Fanfic or not, Harry Styles fans will be excited to see 'The Idea of You' in May.
While the trailer isn’t as explicit about the film being based on Harry, YouTube commenters aren’t dumb. @charlotted1321 notes, “This is literally a Harry styles fanfic turned into a movie, I'm crying.” The observation has received over a thousand thumbs up in less than four hours.
The Idea of You begins streaming on Amazon Prime May 2, 2024.
