Solène, a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.
This movie has been panned as Harry Styles fan fiction. In many ways, it is, yet it works. Anne Hathaway is a really smart casting decision, and she helps elevate this film. Her character is not a cougar; instead, she plays Solène as an honest and earnest woman who puts her daughter first.
Solène’s daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), is a high school girl who used to love Campbell’s boy band named August Moon. She has now outgrown them but has tickets to see them at Coachella, which her mom takes her and her friends to.
After their awkward meet-cute, Hayes is instantly interested in Solène. She does not realize who he is at first. After a few short conversations, she sees him on stage, and he dedicates a song to her. Later, he shows up at her gallery to get to know her better.
The couple gets together, and Solène experiences all the glamor and downsides of being with someone famous. Not only is she still reeling from her divorce, but now she is constantly being judged and scrutinized for dating a younger man.
Again, Anne Hathaway is just a breath of fresh air for a movie like this. She is beautiful yet down to earth. She has a standout monologue recounting what went awry with her ex-husband. She and Nicholas Galitzine also have excellent chemistry. I know Galitzine is an up-and-comer, but the only movie I’ve seen him in before was “Bottoms,” where he plays a highly dumb, one-note character. I bought him as a Harry Styles-type. He is charming here, and I felt he was very sincere regarding his feelings for her.
I didn’t realize that Michael Showalter wrote and directed this film. You may know him from the “Wet Hot American Summer” films, but he also directed “The Big Sick,” another sincerely heartfelt romance film. His directorial efforts have been solid, which is also true here.
There’s also some original music from August Moon, and the songs were pretty catchy, though we only hear small snippets of them. Honestly, I’m surprised that Amazon put this directly on Prime. I think this film would perform well in theaters. This is a well-constructed romance film with outstanding talent.
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