There are few movies that are deemed instantaneous classics. Comfort films that sink into your soul from the moment you first watch them in the theater and resonate for decades in your memory bank. For many, that movie is the Y2k 2006 hit: The Devil Wears Prada.
It had all the makings of a classic: a gorgeous, star-studded cast some of whom had yet to reach the apex of their careers, quip-worthy lines that are still quoted to this day, and then there are all those delicious, catty jabs at
Vogue.
The star-studded cast in question?
Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs, the semi-clueless journalism school grad who landed a job at Runway Magazine as an assistant to the widely feared and highly regarded Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep.)
If you somehow live under a rock and haven’t seen the film or read Lauren Weisberger’s wonderful novel, it’s a satire about work-life balance and the lengths we’ll go to for success. And, of course, Meryl Streep’s Priestly is based on
Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour.
With an equally stacked supporting cast in Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci,
The Devil Wears Prada is often quoted and replayed. Sarcastic quips from Streep’s character like “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.” or “What you don’t know is your sweater is not blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s cerulean.”
And while I could go on and on about how iconic specifically Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Wintour is, that’s not why I’ve gathered you here today. I actually have good news:
The Devil Wears Prada has been renewed for a sequel- and yes, Streep, Hathaway, Tucci, and Blunt are all in talks about returning.
While nothing’s confirmed just yet,
Entertainment Weekly just got word that both Blunt and Streep are in talks to star in a film with a storyline concerned with the death of print media in more recent years.
Although Disney declined to comment,
EW reports that most of the original cast, director, and producers are discussing a reunion. Which is quite possibly the best news, since no one else can play Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs but Streep and Hathaway.
In past years, multiple members of the cast have mulled over the idea of a sequel..but struggled to imagine a world where
The Devil Wears Prada can exist side-by-side rapidly vanishing world of printed fashion magazines.
However, there’s a plethora of possibilities in the fashion journalism community– simply take a few notes from
Vogue!
It’s been a fun and flirty few weeks for film releases. Last year’s surprise summer romance Anything But You finally came to streaming and is sitting pretty on Netflix’s Top 10. Zendaya and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers is all sweat, sex, scorn, and some truly fine tennis — no wonder it’s the number-one movie at the box office.
And now, the long-awaited Amazon Prime Video drama
The Idea of You is finally-finally out...and the internet can't get enough.
After months of promo — and
a viral trailer that garnered over 125 million global views across all social media platforms, breaking the record for the most watched trailer for any original streaming movie — Anne Hathaway’s turn as a single mother who falls in love with the most famous popstar on the planet is. Finally. Here.
Any clip of the film reveal what’s at its core: sizzling chemistry, Hathaway’s unfailing charm, and a sudden tenderness that reveals that The Idea of You is not just one more spicy mommy movie (sorry, Fifty Shades of Grey). It’s a character study of Solène, Hathaway’s character, who turns 40 and is a woman in search of herself. Where does she find herself? In the arms of a 20-something-year-old rockstar based loosely on Harry Styles.
Is The Idea of You based on a true story?
Directed by Michael Showalter,
The Idea of You is based on Robinne Lee’s best-selling novel of the same name. The book’s now cult-like devotees slowly but surely gained momentum. The novel found a feral fanbase during those cold and lonely months of the early pandemic when everyone had the “Watermelon Sugar” music video on repeat simply to recall what outside air and human touch felt like.
But the book initially published way back in 2017 — doesn’t that feel like the Paleolithic Era? — just about a month to the
day after Harry Styles released his debut album. This is significant because, in the years that followed, the book seems to predict certain events and themes in the popstar’s relationships — specifically his headline-grabbing love affair with Olivia Wilde.
The pretty much predictive elements of the book are proof of why Lee’s novel is so compelling. It’s not just about the fantasy. And it’s not, she insists, a fan-fiction — though she has admitted it’s based on Harry Styles as well as Prince Harry and Eddie Redmayne … interesting mix. It’s about love. It’s about women. And it’s about coming of age or coming into your sexuality, at a time when society has put you on the shelf.
Is The Idea of You good?
The
Idea of You is bringing back the rom-com. Watching the film, I couldn’t help but say aloud: “we’re so back.” From a classic awkward-but-charming meet-cute to the sexy montages of relationship bliss set to upbeat music, The Idea of You does everything you want a rom-com to do. And because it’s been so long since we’ve seen a high-budget romantic comedy of this caliber — with Anne Hathaway no less! — it doesn’t feel trite, it feels refreshing. Invigorating. Addictive.
This is due in no small part to the stunningly sensual performances by Hathaway and her leading man, Nicholas Galitzine (
Bottoms and Red, White, and Royal Blue), who plays Hayes Campbell. Hathaway raves about her co-star's ability to create chemistry with anyone. So, paired with an Oscar-winning actress, of course, the sparks were flying.
If you didn’t believe in the characters' chemistry, the film would fall apart. The tension between them must be strong enough to withstand a world tour, societal judgments, and Sol’s own self-doubts. And this pair delivers. As you watch, you’ll fall in love with Galitzine, too. In interviews, he’s got the same quintessential British charm of a young Hugh Grant. On-screen, he’s every bit the magnetic rockstar that easily packs a stadium full of girls hoping to catch his eye and his heart.
For her part, Hathaway plays the somewhat farfetched role with grounded authenticity. She’s not the typical someone who gets swept away by this young rockstar. She’s a complex character who allows herself to take a risk. To meet her complexity, Galitzine has to imbue his own character with far more than rock’n’roll, fake tattoos, and that one little earring. He crafts exactly the kind of dream boy you hope is underneath your fave heartthrobs. Sensitive and boyish, but full of depth, Galitzine’s Hayes Campbell plays perfectly against Hathaway’s Solene —
literally.
I get what Anything But You is trying to say — but did it get there?
For what it is, this film is spectacular. Give it a Teen Choice Award, a People’s Choice Award,
and a VMA for the promotional August Moon visuals. It’s certified Fresh with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For too long, the genre’s been handed paltry budgets for trite storylines and left in the dust. But after years of being underinvested in and undervalued by the gatekeepers of cinema, The Idea of You proves why we should bet on character-driven movies about women.
Though we still adore many of those heroines from the rom-com heyday — that includes Anne Hathaway as Andy in
The Devil Wears Prada or The Princess Diaries — there’s one notable difference between this story and the films of yore. Our protagonists’s age.
Despite Hathaway’s youthful appearance, Solène isn’t just some ingenue. She’s not a 20-year-old trying to make it in the big city. She’s not a naive Manic Pixie Dream Girl from a small town whose purpose is to introduce all the beauty in the world to a jaded man. And she’s certainly not a corporate Girlboss who just needs a man to show her there’s more to life. No, Solène’s a divorced mother and gallerist who is on her journey to self-discovery.
We meet her as she’s embarking on a camping trip in an attempt to find herself in nature. But when that camping trip morphs into a chaperoning expedition to Coachella, Solène is thrust into the giddy world of being a rockstar girlfriend for a man more than 15 years her junior.
Anne Hathaway says this age dynamic is part of why she wanted to take on this role. Some skeptics have asked why Hathaway is already being relegated to mom roles or why she took on a fluffy film, the hidden complexity is what drew her to it.
“For some reason, we talk about coming-of-age stories as being something that happens to you in the earliest part of your life, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like I keep blooming,” Hathaway said at the film’s
SXSW premiere.
Indeed, the film focuses on Sol’s age from many different angles. There are the establishing shots of Sol forced to make lackluster conversation with men her age at her birthday party. There’s her toxic dynamic with her ex-husband and the sense that she’s trying to emerge whole from the shell of a bad marriage. There’s of course, the contrast between her teenage daughter (Ella Rudin) insisting she’s too old for the group August Moon while Sol herself has a steamy affair with its lead singer. But most of the focus on her age is external.
The Idea of You tackles society’s expectations and constraints of middle-aged women. It parrots back outdated attitudes slamdunk debunks them — by showing you that Sol is still sexy, thank you very much.
While looking like Anne Hathaway and being attractive to a 24-year-old shouldn’t be the metrics for one’s worth, they don’t hurt. But in Sol’s case, we don’t see much of her personal development beyond this brief tryst. What we do see, is the people in her life grappling with the external pressures thrust upon them by hyperbolic headlines and social media abuse.
“It’s because you’re a woman,” Rudin’s character plainly states. Yet, the film doesn’t get more nuanced than that. But does it have to? After all, we’ve seen this familiar trope play out in real life. Namely, with Olivia Wilde during the
Don’t Worry Darling press tour firestorm. And I worry any further extrapolation would have resulted in a Barbie-type monologue.
At its core,
The Idea of You is a step above fan-fiction but it achieves what the best fan-fics do: validate your fantasies. It says, hey [your name], you, too, deserve love. Love in this case is the attention of a Coachella performer (Sabrina Carpenter, call me), but it’s also the belief that you’re worthy of that attention. And watching that sort of lavish affection bestowed on a woman over 25 on screen is refreshing and thrilling.
Even more, it’s proof that the female gaze is ruling cinema and it’s here to stay.
How to watch The Idea of You
The Idea of You is streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting May 2nd.
Like all rom-coms, this movie is just as good if you watch it alone in your room, giggling and kicking your feet as if you’re watching it sleepover-style with all your besties. It’s also screening at a select number of theaters. So, check your local showtimes for tickets, take your blankets to the cinema, and giggle and gasp along with the crowd as you all fall in love with Nicholas Galitzine together.
Nicholas Galitzine in SXSW Closing Night Film, "The Idea of You"
Courtesy of Prime Video
All the cool film girlies just came back from Berlin. Specifically, they are fresh from the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, and they still smell like cigarettes to prove it. Between anecdotes about how Berghain is ruined, they’re telling me how they watched Cillian Murphy (my father, emotionally) give another masterful, award-worthy performance in the Enda Walsh adaptation of Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These. This is apropos of nothing, except that I was not in Berlin, so I will have to wait alongside everyone else to see one of my favorite books on screen later this year.
But how can I be bitter? This week, half of Los Angeles will flock to Texas for South By Southwest in Austin, and I’ll be delightfully distracted by a whole new slate of upcoming releases premiering at this year’s festival. There are so many new films to be excited about premiering at the festival — even without Cillian Murphy’s cheekbones.
Let’s get into it.
What is SXSW?
I’m in for a week of acronyms: SXSW in ATX FTW - LFG!! South By Southwest (aka SXSW or SX or South By) is a film festival, music festival, and industry conference all rolled into one. Fueled by Texas BBQ and Torchy’s Tacos, creative people in the tech, film, music, education, and culture industries swarm from theater to concert hall and conference room networking (allegedly), writing pretentious reviews about the future of culture (guilty), and being menaces to the residents of Austin by causing even worse traffic jams than the city is used to— and I can’t wait.
When is SXSW 2024?
SXSW 2024 will be held from March 8 - 16 2024. Highly anticipated events include Rolling Stone’s Future of Music Series (my artists to watch are Flo Milli and Faye Webster), and the SXSW Music Festival (which, this year, includes The Black Keys, Bootsy Collins, and many more). Of course, the highlight is the insane 2024 SXSW movie lineup. I can’t wait to laugh, cry, and contemplate my very existence while staring up at a screen at SXSW. In the words of Nicole Kidman, “We come to this place to dream.” And this week, the dreamers are all in Austin, Texas.
Here are the films at SXSW 2024 we’re most excited about – starring an assortment of all our favorite actors (even though Cilian won’t be making an appearance). Still, we’re excited to see new performances from faves like Ayo Edebiri, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Gosling, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Jonathan Groff, Hunter Schafer, Rachel Zegler, Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, and a whole lot more.
SXSW 2024 Official Opening Night Selection
Road House
This is not Patrick Swayze’s Road House (1989) — but by the time Jake Gyllenhaal is done with you, you’ll love it as much as the original. Gyllenhaal stars as an ex-UFC fighter-turned-bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, owned by Frankie (Jessica Williams). Facing threats from a criminal gang led by Brandt (Billy Magnussen), Dalton's violent past emerges. When he is confronted by Knox (Conor McGregor), a lethal gun-for-hire, the escalating brawls and bloodshed become more dangerous than his days in the Octagon. Fans of real-life, ex-UFC fighter Conor McGregor are excited to see him in this film, even if he is the villain. Road House is coming to Prime Video on March 21st.
SXSW 2024 Official Closing Night Selection
The Idea of You
This film is like if your mom stole your Wattpad moment. Created by two-time SXSW Audience Award Winner Michael Showalter, it’s his great return to SXSW and it’s sure to be a riot. Allegedly based on Harry Styles (and a little bit of Prince Harry, too), The Idea of You is the salacious story of a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with her daughter’s favorite popstar. She goes from begrudgingly chaperoning her daughter to Coachella to meeting, and falling for, 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of a band based on One Direction. This odd couple romance promises to be more than meets the eye. The couple is played by Red White & Royal Blue’s Nicholas Galitzine alongside Anne Hathaway so I am ready and willing to go on this ride. I’m expecting something that feels like a mix of After, A Star is Born, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Watch the trailer HERE. And listen to the first song from the Original Soundtrack by fictional boy band August Moon HERE.
Other films to watch at SXSW 2024
I Wish You All The Best
I am unspeakably excited for Tommy Dorfman’s queer coming-of-age drama. Written and directed by Dorfman and starring Corey Fogelmanis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Alexandra Daddario, Cole Sprouse, Lena Dunham, Amy Landecker, Lexi Underwood, and more (wow!) it’s an adaptation of Mason Deaver's novel of the same name. A queer tale of chosen family, it follows Ben DeBacker, a non-binary teen who is thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas. Struggling with anxiety, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their art teacher, Ms. Lyons, while trying to keep a low profile at their new school. Ben's attempts to survive junior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. With the help of Nathan, and his friends Sophie and Mel, Ben discovers themselves, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.
A Nice Indian Boy
A Nice Indian Boy
I’ll watch Jonathan Groff in anything — and this original odd-couple comedic drama would have taken me no convincing anyway. Self-effacing doctor Naveen Gavaskar meets Jay Kurundkar, a white man adopted by two Indian parents, when Jay takes his picture at the hospital. Despite initial skepticism on Naveen’s part, the two quickly fall in love. Naveen avoids telling his traditional family—parents Megha & Archit and sister Arundhathi—who accepted his sexuality years earlier and are close to him but increasingly don’t know much about his life. Eventually, inevitably, Jay, with no family of his own, has to meet the Gavaskars, who have never met a boyfriend of Naveen's.
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
Don’t fret, Barbie fever is over, but Ryan Gosling will be back on your screens soon enough with this comedic action blockbuster. Ryan Gosling stars as Colt, a stuntman who, after a near-career-ending accident, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget movie—being directed by his ex, Jody (Emily Blunt)—goes missing. Now, this working-class hero has to solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. Certified heartthrob Aaron Taylor Johnson is also in this — giving me something to look forward to as I wait patiently for his role in Kraven: The Hunter later this year. I’m sat.
Omni Loop
Omni Loop
The more Ayo Edebiri in the zeitgeist, the better. Alongside Mary-Louise Parker, Steven Maier, Eddie Cahill, and more, she stars in this existential sci-fi feature. Zoya Lowe, a 55 year old woman from Miami, FL, has been diagnosed with a black hole inside her chest and given a week to live. But what the doctors and her family don’t know is that she has already lived this week before. She’s lived it so many times, in fact, that she doesn’t even know how long it’s been. Until one day she meets Paula, a young woman studying time at a lab in the local university, and together they decide to try and solve time travel so Zoya can actually go back— back into her past, back to a time before she settled, back to when her whole future was still wide open in front of her—back so she can do it all over again, and finally be the person she always wanted to be. It’s this year’s Everything Everywhere All At Once so I have high hopes.
The Greatest Hits
The Greatest Hits
Harriet (Lucy Boynton) finds art imitating life when she discovers certain songs can transport her back in time - literally. While she relives the past through romantic memories of her former boyfriend (David Corenswet), her time-traveling collides with a burgeoning new love interest in the present (Justin H. Min). As she takes her journey through the hypnotic connection between music and memory, she wonders if she can change the past. Think Yesterday, but … no, pretty much just exactly Yesterday.
Y2K
Y2K A24 Movie
The children are our future! This A24 disaster comedy, Y2K, stars Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri, Mason Gooding, The Kid Laroi (yes, from that Justin Bieber song), and more as high schoolers who crash a NYE party in 1999 and end up fighting for their lives. But doesn’t all high school feel like that?
I Love You Forever
I Love You Forever
Directed and written by Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani and starring Sofia Black-D'Elia, Ray Nicholson, Jon Rudnitsky, Cazzie David, and Raymond Cham Jr, this film portrays the sad reality of the dating landscape. It follows Mackenzie, a disillusioned 25-year old law student tired of the apps — because who isn’t. When she has a “real life meet-cute” with a charming journalist who makes her believe true love may actually exist. Ultimately, it starts to go left and Mackenzie finds herself trapped in a tumultuous and depleting cycle of emotional abuse.
I Don't Understand You
Like our beloved White Lotus, this is about an Italian vacation gone wrong. Starring Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells as an American couple, it's about a babymoon turned nightmare. On the verge of adopting a baby, they go on an Italian vacation — an opportunity to reconnect before the new addition arrives. Everything is picture-perfect; the epitome of a European baby moon, when things begin to spiral out of control. On the way to dinner, they get their rental car stuck in a ditch and are stranded in rural nowhere in a downpour. These two Americans, who are used to being catered to, are now in a foreign land without service, an Italian language comprehension of about zero, and clear relationship turmoil that could explode at any minute. Fear obviously takes over.
Doin It
Doin It
Starring internet sensation-turned-host-turned-actor Lilly Singh, Doin It is a comedy of errors about an Indian woman trying to lose her virginity. Fans of Never Have I Ever, which also starts with that premise, should flock to this film. After teenage Maya is caught in a sexually compromising position, her mom moves the family back to India so Maya can learn proper discipline. Years later, she returns to the US to find funding for her teen-focused app, and gets a job as a substitute high school teacher so she can research her target demo. But when the principal assigns her to teach sex ed, Maya —who’s still a virgin— sets out on a quest with her best friend to make up for the high school experience she lost out on. It also stars Ana Gasteyer, Sabrina Jalees, Stephanie Beatriz, Mary Holland, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Sonia Dhillon Tully.
Civil War
Civil War
No, not the Marvel film. Much more chilling and dystopian — especially since it’s set in a plausible, near-future. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman taking us on an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge, going through a civil war.
Birdeater
Birdeater
A bride-to-be is invited to join her own fiancé’s bachelor party on a remote property in the Australian outback. But as the festivities spiral into beer-soaked chaos, uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, and the celebration soon becomes a feral nightmare. I’m imagining part Saltburn and part Get Out from this feature debut.
Babes
Babes
After becoming pregnant from a one-night stand, Eden leans on her married best friend and mother of two, Dawn, to guide her through gestation and beyond. Starring lana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, John Carroll Lynch, and Hasan Minhaj, this comedy about friendship and motherhood is sure to be both belly-busting and heartwarming
Musica
Musica
Based on writer, director and star Rudy Mancuso, Música is a coming-of-age love story that follows an aspiring creator with synesthesia, who must come to terms with an uncertain future, while navigating the pressures of love, family and his Brazilian culture. Alongside Mancuso are Camila Mendes, Francesca Reale, Maria Mancuso, and J.B. Smoove.
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
If anyone else has heard about Freaknik endlessly without hearing about Freaknik, your time has come. This documentary feature is a celebratory exploration of the boisterous times of Freaknik, the iconic Atlanta street party that drew hundreds of thousands of people in the 80s and 90s, helping put Atlanta on the map culturally. At its height, Freaknik was a traffic-stopping, city-shuttering, juggernaut that has since become a cult classic. This documentary will, too.
The Black Sea
The Black Sea
Immersive and inspired by Derrick B. Harden’s travels to Bulgaria, The Black Sea details the transformative journey of a man who finds unexpected connections in a small coastal Eastern European town even as he finds himself to be the only black person around.
Pet Shop Days
Pet Shop Days
I love a very serious thriller with a whimsical title. Starring Jack Irv, Darío Yazeb Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard, and more, you know this one’s going to be good. In an act of desperation, impulsive black sheep Alejandro flees his home in Mexico. On the run from his unforgiving father, Alejandro finds himself in New York City where he meets Jack, a college age pet store employee with similar parental baggage. Together the two enter a whirlwind romance sending them down the rabbit hole of drugs and depravity in Manhattan’s underworld.
Toll
Toll
This Brazilian feature is definitely going to chill me to my core, I’m calling it now. Suellen, a Brazilian toll booth attendant and mother, falls in with a gang of thieves in an attempt to keep her family afloat. In doing so, she realizes she can use her job to raise some extra money illegally for a so-called noble cause: to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop led by a renowned foreign priest.
My Dead Friend Zoe
My Dead Friend Zoe
My Dead Friend Zoe follows the journey of Merit, a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe, her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor, the tough love of her mother and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit's cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That is until Merit's estranged grandfather—holed up at the family's ancestral lake house—begins to lose his way and is in need of the one thing he refuses... help. It stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Gloria Reuben.
A House Is Not a Disco
A House Is Not a Disco
Directed by Brian J. Smith, this documentary shows a year-in-the-life in the world’s most iconic “homo-normative” community: Fire Island Pines. Situated fifty miles from New York City, this storied queer beach town finds itself in the midst of a renaissance as a new generation of Millennial homeowners reimagine The Pines for a new, more inclusive era. Filmed like a Wiseman movie on magic mushrooms, a large cast of unforgettable eccentrics, activists, drifters, and first-timers reflect on the legacy of The Pines while preparing their beloved village for the biggest challenge it has faced since the AIDS crisis: rising seas caused by climate change.
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion
My eighth-grade self, experiencing all the stages of grief in the Brandy Melville changing room, is ready for this expose. It examines how Brandy Melville developed a cult-like following despite its controversial “one size fits all” tagline. Hiding behind its shiny Instagram façade is a shockingly toxic world, a reflection of the global fast fashion industry. Fast fashion isn’t all glitz and glamor – it’s a business that sacrifices humanity and pollutes the planet for the sake of profit.
Growing up a One Direction fan, I am brimming with unnecessary knowledge of four British (and one Irish) men. I have continued to follow
Harry Styles throughout his illustrious solo career, and I still watch their This Is Us documentary once a year. And in the world of boybands and sick obsession comes fan fiction.
Yes, I'm no stranger to the classic fanfic lore: your mother sold you to One Direction because she couldn't pay her bills, or Harry is the emotionally unavailable soccer star at your school and you, dear Y/N, are the nerd assigned to tutor him. And some fanfics were so addictive that they were turned into films --
see: the After series by Anna Todd.
But now, we've been introduced to a new band in a new film that totally doesn't ring any familiar bells: August Moon.
Who Is August Moon?
August Moon is the fictional band in the new Amazon Prime movie,
The Idea Of You, directed by Michael Showalter and starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. Based on the novel by Robinne Lee, "The Idea Of You" was fashioned after Harry Styles and his rumored love for older women. The internet has already been abuzz comparing Galitzine's Hayes Campbell to Styles- the patchwork tattoos, the One Direction-inspired photoshoots and mannerisms, and of course the British accent.
24-year-old lead singer Hayes meets 40-year-old Solene (Hathaway) at
Coachella (where else?) and sparks fly. If you want to read more about what happens in the trailer, check out our recap here!
Just like
Daisy Jones & The Six,August Moon will be releasing their music on streaming platforms across the world. Their first song, "Dance Before We Walk", was featured in the trailer today.
The song itself isn't as bad as I anticipated, it's reminiscent of British synth indie pop made popular by bands like The 1975. Singing alongside
Galitzine, there's Jaiden Anthony, Raymond Cham, Vik White, and Dakota Andan. And it looks like that won't be the last of August Moon!
The band has also just activated an Instagram account (and it already has over 5k followers), so it truly looks like they're taking the Daisy Jones approach. The hype surrounding any band mirroring One Direction is huge, and it only amplifies when the lead singer is played by a current Hollywood heartthrob who's seemingly in
everything.
You can listen to "Dance Before We Walk" here:
MORE ABOUT THE IDEA OF YOU
Directed by Michael Showalter
Screenplay by Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt, Based Upon the Book by Robinne Lee
Produced by Cathy Schulman p.g.a., Gabrielle Union p.g.a., Anne Hathaway p.g.a., Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, Michael Showalter, Jordana Mollick
Executive Produced by Douglas S. Jones, Jason Babiszewski, Jennifer Westfeldt, Kian Gass
Starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Annie Mumolo, Reid Scott, Perry Mattfeld, Jordan Aaron Hall, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Raymond Cham Jr., Jaiden Anthony, Viktor White, Dakota Adan
Genre Romantic Drama
Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.
This film is like if your mom stole your Wattpad moment. The Idea of You follows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with her daughter’s favorite pop star. She goes from begrudgingly chaperoning her daughter to Coachella to meeting, to falling for, 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of a band, August Moon, based on One Direction.
That’s just where the story begins. The film takes us through their whirlwind romance as Solène wrestles with her unexpected passion for a man almost half her age and the media attention that comes with him. Oh the things we do for boys who play guitar.
I’m expecting something that feels like a mix of After (the original Harry Styles-inspired story), A Star is Born, Fifty Shades of Grey, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. It’s also been compared to Daisy Jones & The Six (by us … we compared it to that). The trailer just dropped and it teases a film that will no doubt be a thrilling ride.
The Idea of You trailer is out now. Watch it here:
The Idea of You - Official Trailer | Prime Videowww.youtube.com
What is The Idea of You based on?
There are many reasons this film has been generating buzz ever since the project was announced. The craziest reason is also the most compelling: it’s kind of about Harry Styles — with a little inspo taken from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, too. Sounds absolutely bonkers? It is. But it’s more than just fan service — this film promises to stand on its own.
The Idea of You is based on a bestselling novel by Robinne Lee. Before her turn as a bestselling novelist, Robinne Lee was an actress. You might recognize her for her roles Hitch, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. So no surprises that she ended up writing this steamy novel.
Though it was released in 2017, the book became a hit during the pandemic — famous for its surprising and emotionally tumultuous ending. Of course, the source material also got readers hooked. Lee has confirmed in interviews that she was inspired to write the book after stumbling across a One Direction video. Many fan fiction writers have been there, too.
But unlike teens on Wattpad or AO3, Lee’s book is about more than just lust — though there is a lot of that, too. The book is about a woman in her 40s rediscovering her sexuality and feeling desirable. Sure, the story might have gotten its roots when Lee realized that Styles has dated his fair share of older women (and this was before the messiness of the Don’t Worry Darling press tour that deserves its own movie), but it’s really a dramatic tale about how women get overlooked as they age. One that says hey, you’re still just one Coachella ticket away from the hottest relationship of your life — no matter your age.
While the adaptation reimagines the characters and tells the story in the spirit of the novel — so don’t expect a line by line reenactment — fans are hoping the book’s spirit and wrenching ending is realized fully in the new film.
The Idea of You Cast
Alongside Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway (who is also a producer on the film with Gabrielle Union), The Idea of You stars Ella Rubin, Annie Mumolo, Reid Scott, Perry Mattfeld, Jordan Aaron Hall, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Raymond Cham Jr., Jaiden Anthony, Viktor White, and Dakota Adan.
The Idea of You Soundtrack
While it’s definitely not a musical, this film is based on a boyband and one of the most famous musicians in the world. To give fans the full experience, Nicholas Galitzine gets to show off his singing in the film’s full Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which will be available in tandem with the film’s release.
Nicholas Galitzine is no stranger to singing on camera. His first major roles in Handsome Devil and The Beat BeneathMy Feet saw him clutching a guitar. He also played the Prince in Amazon’s jukebox musical adaptation of Cinderella alongside Camilla Cabello. Most notably, fans know him for his TikTok covers and guitar playing, making him perfect for this Harry Styles-esque character. Wherever they’re making these charming, singing Brits — take me there.
The film follows the couple through the superstar’s tour with his boyband, August Moon, so of course there’s lots and lots of original music. The first song, "Dance Before We Walk", was featured in the trailer. Just like Daisy Jones & The Sixand A Star Is Born, this is sure to be a soundtrack to remember. The band has also just activated an Instagram account (and it already has over 5k followers), so you can follow along on Instagram.
The Idea of You is set to have its World Premiere at SXSW Festival on March 16th as the Closing Night Film. After premiering in Austin, you can stream The Idea of You on Prime Video on May 2nd. Calendar: marked.
We're living in the heyday of fast fashion. TikTok microtrends are churned out faster than most brands can keep up with and toxic "dupe" culture has convinced us that it's always better to pay less to participate in trends — despite the environmental and social impact of major fast fashion brands. Is getting one picture in a polyester dress really worth the hours of child labor that went into it, and the eternity that piece of plastic masquerading-as-fabric will spend in a landfill?
Fast fashion giants like SHEIN have convinced us not to think about those pesky problems. Instead, they draw our attention to their cheap prices and sponsored influencer hauls. In an age of hyperinflation, who can be blamed for seeking a bargain?
But there's another consequence of the reign of TikTok style: everybody dresses like everybody else.
Personal style is a relic of the past. I used to spend hours in New York's SoHo, window shopping and people-watching to get aspirational fashion inspiration. Now, all the stores and the shoppers look exactly alike. It's algorithm fashion. Everybody is wearing the same trend-du-jour, paired with a different color variation of the Adidas Sambas.
While I too love to participate in trends that resonate with me (through vintage shopping as much as possible), I often find myself thinking: what is my personal style? I don't want to dress how I did in college, but I fear that the past few years of social media trends has infiltrated my closet more than I think, erasing any sense of individuality and peculiarity from my closet.
It is after all, the unique and strange things about how you dress and how you style your clothes that make up your personal style. But now that I can't turn to people-watching or even Pinterest for fresh, new style inspiration, I've gone back to basics: watching movies.
Personal stylists like Allison Bornstein or Tibi's Amy Smilovic have amassed platforms — and both written books — about cultivating personal style in an overwhelming sartorial landscape. And both of them advise us to use three words as our anchors. The idea is this: pick three words that, when you go to get dressed, help you build an outfit that feels true to who you are. These words aren't "pear-shaped" or "autumn color palette," but rather words about your character and your inspirations. Words like "edgy," "romantic," or "pragmatic." To find these anchors, I've started going back to my favorite movies to discover a whole new vocabulary.
How you dress is a reflection of who you are and what you like. This is why so many TikTok "cores" take inspiration from esoteric lifestyle ephemera, not just specific items of clothing. It's about world-building. And where better to find worlds that inspire you than in movies and television?
I'm partial to 90s movies just like I'm partial to 90s style. Movies like Love Jones, 10 Things I Hate About You, Basic Instinct, and even Mary Kate and Ashley's Passport to Paris (I was destined, it seemed, to have a toxic love for The Row) have a sartorial chokehold on me. The 2000s romantic comedy also can't be ignored, so add How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Under the Tuscan Sun, andLove and Basketball to the roster. Plus anything Gwenyth Paltrow has ever been in, like Sliding Doors, Great Expectations, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
When I think about it, the most generative content that has helped me navigate my life, and style, as an adult has mostly been television and cinema. As a former Tumblr girl, I am no stranger to analyzing film screencaps and making them my entire personality. And over the past few years, titles like Hulu's High Fidelityhave actively influenced my purchasing decisions more than any influencer. And who wasn't sartorially inspired by Euphoria?
Now that I'm looking for style inspiration in movies and TV, I see potential in everything I watch. A color palette from a Regency-era TV show, a silhouette from a 90s period piece, an unexpected styling choice by a quirky character.
And in 2023, the year that the SAG actor's strike halted a season's worth of press tours, this was the perfect year to find fashion in film rather than in promotional material. Good thing we had a glut of good movies with great style to choose from. Here are some fashion highlights from the best movies in 2023:
Barbie
Barbie was a marketing masterpiece. Pretty much a two-hour advertisement for Mattel, the film didn't pull any fashion punches. From Barbie's custom Chanel to her cowboy two-piece and even the pink jumpsuits, every moment in this film was a masterclass in style. No wonder Barbiecore reigned supreme this year. Even Ken had his moments — the double denim, the leather vest, and, of course, the "I am Kenough" sweater.
Bottoms
I've said it once and I'll say it again: Bottoms is proof that we should all be dressing like lesbians. It's a menswear masterpiece for any gender. Lots of layers, lots of overalls, and an enviable collection of vintage tees were all major style moments in this film.
Strange Way of Life
This stylish cowboy short film was the star of the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Some have called it filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's Answer to Brokeback Mountain. This queer Western, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, might seem like an odd choice — until you realize it's styled by the fashion house Saint Laurent.
Sharper
This Apple TV film was not talked about enough — despite its all-star cast of Sebastian Stan, Julianne Moore, and Justice Smith. A movie about con artists, how you dress and how you appear is a major theme of the story. So no surprise that, with all the talk of quiet luxury this year, Julianne Moore's ensembles are a stunning rival to Succession style.
She Came to Me
This odd indie film was a feast of perfectly crafted characters with fashion moments that felt so precise to the core of the characters. The female leads, Marissa Tomei and Anne Hathaway, are no strangers to iconic cinematic attire. Hathaway plays an uptight, wealthy therapist whose wardrobe is another quiet luxury dream for the Brooklyn townhouse creative class. But to me, nothing beats Tomei's ensembles as a tugboat captain addicted to romance. The juxtaposition between her worker's coveralls and her corsets is so sumptuous it's a play I'll be replicating in my own closet. Carhartts, you're about to be dressed up with vintage lingerie.
May December
This chilling character study is another film where appearance is everything. Natalie Portman's character mirrors Julianne Moore's character in her quest to embody her essence, copying her clothes and her makeup in a disturbing display. But most surprising is Charles Melton's dad style in this film. The rugbies and New Balance combo is just at home on this tragic character as it is on fashion girlies in London and NYC.
Scrapper
Starring Harris Dickinson as a young father, this might seem like an odd choice. But this was the year of Scumbag Style and Blokecore (hence all the football jerseys and sports sneakers you've been seeing around) and no movie better encapsulates this than Scrapper. Plus, I can't get enough of Dickinson's bleached blonde hair in this.
Priscilla
Sofia Coppola's genius is that of perspective and aesthetics. And with a subject as fascinating and fashionable as Priscilla Presley, this film was a fantasy for the Tumblr girl in me and for the year of "girlhood."
Asteroid City
It's Wes Anderson. Need I say more?
Daisy Jones & the Six
One of the great television triumphs of the year, this series was a feat of world building and nostalgia. It brought 70s style back and gave us some style moments that will likely go down in history. It's our generation's Almost Famous.
POPULAR NEWS
