The Idea Of You

2024 Amazon Prime Video

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 55min

Comedy ~ Drama ~ Romance

Starring: Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine.

“I was just making sure it was you…….and not the idea of you.”

Here is the synopsis from Amazon MGM Studios Website:

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 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.

Here are some things I didn’t know about the movie before I watched:

The Movie is based on the the First Novel written by Robinne Lee The Idea Of You. According to Michelle Ruiz in Vogue Magazine, the book has achieved an almost cult like following by readers who refer to themselves as HAYSOLNUTS.

Michelle writes:

“The Idea of You isn’t just a book, but a novelistic manifesto for middle-aged female readers. Though released in 2017, it became “the sleeper hit of the pandemic,” as I wrote for Vogue in 2020, powered by a passionate, dominantly female word-of-mouth campaign. People who love The Idea of You do so with borderline unhealthy obsessiveness. We lose sleep reading it on weeknights. We join Facebook groups about it. We re-read it and binge the audiobook narrated by Lee, a veteran actress who nails all the accents in her velvety voice. There’s even a name for us: Haysolnuts.”

Here’s what I thought about the movie:

I passed on watching this a couple of times in favor of something I thought would be better, thinking, “Oh, I’ll watch it eventually, I’m probably not really gonna like it being it looks like a Love Story.” But I am an Anne Hathaway fan, probably the biggest reason I chose to watch it. She did not disappoint. The movie did not disappoint. I got caught up in the story immediately. I felt the characters and the story right away. I became fully invested emotionally, feeling everything they were feeling. It made me want what they found, that indescribable thing, that instant connection.

If you’ve ever felt it, you know it’s rare and overwhelming. I loved every minute of this movie. I loved Anne Hathaway, I loved Solène, I loved Hayes Campbell and I loved how they met. I could feel the drama of the consequences of their relationship and the struggle to stay with what felt right to the heart. I loved Solène’s Subaru Outback, Her Craftsman Style “Starter Home” and August Moon, the whole story. I realize now that the book ends differently than the movie, even though I have yet to read the book, but I loved how it ended. I just loved this movie and everything about it. Yes I would watch it again.

I just can’t say enough about it, yes you should watch it…

In fact I highly recommend it, wholeheartedly…..

What are you waiting for?

The Idea Of You Book by Robinne Lee

You’re Cordially Invited

2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 49min

Comedy

Directed by: Nicholas Stoller

Starring: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Geraldine Viswanathan, Stony Blyden and Meredith Hagner.

“And we can rely on each other, ah ha. From one lover to another, ah ha.”

When I saw the trailer I knew it was a comedy, even though it centers around two weddings. I saw where some have referred to it as a Rom-Com……that it is not. I like will Ferrell and you have to love Reese Witherspoon, so I was excited to see a brand new streaming movie that featured the two of them together. Will Ferrell is playing Jim, a widowed father raising his young adult daughter Jenni (Geraldine Viswanathan) by himself. Jenni comes home from college and tells him that she is getting married to her boyfriend Oliver (Stony Blyden), who just happened to come home with her.

Jim is less than thrilled and after coming to terms with the fact his daughter wants to get married, calls the resort where he and his wife had gotten married. The elderly lady that owns the resort still remembers Jim and she assures him that she will hold his reservation without a card (as he is considered family), and unbeknownst to Jim, as he hangs up, she drops dead of a heart attack. The pen she was using ran out of ink and she collapsed before she could get another one. But Jim, Jenni, Oliver and Jenni’s girlfriends make plans for the wedding at the resort the following year not knowing there is no reservation written down for them.

Margo (Reese Witherspoon) has just been informed by her baby sister Neve (Meredith Hagner) that she is pregnant and she is getting married to her boyfriend Dixon (Jimmy Tatro). Margo insists that she wants to pay for the wedding and calls the resort on the island where her Grandma used to live. Margo uses her credit card and makes a reservation for the same weekend as Jim, whose name is not on the books. Margo and Neve make plans for the whole family to join them at the resort for the wedding.

And that’s where the real comedy starts as Margo and Jim both show up on the island at the same time with their entourages, wondering who the other people are that are there. There is only room enough on the resort for one wedding at a time and two wedding parties have shown up! It was pretty funny. I mean it is exactly what you think it’s going to be. Funny, goofy, a little dumb, with lots of fighting and escapades between Jim and Margo as they try to assert their wedding over the other. The chemistry between Will and Reese was ok in a comedic way. But there was no romance between the two, they just don’t go together in that way.

There was a ton of music in the film, with a surprise karaoke version of Islands In The Stream. Stay tuned in at the end as the credits roll because there is more to be seen! Peyton Manning, Nick Jonas and Bobby Moynihan from Saturday Night Live all have a cameo in the movie. SO what did I think?

It was good. It was worth a watch. Definitely some laughs in there and I LOVE the alligator! Yes….I Loved the alligator. I don’t want to spoil it for you so I’ll just say this….It’s good goofy fun and worth watching, at least watch it for the alligator! I liked Will and Reese too, they seemed like they had a lot of fun with this one. Give it a go!

Fire Aid Benefit Concert

The FireAid benefit concert will be held at Intuit Dome and Kia Forum on January 30th dedicated to rebuilding communities that have been devastated by wildfires. Contributions made to FireAid in connection with the FireAid benefit concert and other direct donations will be distributed under the advisement of the Annenberg Foundation and will be distributed for short-term relief efforts and long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California. The Annenberg Foundation, with decades of philanthropic leadership in our community, including rapid response, will help coordinate a team to direct funds for the greatest impact.

This monumental event is produced by Shelli, Irving, and the Azoff family, in collaboration with producing partner Live Nation, and operating partner, the LA Clippers. The benefit concert will be led by Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet as executive producer, with Rick Krim serving as the FireAid talent producer.

Featuring Performances from Billie Eilish, Earth Wind & Fire, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, and Tate McRae. Appearing at the Kia Forum are Alanis Morissette, Anderson .Paak, Dave Matthews and John Mayer, Dawes, Graham Nash, Green Day, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, No Doubt, P!nk, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, and the Black Crows.

The Fundraising concert will stream live at 9 PM Eastern time January 30 and 31 on Amazon Music/Prime Video, Apple Music, the AppleTV app, Disney+/Hulu, Facebook/Instagram, iHeartRadio, KTLA+, Max, Netflix/Tudum, Paramount+, Peacock/NBC News Now, SiriusXM’s exclusive “LIFE with John Mayer” channel, SoundCloud, Veeps, and YouTube. For those seeking an in-person experience, select AMC Theatre and Regal Cinema locations nationwide will host screenings of the event.

Donations can be made at the Fire Aid Website: https://fireaidla.org/#donateToday

Role Play

2024 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 40min

Action ~ Comedy ~ Romance

Directed by: Thomas Vincent

Starring: Kaley Cuoco, David Oyelowo, Rudi Dharmalingam, Connie Nielsen, and Bill Nighy.

“Is that what you want, to mix things up a bit? Or do you want me to be someone else for the night?”

Kaley Cuoco stars as Emma Brackett, a happily married mother of two children living in the suburbs of New jersey with her husband Dave Brackett (David Oyelowo). Emma and Dave both have full time jobs, and Emma travels a lot for her work. Emma also leads a double life that her husband and family know nothing about. As the movie opens she is returning home from a business trip and finds that Dave is making her favorite meal on the grill, Orange Chicken, and the kids have set up the table like a restaurant. Her son informs Emma that he is going to be playing bartender for the evening, and her daughter is going to be the waitress.

Dismayed, Emma realizes that it is their anniversary and she has forgotten. After they put the kids to bed and retire for the evening, Dave gives Emma a present. It is a nurse costume and Dave suggests that some adult role play might help spice things up in their marriage. Emma has a better idea and suggests that the next night they get a babysitter and go into the city to a ritzy hotel and meet at the bar as total strangers. Dave thinks it’s a wonderful idea and they make plans.

The next evening Emma goes to the bar and is spotted by someone from her secret double life before Dave arrives. The stranger, who calls himself “Bob” approaches her and buys her a drink. He hints that he knows who she really is as Dave comes into the bar. Emma brushes him off and Dave circles around to make his move on Emma as a complete stranger. Bob comes back and hints strongly to Emma that her cover is blown and she is not who she says she is. They finally get rid of Bob and go on about their role play date.

The next day after they get home Dave’s sister informs him there was a murder and shootout in the hotel they were staying in. Dave discovers that Bob is dead and the police are looking for the mysterious couple seen in the bar talking to Bob earlier before he was killed. Dave freaks out that the police are looking for them and Emma freaks out because her cover is now exposed. Very concerned about the whole situation she tells Dave that she has to go on an emergency quick business trip and that she will straighten things out with the police when she gets back. She flies to Berlin to meet with her secret life manager to straighten out what has happened.

What follows is a hilarious action filled journey as Dave finds out about her secret life, and Emma tries to set things right in her secret double life and her family life. I am not familiar with Kaley Cuoco although I’m sure I’ve seen her before. And the same with David Oyelowo whose face I know but not his name. I thought they were both really good in this. I could feel the chemistry between them and the love they share for their family and life together. I was completely rooting for Emma to solve her secret life dilemma and get back to Dave and her kids. You could see that that is all her heart really wants, to be back living the simple life with her loving family.

It is more of a family romance comedy than a spy action thriller. I really liked this movie, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the soundtrack as well.