THE IDEA OF YOU

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens in Silver Lake, CA. Solene Marchand (Anne Hathaway) is an art gallery owner and single mother to Izzy (Ella Rubin). Solene is met by her friend Tracy (Annie Mumolo) while Izzy’s friends Georgia (Mathila Gianopolous) and Zeke (Jordan Aaron Hall) show up to join Izzy at Coachella for a meet-and-greet with popular boy band August Moon, though Izzy says she hasn’t listened to them in years. Tracy asks Solene about her upcoming 40th birthday party but she has no major plans besides taking a camping trip.

Solene drives Izzy and her friends to the home of her ex-husband and Izzy’s dad Daniel (Reid Scott) and his second wife Eva (Perry Mattfield). Solene has animosity towards both of them, even though she tries to get along with Daniel for Izzy’s sake. When Solene returns home, she finds that Daniel had been following her but couldn’t contact her because her phone was on airplane mode. Daniel has been called away to work and can no longer take Izzy and her friends to Coachella, so Solene reluctantly agrees to do it.

Upon arriving at the festival, Solene excuses herself to go to the bathroom while Izzy runs off with Georgia and Zeke. Solene ends up in a trailer bathroom, unaware that it is for one of the members of August Moon, Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). While a bit embarrassed at using his bathroom at first, Solene and Hayes appear to hit it off, though since she is 16 years older than him, she leaves the trailer uncomfortably.

Solene rejoins Izzy and her friends as they gather for the meet-and-greet. Georgia and Zeke both have fan moments over seeing August Moon, but Izzy is slightly embarrassed after she starts talking bad about them in front of Hayes, though he is a good sport about it. Everyone then gathers for the band’s performance, and Solene finds herself having a good time. Near the end of the show, Hayes appears to do a last minute set change and sings a song called “Closer”, implicitly dedicating it to Solene.

Later on, Solene celebrates her 40th birthday. She meets several men closer to her age at the party, but most of them are too weird or unappealing for her.

At work, Solene is surprised to find Hayes there looking for art after he looked up Solene online. She gives him a little tour of the gallery, and Hayes says he wants to purchase everything. While Solene thinks he is there to mess around, he insists that he likes the artwork and genuinely wants to purchase it.

Solene invites Hayes to an art studio owned by a friend of hers. There, they discuss the art, as well as Hayes explaining how he became part of the band after an extensive audition. He joined his other band mates – Simon (Viktor White), Adrian (Jaiden Anthony), Rory (Dakota Adan), and Ollie (Raymond Cham Jr) – whom he says all have distinct personalities, but Hayes is just “the English one” and wonders what else he would be doing if he wasn’t a superstar.

On their way out, Solene notices fans in a nearby car taking pictures of Hayes, so she suggests they go back to her house to eat with more privacy. She makes him a sandwich and discusses with him how she found out Daniel was cheating on her with Eva for over a year, and all of their friends knew before Solene did. Hayes then goes over to play the piano in the living room before Solene joins him and starts to give in to their mutual attraction. They start to kiss, but Solene tries to back out of it due to the major age difference, even though Hayes knows she likes him too. Hayes has his driver take him back to his hotel just before Izzy gets home from school.

Solene later drops Izzy off at summer camp. Hayes messages Solene about wanting to see her again, and he invites her to join him in New York. She ends up flying there and goes to Hayes’ hotel room where they have sex. Afterwards, while hanging out, Hayes talks to Solene about how he was once told by a former manager that Hayes’ “favorite musician” wanted to meet him, but it was just the manager’s daughter who wanted Hayes to take pictures with her and her musical friends. Hayes tells Solene his biggest fear is being seen as a joke.

Solene joins Hayes as he tours Europe with the band and his entourage. She and Hayes continue their relationship without letting anyone close to her know about it since Izzy is still at camp. While the two eat at a restaurant and are kissing, hidden paparazzi take pictures of them.

Hayes and his bandmates, plus their girlfriends, gather around the pool. Ollie talks about Hayes dedicating his song to Solene at Coachella, which Ollie says is a thing that the band does whenever they met a girl they like, as Hayes had done it with an older Swedish woman not long ago. Solene leaves upset, feeling that she is just another woman part of Hayes’ fetish, and she breaks things off with him before returning to Silver Lake. When she returns home, she finds that Hayes sent her a painting.

Solene later meets with Daniel and Eva after learning that they bought Izzy a car for her upcoming senior year. Daniel also confronts Solene about the pictures of her seen at the restaurant with Hayes. Solene in turn just tells Daniel he is a hypocrite for being upset about her new relationship. Eva also privately tells Solene that she is leaving Daniel and then unsuccessfully tries to spark a friendship with Solene.

Hayes later messages Solene to warn her about not going on the internet. To her horror, she is seen in photos on the beach with Hayes and is labeled a “cougar”. When she goes to pick up Izzy from camp, everyone and their mothers have heard about it, ranging from congratulating Solene to letting her know that their daughters are upset about the news. Izzy is also unhappy to learn that her mother was hiding the relationship from her, but she still forgives Solene and encourages her to pursue Hayes if he really makes her happy.

Solene goes to find Hayes in the recording studio and rekindles their romance. Izzy is okay with it, but she has her friends stay off social media to avoid unwanted attention. Unfortunately, that still happens as the house is often surrounded by paparazzi, and Daniel comes to once again confront both Solene and Hayes over the relationship before he takes Izzy to school. Solene starts seeing hateful comments on social media directed toward her, and Izzy tells her mom that other girls at school were asking her for pictures of Hayes’ penis, and another boy that Izzy liked was also hoping to hook up with Solene.

Hayes returns from New York and meets with Solene, where she tells him that she needs to end their relationship for good because of the effect it is having on Izzy. He later goes back to her house where he suggests that they pick things up again in five years when Izzy will be done with college, but Solene tells him to go for happiness if he ever gets a shot. They reaffirm their love for one another and share one last kiss before he leaves his watch with her.

Five years later, Solene contacts Izzy via webcam while she is finishing up with school. Solene later watches an episode of “The Graham Norton Show” and sees Hayes there, talking about wanting to see somebody back in California. When Solene is at work, she is surprised and ecstatic to find Hayes showing up once again.

Solene Marchand is a single mom and art gallery owner. After being stuck taking her daughter Izzy and her friends to Coachella for a meet-and-greet with a popular boy band, August Moon, Solene ends up meeting one of the band's members, Hayes Campbell. They are attracted to one another, but she is uncomfortable due to their 16 year age gap. When Solene watches the concert with Izzy, Hayes dedicates one of his songs to her.

Hayes visits Solene at her art gallery, and from there, they begin a romantic affair. While Izzy is away at summer camp, Solene joins Hayes on tour in Europe and is seen out in public with him by paparazzi. Solene breaks up with Hayes after thinking that she was just part of an older woman fetish that Hayes might have, but news and pictures of them together quickly hits the internet, and Izzy finds out. While she is upset with Solene for not telling her the truth, Izzy forgives her and encourages her to be happy.

Solene and Hayes resume their relationship, but things quickly go sour because Izzy is being harassed by her classmates, and Solene is receiving hateful comments over the relationship and her status as a mother. For Izzy's sake, Solene breaks things off with Hayes for good, but he offers to pick things up again in five years when Izzy is out of school.

Five years later, Hayes visits Solene at her gallery once again, and she appears happy to see him.