‘The Thought of You’ Is A Rom-Com You May Have Written

Way back to 1953’s Roman Vacation, when Audrey Hepburn performed a princess who falls for a reporter, Hollywood has drawn on the method of an asymmetrical romantic union between a star and a daily particular person. It’s an interesting concept: Celebrities are supposed to be pined after, and the prospect of being chosen by them should be uniquely validating. That’s why a lot of the fan fiction on websites reminiscent of Archive of Our Personal, the place customers write their very own prolonged tales riffing on popular culture, falls squarely into the area of “actual particular person” fan fiction, or “RPF.” Such digital areas could also be comparatively new, however fantasizing a few movie star meet-cute isn’t; as my colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany famous, followers have been writing RPF since no less than the daybreak of Beatlemania.

The Thought of You, a brand new romantic comedy starring Anne Hathaway, is the most recent entrant on this style. Its supply materials, a 2017 novel by Robinne Lee, was impressed partly by the previous One Path singer-songwriter Harry Kinds, a pop star with an particularly prolific and passionate following. Fortunately, the movie is greater than a fan-fiction fever dream, taking normal rom-com want achievement and dialing it as much as unexpectedly charming impact. The gender-flipped Notting Hill kicks into gear when the boy-band frontman Hayes Campbell (performed by Nicholas Galitzine) tells an amusingly clear fib: “I’ve been dying to go to Glendale for the longest time, you haven’t any concept,” he says to Solène (Hathaway), the Subaru-driving divorcée he meets in an opportunity mix-up at Coachella. His obvious have to be whisked away to the unglamorous Los Angeles suburb is, in fact, actually about spending extra time together with her.

After stunning Solène on the gallery she owns—and buying each piece in her catalog—Hayes cheekily asks her to assist him supply much more artwork, and jumps on the probability to accompany her to a distant warehouse. The younger musician’s eagerness to courageous L.A. visitors alongside Solène is arguably simply as far-fetched because the circumstances of their assembly. However The Thought of You isn’t concerned about rationalizing the mega-celebrity’s affections, as an alternative letting audiences indulge in essentially the most charming elements of the fantasy. We watch Hayes hear in awe as Solène speaks with enthusiasm and authority about artwork. Away from the pandemonium of Coachella, the singer relaxes into the position of observer reasonably than performer. Their banter is straightforward, enjoyable; Hathaway’s expertise for bodily comedy shines by, and units up later moments of vulnerability with stunning depth.

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In Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt’s adaptation of the novel, which Showalter additionally directs, Hayes is 4 years older, and Solène’s daughter has aged out of being a superfan of his band. These modifications dampen the recklessness of Solène’s determination to embark on their romance, making it far simpler to benefit from the chemistry between Hathaway, who’s 41, and Galitzine, who’s 29. Although Hayes is a extra underwritten character, each actors convey simple tenderness to their roles whereas additionally reveling within the form of charged, witty repartee that fashionable rom-coms not often provide.

The delight of watching these two lead actors primarily simply stand round and speak helps set The Thought of You aside from different latest romantic comedies, together with Purple, White & Royal Blue (which Galitzine additionally starred in) and the 2022 J. Lo automobile, Marry Me, which felt like a thinly veiled try at dressing up the star’s real-life romantic woes. In The Thought of You, nevertheless, it’s satisfying to see Solène calm down into the expertise of being desired by a youthful man, as a result of the movie takes time to indicate her grappling with mundane, grown-up issues—such because the ex-husband who not solely cheated on her with a youthful girl but additionally routinely shirks his parenting duties. (The explanation Solène meets Hayes is that her ex bailed on their daughter on the final minute, leaving Solène to chaperone a bunch of teenagers to a music pageant.)

At their greatest, basic tropes reminiscent of RPF have served as jumping-off factors for compelling unique tales, or as entry factors for fan-fiction writers trying to construct group on-line. In recent times, publishing-oriented influencers on TikTok have launched a brand new technology of readers to phrases reminiscent of just one mattress or grumpy/sunshine, which now belong to a broader cultural vocabulary popularized by social media. However this legibility can have uncanny penalties for artwork exterior the fan-fiction realm: A fast scan of widespread TikTok tags and Google Tendencies can encourage writers, publishers, and Hollywood gatekeepers to churn out reductive works that really feel algorithmically generated. The Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell–led box-office phenom, Anybody however You, introduced in greater than $200 million in ticket gross sales regardless of by no means transcending the “enemies to lovers” and “faux relationship” formulation that have been clearly central to its advertising and marketing.

The Thought of You’s consideration to Solène’s anxieties about motherhood, growing older, and public scrutiny helps it really feel like extra than simply an idealized depiction of successful a star’s coronary heart. The movie remains to be decidedly earnest, although, which additionally makes it a welcome departure from They Got here Collectively, the anachronistic rom-com satire that Showalter co-wrote greater than decade in the past, and that was launched throughout a very tough period for the style. This one doesn’t attempt to promote its meet-cute as lifelike, however the story does really feel absolutely invested within the relationship at its core, not simply in serving up Millennial and Gen Z nostalgia bait by having the one-time Princess of Genovia fall for a Harry Kinds avatar. The romance just isn’t cloaked in irony; neither protagonist is simply too cool to embarass themselves within the title of affection. Different films could be adhering to the letter of rom-com regulation, however The Thought of You actually commits to the spirit.