Happy World Book Day, readers, writers, and shark fans! To celebrate, we’re sharing a fun book that will be available to watch early this May.
Our Editor-in-Chief was invited to attend an early viewing event of the film adaptation of Robinne Lee’s 2017 romantic hit, The Idea of You. The film will be available to watch on May 2nd, 2024, on Prime Video and was directed by Lovebirds and Spoiler Alert Michael Showalter.
When we think of boy band culture, we might think of tween and teenage girls, loud concerts, screaming and tears, and of course, deep and long-lasting crushes, complete with names doodled on notebooks. But at some point, the tweens and teens might still like the music, but they’ll realize that all of the attention they’ve fed into this band is one-sided at best. But what if one of these young women was the target of a boy band member’s affections, maybe even the center of his whole world? What if he was interested in a teen’s mom instead?
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee follows a 40-year-old single mother, Solène, who is eager to be a supportive mother to her daughter, Izzy, just let down by her jerk of a father on going to the rock festival of the year, Coachella. But Solène never could have expected what awaited her in the desert as she took Izzy and a group of teen friends to see their favorite boy band, August Moon, with lead singer, Hayes. Instead of finding a much-needed bathroom stall when she thought she was stepping into a restroom trailer, Solène finds herself face-to-face with a shirtless Hayes in his private trailer, conveniently positioned right next to the restroom one. After a brief exchange, obvious attraction, and a few stolen glances, the mom surely thought that must have been the end of it, until every girl’s boy band fantasy came true: when Hayes beckoned to her from the stage.
After performing, Hayes and Solène find each other again and decide to explore a relationship of sorts, despite their fifteen-year age gap, living in different cities, and Hayes being the subject of intense attention, all of his friendships and romantic partnerships constantly under scrutiny. The pair creatively find ways throughout the story of meeting up with steamy, intense exchanges, Solène all the while wondering how this could work out and what place she had dating someone so much younger than her.
The book came out in 2017 and was one of the most popular books of the year, though two points of controversy circulated around the story: the age gap between the two main characters (and how they communicated about it) and the ending of the book, which admittedly, is pointed to in the title of the book. But readers could not help but be disappointed and heartbroken, no matter how much they might have anticipated what would come next.
Read the Book That Started It All
Written by Robinne Lee
St. Martin’s Griffen (June 2017), 384 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1250125903
$12.76 Paperback
Audiobook Free Now with Audible Subscription, Narrated by Robinne Lee Herself
While there was some controversy circulating the book, many fans were adamant about a second-chances sequel and/or a movie adaptation. Now, praise be 2024, the movie picture has arrived! The Princess Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada‘s Anne Hathaway stars as Solène opposite Red, White, and Royal Blue”s Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes, and the pair’s chemistry onscreen is palpable. Their interactions make it so much fun to watch the boy band fantasy come to life, their (performed) attraction to one another is obvious, and the pair make the idea of navigating the age gap believable.
Importantly, the movie adaptation made a couple updates that only served to strengthen the story: Izzy’s age was adjusted upward somewhat to make her a more believable teen, and the ending of the film is somewhat changed from the book, though we will not spoil that for you. The film also impressively engages with social media and being in the spotlight, which is addressed well in the novel but is startingly brought to life by Hathway and Galitzine.
The Idea of You is one of those wonderful examples of not totally being able to answer the question, “Which was better? The book or the movie?” Wtih a wonderful, sweet, sexy story that’s incredibly written, the novel is an obvious contender, but with incredible, adaptive writing and performances, the movie is a wonderful example of what we hope for film adaptations to be.
This is a wonderful story, we can’t wait to see it again, and we can’t wait to hear what the rest of the Lit Shark community thinks of it!
Get Ready to Watch The Idea of You
The Idea of You (Based on the Novel by Robinne Lee)
Directed by Michael Showalter; Starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine
Release Date: May 2, 2024
Rated: R
Time: 1 Hour, 57 Minutes
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ROBINNE LEE is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, and producer. A graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School, Robinne was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. As the daughter of Jamaican parents of African, Chinese, and British descent, Robinne has long had an affinity for travel and the arts. Her past endeavors include working as an Editorial Assistant for ELLE Magazine, both in New York and Paris, writing celebrity profiles for the now defunct youth culture magazine, TELL, and running a music management company.
Robinne has numerous acting credits in both television and film, most notably opposite Will Smith in both Hitch and Seven Pounds, Don Cheadle in Hotel for Dogs, and Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30. Robinne played Christian Grey’s trusted COO, Ros Bailey, in the Fifty Shades franchise. She currently can be seen in the award-winning psychological thriller, Rattlesnakes, now streaming on Hulu.
Robinne’s debut novel, The Idea of You, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2017, and has garnered somewhat of a cult following. The book was optioned by Welle Entertainment’s Cathy Schulman (Crash) and is currently in development. Robinne, along with her husband, Eric Hayes, and Gabrielle Union are attached as producers. Robinne also served as narrator for the audiobook.
An inactive member of the New York Bar, Robinne has served as a producer on various independent films and regularly speaks on panels regarding the roles of women and actors of color in the industry. She is an avid runner, a mediocre ballet dancer, and a huge fan of cheese.
Robinne currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
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