The Unhinged Reactions I Had Watching ‘The Idea of You’ as a One Direction Fan
I covered my eyes during the August Moon scenes, watching through my fingers, terrified that the One Direction imitation would give me second-hand embarrassment.
Alisha Wetherill/Prime EntertainmentMovies
There’s a moment early on in The Idea of You, where Nicholas-Galitzine-as-Hayes-Campbell is strutting around the Coachella stage, and he does something to his microphone that, to anyone who was a fan of One Direction circa 2013, feels positively unholy. Campbell holds his mic in his right hand, but his pointer finger is extended as he gives a quick little flick of the wrist; if you were not reblogging Harry Styles gifs over a decade ago, you probably wouldn’t have caught it, but if you were—like me—this gesture may have prompted you to involuntarily scream at the TV. (For a prime example, please see Styles at the 28-minute marker here.)
I continued watching August Moon’s performance through my hands, which were now covering my eyes, terrified that the movie’s pitch-perfect One Direction imitation could only result in severe second-hand embarrassment. Not for myself—there’s no shame in loving a boyband!—but for my sweet boys. I became a fan a bit late in the game; they formed in 2010, but it was 2013’s “Best Song Ever” music video that did it for me. (As you may have suspected, I then immediately became a Harry girl.)