The romantic comedy genre promises us two things by its very nature: romance and comedy. While the comedy seems to take precedence over the romance in “Anyone but You,” I would venture to say that the director, Will Gluck did a fine job balancing these synergistic elements of the film to create what is, at the end of the day, a rather enjoyable movie-going experience.
Starring Sydney Sweeney of “Euphoria” fame as well as established romantic comedy lead Glen Powell, “Anyone but You” offers up a fun, even moderately fresh take on the supposedly evergreen enemies to lovers trope.
It’s been some time since a big budget romantic comedy graced the screens of our nation’s movie theaters, so the arrival of “Anyone but You” was a highly anticipated event for romance fans around the globe. Between the insanely attractive cast and the scenic vistas of beachy Australia, this movie is nothing if not a feast for the eyes. While aesthetics were clearly a high property in the making of “Anyone but You,” it was far from the only cinematic consideration. The script does manage to generate some creative and previously unseen scenarios that move the story along, and, as formulaic as it may seem to some, no one ever said it was trying to be original. On the contrary, it is a blatant and unapologetic remake of a familiar story by its own admission.
Hoping to fall in the same vein as other beloved romantic comedy classics that were also modern retellings of Shakespearean plays such as “She’s the Man” and “10 Things I Hate About You,” this film opted to retell the story of “Much Ado About Nothing.” Calling on the bard for narrative inspiration is far from uncommon in the screenwriting industry, and it seems to me that people are hungry for original spins on the tales we already know and love. Essentially, this movie was set up to be a fun romp in hay, and, from a box office perspective at least, it appears to be a modest success.
The story follows Bea, a young legal student played by Sweeney, who has a chance encounter with Powell’s character, Ben, a charming man who works in finance. Despite a meet cute for the ages and a chemistry-filled first day together, the characters find themselves at odds when a misunderstanding unravels their seemingly solid connection. The bulk of the film takes place at the destination wedding of Bea’s sister who just so happens to be marrying a close friend of Ben’s. Fed up and forced together, the couple encounter a slurry of playful manipulations from other members of the wedding party, jealousy-inducing games, and, of course, an Australian man with rock hard abs who probably couldn’t find a shirt to put on with a gun to his head.
Naturally, chaos ensues. Romance rages, and the movie proves to be every bit the fun Shakespearean farce it set out to be. Is this movie a classic? By no means whatsoever. That said, it does prove to be an entertaining few hours at the cinema. You may not be glued to the screen, but you may at least be velcroed there.
Though there is some somewhat questionable acting on the part of the supporting cast, the lead actors carry the movie decently enough. It may however be worth noting that Sweeney’s range in this particular project does seem limited to pouting and tiredly delivering soft punchlines. Powell is incrementally better, but neither delivers a show-stopping performance. Of course, that isn’t necessarily what the rom com calls for. Nobody said this movie had everything. It doesn’t. It has a couple things, but it does those couple things pretty well in my humble but accurate opinion.
Gabi Merchen is a fourth-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
