Anyone But You (2023) Columbia/Comedy RT: 103 minutes Rated R (language throughout, sexual content, brief graphic nudity) Director: Will Gluck Screenplay: Ilana Wolpert and Will Gluck Music: Este Haim and Christopher Stracey Cinematography: Danny Ruhlmann Release date: December 22, 2023 (US) Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel Griffiths, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown, Charlee Fraser, Joe Davidson.
Rating: ***
There was a time when you could check the listings at your local multiplex and there would always be at least one rom-com among the offerings. Nowadays, with the rise of Netflix and other streaming services, they’re far and few in between. Nobody wants to pay $20 a pop to see a light, frivolous movie that doesn’t demand to be seen on a big screen. Can’t say I disagree; most rom-coms are small screen affairs. Still, it’s nice to have a date movie option for potential couples looking to start their own romance.
The last true rom-com I recall seeing at the cinema is the George Clooney-Julia Roberts vehicle Ticket to Paradise. That was a little more than a year ago. It’s been a long wait, but rom-com addicts can finally get another fix with Anyone But You, a cute and crude update of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It stars Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Glenn Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) as star-crossed lovers Bea and Ben. When they meet-cute in a Boston coffee shop, she’s a law student and he’s a finance guy at Goldman Sachs. They hit it off right away and have a great first day-into-night together. A couple of miscues the next morning lead to them parting ways on acrimonious terms.
Skipping ahead, Ben and Bea find themselves in each other’s proximity at the wedding of her sister Halle (Robinson, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) and his best friend’s sister Claudia (Shipp, X-Men: Apocalypse). Everybody’s been invited to stay at the home of Claudia’s parents in Sydney, Australia (yes, the dreaded destination wedding!). Naturally, Ben and Bea can’t stop bickering. Each one blames the other for how things ended between them.
In order to ensure the wedding goes smoothly, the others devise a plan to try and get B&B together again. They see right through it, of course, and come up with a scheme of their own. They agree to act as a couple so that (a) her parents (Mulroney and Griffiths) will stop nagging her to get back together with her ex (Barnet, Never Have I Ever) and (b) his ex (Aussie model Fraser) will become jealous and want to get back together. It takes some doing, but they manage to convince everyone they’re a couple. Then the inevitable happens; they really do fall in love. What is it they say about best laid plans?
One of my favorite rom-coms of the 90s (a great time for the genre) is 10 Things I Hate About You, a high school-set retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. Anyone But You is just as enjoyable. Directed by Will Gluck, who did a nice job with his Scarlet Letter update Easy A, repeats his success with this genuinely funny modern take on the Bard’s 16th century rom-com. It has some great verbal jousting and physical comedy. An early scene involving Bea and a sink-related accident in the coffee shop bathroom is a highlight that allows Sweeney to show off her comedy skills. This is the first time I can recall seeing her in anything. I like what I see here. She’s like a young Melanie Griffith, equal parts ditzy and smart. She’s smart enough to be in law school, but still can’t remember to not eat a grilled cheese sandwich straight from the pan. Sweeney pulls it off perfectly. She is a star-in-waiting.
Sweeney has terrific chemistry with co-star Powell who somehow manages to make his finance bro character likable. His character acting like a “f*** boy” is just that, an act. It’s his defense mechanism against getting hurt again; he’s vulnerable but gender dictates don’t allow for a man to actually admit it, so he goes into d-bag mode whenever feelings start to surface. Powell nails it just as deftly as his co-star. They are really good together.
The rest of the cast, especially Mulroney and Griffiths (who also appeared together in My Best Friend’s Wedding, another great 90s rom-com), provides more than ample support. Rapper-actor GaTa (FXX’s Dave) is good as Ben’s best friend Pete. He has a funny scene opposite a koala bear. Don’t worry, no harm befalls the cute animal. Bryan Brown (F/X) and Michelle Hurd (Law & Order) are good as Claudia’s parents. Shipp and Robinson have nice chemistry as the brides-to-be. The whole cast just comes together nicely right up to the very end when they all join together in an end credits performance of the pop hit “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield.
Anyone But You does indeed earn its R rating. While it’s not Farrelly Brothers-level crude, it has a few eyebrow-raising moments. The good thing about the humor here is that it’s never mean-spirited. The movie is sweet in its own way. Sure, Ben and Bea dislike each other through a lot of it and say things that aren’t nice, but none of it is below the belt (unless you count a hit in the groin). There’s no intent to humiliate or retaliate, just insults and angry words. That makes me happy. I am so tired of comedies made unfunny by mean-spiritedness.
Okay, I will concede that Anyone But You is totally predictable right down to the final grand romantic gesture that makes everything okay. I don’t care and neither should you. This movie is a delight to watch. The gorgeous Australian scenery certainly doesn’t hurt. I left the theater with a smile on my lips. That hasn’t happened in a long time. I can’t think of a better Christmas present.
