Even if Anyone But You isn’t the type of film that would ordinarily interest you, it’s difficult to not know about Will Gluck‘s frisky romcom due to the “Are they/aren’t they” chemistry of stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, two impossibly gorgeous actors who leaned into their own sex appeal during the filming in Sydney (Australia).
Whether or not you believe the on-screen sizzle they generate was recreated off-screen is up to you (and there’s a whole internet rabbit hole to fall down if you’re interested in the details), but regardless of such, there’s no denying how much the two enjoy playing off each other here; and the film, understandably, takes full advantage.
Whilst it’s easy to dismiss the film for its removed-from-reality mentality – we are talking about the type of wealthy whites who can easily fly from Boston to Sydney for a weekend wedding without giving it a second thought – it’s precisely that genre exaggeration that makes Anyone But You so enjoyable. It’s a throwback to romcoms of the 90s and 2000s where situational comedy and inexplicable grand gestures won over common sense, and Gluck (who forever has any type of pass as director for gifting us the teen comedy classic that is Easy A), who co-wrote the Shakespeare-inspired script with Ilana Wolpert (it’s based off “Much Ado About Nothing”), makes no apologies in surrendering to the story beats we expect, but adds in enough profanity and raunch to keep it feeling risky enough for potentially jaded viewers.
Opening with a meet-cute that solidifies within seconds just how much chemistry Sweeney and Powell have, Anyone But You quickly establishes its hook as frazzled law student Bea (Sweeney) meets finance-type Ben (Powell) at a café amidst her determination to use the bathroom without being a customer. She throws legal jargon about to the disinterested barista in her attempts to bypass the café’s “rules”, but, in classic genre thinking, the overhearing Ben pretends Bea is his wife and buys her a beverage in order for the desperate lass to use the facilities. It’s a sweet, funny sequence that immediately puts us in their corner as a couple.
Except, they don’t become a couple. Despite spending a magical evening together, a misunderstanding the following morning puts them at snarky odds, and because we are operating in the realms of the genre, they are unwillingly thrust back together months later when Bea’s sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), and Ben’s bestie, Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), get engaged and plan a Pinterest-porn wedding at a lush Sydney estate. Cue Opera House aerial shots.
Because Bea and Ben are acting like obnoxious brats about having to be in the same vicinity as one another (it’s amazing how so much could be solved by having just one conversation, but then, you know, no movie would ensue), Halle, Claudia, Claudia’s brother (a standout GaTa), and the respective parents – Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths as Halle and Bea’s, and Bryan Brown and Michelle Hurd as Claudia’s – come to the natural assumption that their hate is merely masking their heat, and so a farcical game ensues where they try to trick the two into thinking the other still harbours feelings. This doesn’t work – though it does make way for some hilarious dialogue for Brown – but Bea and Ben do appear momentarily smart enough to know this weekend isn’t about them, and if they just pretend to be into each other it’ll keep everyone off their back. And if this happens to help Ben woo his ex-girlfriend (Charlee Fraser) away from her himbo beau (an enthusiastic Joe Davidson), or “Bitch Hemsworth”, as he’s dubbed, then that’s just a bonus.
Though we all are inevitably waiting for the moment the two get out of their own head, the movie makes sure to have enough fun along the way, most of which plays into Sweeney and Powell’s surprising strengths as comedians but, perhaps more successfully, their enviable aesthetics, with the wardrobe department never at a loss as to how to dress (or undress) the duo. And as much as you could roll your eyes at the story’s predictability or seeming reliance on its stars’ physiques, Gluck is never under the assumption he’s reinventing the wheel, so Anyone But You feels all the more successful because it’s driving confident on said wheel, getting everyone to its destination on time, and looking good in the process.
A welcome reminder of the fun and frivolity of the romantic comedy, Anyone But You manages to execute both the romance and the comedy (funny that) with a casual ease. Yes, it entirely banks on Sweeney and Powell’s appeal, but why shouldn’t it? It’s rare that stars possess such sexuality and charm in equal measure. They can claim to want to be with “anyone but you” all they want in the film, but we couldn’t see this with anyone but Sweeney and Powell.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Anyone But You is screening in Australian theatres from Boxing Day, December 26th, 2023.
