There are a couple of myths about modern-day movies that Anyone But You disproves. One is that the big studio romantic comedy genre is dead. The other is that there are never any more new young movie stars anymore. Here we have a traditional romantic comedy in which a pair of beautiful people with beautiful chemistry go to a beautiful location, one that offers an air of sexiness to the proceedings.
Anyone But You was directed by Will Gluck, who directed the triumphant The Scarlett Letter riff Easy A, as well as movies not nearly as good as Easy A. It offers a witty script, also with a literary pedigree—based loosely on Much Ado About Nothing—like so many of those Shakespeare-inspired late-1990s romcoms did. There’s a supporting cast in which just about everyone is very funny. There’s even a post-credits cast singalong, a la There’s Something About Mary.
These types of movies still get made, but they almost always debut on Hulu or Peacock. Anyone But You has a different, somewhat inexplicable fate: It premiered in theaters the weekend before Christmas, with not nearly enough promotion, and no critics screenings anywhere but New York and Los Angeles.
It deserved much better—and I suspect this is a film that’s going to become more appreciated in the future, whether it’s a year from now or on Netflix in six months. But the film makes clear that whatever “it” is, Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney both have it. They’re the Beatrice and Benedick, given the modern names “Bea” and “Ben.” They live in Boston, where Ben’s a finance guy and Bea an indifferent law student. They have a “meet cute,” share a night together, and then fall out quickly.
The “Much Ado” antics are spread throughout a destination wedding in Australia, between Bea’s sister and Ben’s longtime (female) friend. First they hate each other, and then all the other characters scheme to get them to hook up, they fake being together, and on and on from there.
One bride’s parents are Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths; the other parents are Michelle Hurd and the great Australian actor Bryan Brown. Hadley Robinson and Alexandra Shipp are the brides, while both Ben and Bea have exes around (Darren Barnet and Charlee Fraser) to complicate things.
These people aren’t necessarily all comedy pros, but they deliver the material well, and the script’s full of great setups and payoffs, both romantic and humorous. Ben repeatedly hints at a past of debauchery while working for Goldman Sachs, while there’s a fantastic bit involving something shocking happening, and every other character getting distracted by a koala.
They do this all in gorgeous Australian locations, including a sprawling estate, a boat cruise, and landmarks like the Sydney Opera House.
Sweeney’s the Euphoria star and Instagram fixture who previously starred in a memorable but straight-to-streaming erotic thriller called The Voyeurs, and later a watchable HBO movie, Reality, in which she played Reality Winner. Powell was the highlight of 2015’s Everybody Wants Some!!, before starring in the winning Netflix romcom Set It Up and then showing up last year in Top Gun Maverick. Between the muted release and his excellent festival film, Hit Man, getting shunted to an undetermined release date in 2024, one might think Hollywood’s selling Powell short.
Anyone But You reminded me a lot of the TV series You’re the Worst, featuring a couple, over the course of many seasons, going back and forth between loving and hating each other, always with crackling chemistry, strong writing, and equally compelling supporting characters.