Anyone But You

[RossN]

I was a teen in the late 90s and very early 2000s and even though the main characters of Anyone But You are in their mid-20s (Sydney Sweeney) or early to mid 30s (Glen Powell) this film really reminds me of the high school romcoms I so nostalgically love that era. Like Clueless (based on Emma), She's All That (based on Pygmalion), Cruel Intentions (based on Les Liaisons dangereuses) and especially 10 Things I Hate About You (based on The Taming of the Shrew). Anyone But You is based on classic literature and theatre, in this case Much Ado About Nothing.

Anyone But You features the preposterously attractive Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as our latter day Beatrice and Benedick, reimagined as Bea and Ben two modern day Americans who after an initially fantastic first date turns sour find themselves guests at the same wedding in Australia where Beatrice's sister Halle is marrying Ben's friend Claudia. The duo can barely stand to stay in the same room with each other and their friends and family - to stop Bea and Ben wrecking the way - engage in a scheme to get the two together. Bea and Ben quickly cotton onto the scheme and pretend to start dating again so that she can get her parents off her back about her old boyfriend and he can make his ex-girlfriend jealous and if you have seen Much Ado About Nothing, or really any romcom over the past four centuries you can already tell where this is going.

Slight as the story is Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as the two leads are genuinely charming and have good chemistry together and it is hard not to root for them especially since their characters stay the right side of likable. They are also very pretty and the film takes advantage of the fact they are in a tropical resort to have various shirtless scenes with Powell (who plays Ben as a bit on the vain side - "my God you're hot girl fit!" as Bea groans when his athleticism fails to live up to his abs) while literally every outfit Sweeney wears has a neckline that displays the fact that she'd be a shoe-in for a live action Power Girl (I would gladly sacrifice any number of goats on pagan alters to unspeakable divinities if I woke up in the morning looking like her...)

I also want to commend the restraint of a film set in Australia for three quarters of it's run time in avoiding any scenes with kangaroos, crocodiles or snakes (okay yes there is a koala scene but it's sort of charming too.)

If you are in the market for a fun, uncomplicated, traditional (16th century!) romcom with a talented cast of unfairly beautiful people in a gorgeous setting you could do far worse.

 

[Finn]

I feel like I willed this film into being, from my years of quite wanting to see Glen Powell's arse

 

[Ellie]

This was BAD. Like seriously dreadful. I even spend some Sunday afternoons trying to finding the shittiest straight to streaming Rom Com available and I’ve not seen anything this bad for a long time.

 

[Superstylin']

Well I enjoyed this even if it did feel a bit cliche, having seen (and hated) Poor Things & Godzilla Minus One this past week it was a much needed fluff film for me: it’s quite the sleeper hit here in the states and looks like it could increase its weekend box office for a third weekend in a row which is pretty unheard of these days)

Plus it’s giving Natasha Bedingfield a mini resurgence like Saltburn is doing for Sophie!

Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’ Up 156% After ‘Anyone But You’ Usage

In this week’s Trending Up, the ’00s smash gets a big rom-com bump, while newer songs benefit from Apple commercial synchs and TikTok dances.

www.billboard.com

 

[Ellie]

I find it hard to believe how this had the same director as Easy A - does he have a Natasha Bedingfield obsession or something?

How a film even made supporting performances from Bryan Brown, Rachel Griffiths and Dermot Mulroney also look amateur is beyond me! Usually the more experienced elder cast would hold up a film like this.

The costume designer also needs to be sacked and never work again. The lead actress (forget her name but she was bad) seemed to be hired due to her boobs, but she was wearing a bra or bikini in each scene that was a completely different size to any previous outfit. She should have easily been wearing at least a 28GG but seemed to have been fitted into something utterly ridiculous like a 36C. It was actually distracting having her tits all over the place in ill-fitting outfits.

 

[Jacques]

I'm pleased this has become a hit and that the only bad word of mouth seems to be from Ellie, as this was my favourite of the three Boxing Day cinema releases that I've been to see. It was just silly fun and I love Sydney Sweeney in anything. My one complaint is that Darren Barnet was wasted, but they made up for it with how much we got to see of Glen Powell.

Also this trend of movies giving early/mid 00's pop songs another life needs to continue.

 

[Kevin]

I thought this was great and the first rom com in such a long time that I really loved. Great to see it having some decent legs as well. Saw it twice and the second time it was sold out.

 

[Ellie]

What the hell was funny about it?

Strangely the only people I’ve seen who liked it are men, and all the women I know who saw it thought it was utter shite.

 

[Kevin]

Well, it had my mother and sister already crying with laughter within 20 minutes. Which is probably why I liked it more the second time.

 

[Ellie]

Crying with laughter at WHAT? I can’t think of any funny parts.

 

[Kevin]

I’m not sure what’s the point since you obviously hated it but the father and son “whispering” that she actually really liked him and the spider scene to name two.

 

[Ellie]

I’m not sure what’s the point since you obviously hated it but the father and son “whispering” that she actually really liked him and the spider scene to name two.

Yeah, even Movie 43 was funnier than that.

 

[Helen_S]

Miserable

 

[Superstylin']

Imagine hating a movie so much that you have to hammer home the point every time someone posts something positive about it.

Sorry you wasted your time but the film is an absolute word of mouth hit (must be all the gays who never turned up for Bros) since your straw poll indicates women hate it

‘Allowed to be sexy’: how did Anyone But You become a surprise box office hit? | Movies | The Guardian

Sydney Sweeney' and Glen Powell’s hot, angry chemistry proved that the good old-fashioned Hollywood romcom still has staying power

amp.theguardian.com

 

[Ellie]

Well anyway, this one summed up my feelings

A ½ review of Anyone But You (2023)

This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.

boxd.it

Now go and see Hit Man when it comes out for Glenn Powell actually being good and funny.

 

[lolly]

@Moderator, can we have a poll, please?

 

[Kevin]

Well anyway, this one summed up my feelings

A ½ review of Anyone But You (2023)

This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.

boxd.it

Now go and see Hit Man when it comes out for Glenn Powell actually being good and funny.

To react to the first two points in that review. It felt to me that Ben was a very close friend of the bride’s brother and was therefore a family friend. Never did I think it was weird that he was also invited.

And I thought it was obvious that the bill was not paid by Bea’s side of the family but her sister’s bride. Weren’t they living in Australia?

 

[RossN]

To react to the first two points in that review. It felt to me that Ben was a very close friend of the bride’s brother and was therefore a family friend. Never did I think it was weird that he was also invited.

And I thought it was obvious that the bill was not paid by Bea’s side of the family but her sister’s bride. Weren’t they living in Australia?

I understand enjoying a film is always going to be subjective but that reviewer seems like they simply weren't paying attention.

Ben is close long time friends with both Pete and Claudia so it seems reasonable enough he'd fly to Australia. The Australia mansion belongs to Claudia's stepfather as the film makes clear several times. The brides are indeed focused on the wedding but wanting one of your best friends and your sister to stop fighting during the lead up to a wedding again seems pretty reasonable.