Anyone But You (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s fiery attraction turns ice cold–until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

My Take – Most romantic comedies follow a general formula. Often set on gorgeous locations, the focus is primarily set on the banter and the hi-jinks between the cast. However, as it has been the case of the genre for many years, the success of the said feature lives and dies by its romantic leads.

Luckily for director Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits), who co-wrote the feature with Ilana Wolpert, his latest contains some undeniable chemistry between Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) and Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria).

Based on Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, with even a few quotations in the background and title cards, this one is the newest effort to give an iconic work, a current and modern spin. Neither brilliant nor dreadful, it results in an easily watchable rom-com that starts on shaky legs but eventually finds the footing to become entertaining.

Sure, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way and doesn’t exactly break new cinematic ground, yet it contains an infectious energy that keeps us hooked on for 103 minutes. And much of that credit goes to its lead pair, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, two rising performers who are undoubtedly among the most good-looking people on the planet, both dripping with confidence and charisma, both destined to become big stars, if they aren’t already.

The film hungrily takes advantage of these facts and allows the two to play well and against each other. An element which raises the level of the whole film despite mostly sticking to the standard side of the genre.

The story follows Bea (Sydney Sweeney), a Boston University law student and Ben (Glen Powell), a Goldman Sachs employee, who meet at a coffee shop, form an instant connection and spend the day together, ultimately falling asleep on Ben’s couch. However, when the next day Bea leaves without waking him in the morning, only to return to the apartment to overhear Ben insulting her while talking to his friend Pete (GaTa), the two begin to hate each other.

But six months later, Bea’s sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), gets engaged to Pete’s sister and Ben’s childhood friend, Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), forcing the two to spend time together at their wedding in Sydney. Still holding grudges against one another along with some leftover sexual tension, the two constantly find themselves in a series of inciting incidents.

At the same time, Ben has his eyes on his ex-girlfriend Margaret (Charlee Fraser) whilst Bea’s parents are hell bent on getting her back to her ex-fiancée Jonathan (Darren Barnet), who they’ve invited without her permission. In an effort to get Margaret jealous and her parents off her back, the Ben and Bea decide to pretend to be infatuated with one another until the wedding is over.

Indeed, the setup is riddled with genre clichés, some that work, and some that really don’t. The severity of Bea and Ben’s conflict doesn’t at all match the intensity with which they hate each other, and their reasoning for pretending to date is half-baked at best. But the film hungrily takes advantage of its merits as director Will Gluck constantly traverses Sweeney and Powell’s toned, tanned bodies with a ludicrously lusty gaze, akin almost to a horny ’80s teen comedy.

While the leads lack in convincing comedic back-and-forth the film valiantly attempts to give both leads some klutzy physical comedy to temper their unrealistic standards of beauty: Sweeney engages in some Mr Bean-style crotch-drying; Powell swims like a nervous six-year-old.

To help sell their ploy, when Bea and Ben are on a boat for the wedding rehearsal dinner, they decide to go to the bow and recreate the iconic pose from Titanic. While it garners plenty of positive feedback and helps sell their deception to the rest of the wedding party, the minute people stop paying attention to them Ben lets go of Bea leading her to fall into the Sydney Harbor.

Ben jumps in after her and the rescue mission that ensues leaves the audience in stitches and guarantees they will never be able to listen to Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” the same way again. And like I mentioned above, the film owes large part of its success to its leads.

Glen Powell’s charisma shines through the best, further showcasing his potential as a leading man, while Sydney Sweeney is a strong-willed bombshell afraid to grapple with her lack of direction. GaTa steals scenes with his comedic timing, while Joe Davidson comes a close second.

Dermot Mulroney, Alexandra Shipp, Hadley Robinson, Charlee Fraser, Darren Barnet, Rachel Griffiths, Michele Hurd and Bryan Brown provide good support. On the whole, ‘Anyone But You’ is a likable obvious rom com bolstered by the obvious chemistry and charm of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell.