I seem to blame a lot on my childhood and my upbringing, but I think there’s a reason for it. Growing up, I hardly ever went to the theater with my family since my parents never saw the merit in going out of our way to go to see a movie. This is not to say my parents didn’t enjoy watching movies, they just didn’t see the need to extend themselves to see random celebrities on a bigger screen. Whenever we did go, however, it was always an occasion. To this day, I remember the specific movies we saw in theaters and who else we saw them with. Now, in college, I am friends with people who love movies and frequent the theaters. Even though I have no inclination to see a movie in theaters, being comfortable enough for its inevitable release on a streaming app, I am also always down for an adventure. This is exactly how I ended up watching Anyone But You: Valentine’s Encore on Valentine’s Day at 10:15 pm.
Watching romantic comedies, rom-coms for short, from the early 2000s has revealed that there is a little bit of a formula to ensure a successful rom-com. However, very few recent rom-coms have been able to live up to the precedent. While people can argue that Glen Powell cracked the code in Set It Up, I didn’t feel any particular attachment to that movie. And in a different vein, the most I knew about Sydney Sweeney was her role in Euphoria. And overall, the most I knew about the movie was the scandal around Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney’s overly flirtatious behavior. With all of this being said, I had zero expectations walking into the movie as it was such a low-stakes environment. If the movie was bad, at least I could spend a few hours laughing, and if the movie was good, at least I found another storyline to swoon over.
Overall, I would say the writers of Anyone But You were able to crack the early 2000s rom-com but in a way that appealed to the Gen Z audience. Even though the characters fit the bill of every rom-com character ever, with the man having a depressing past that has now led him to be a playboy with commitment issues while the woman lived an absolutely perfect life until she decides she’s had enough, it was filled with tropes, but not in an obnoxious way. Even though there were exact moments where I made predictions, that obviously came true later, it wasn’t annoying. The various tropes allowed for the story to move smoothly with comedic intervals to help elevate the light mood. Even in predictable moments, I still reacted in shock, purely because of how well it was done.
Past the general comments on the plot, there were certain elements that I immediately appreciated. The utilized scenery of Sydney was incredibly beautiful and made me want to immediately take a trip to visit our neighbor down south. Similarly, the insertion of quotes from Much Ado About Nothing, the Shakespearean play the movie is inspired by, into the background elevated the scenes.
Even though I still don’t see the hype in Glen Powell, his acting prowess was clearly shown off as he effortlessly portrayed his character, Ben. Unfortunately, the same could not have been Sydney Sweeney. Even though she looked effortlessly beautiful, someone please tell me her bang routine, the chemistry felt a little stilted between the two characters due to Sweeney’s almost robotic portrayal of her character, Bea. Even though their chemistry wasn’t always there, my heartstrings snagged at their looks of affection during their inevitable hook-up.
Speaking of casting, the movie gets bonus points for having Dermot Mulroney as Sweeney’s father, whom I affectionately know from New Girl and Shameless. In fact, all of the family members were incredibly cast and greatly aided in the mood of the film.
While I wouldn’t say that the movie will be winning any Oscars any time soon, it was a cute movie that is worth a casual watch.