Anyone But You is the current popular rom-com. It had the potential to be something unique, but at the same time, it is nice for a film not to take itself so seriously.
Anyone But You (2023) might be everything you’ve seen before, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Having films like this that aren’t overly serious is a nice thing. With films like Oppenheimer and The Iron Claw being extremely popular in the last few months, it’s nice to have a change of pace. Just like we need serious films and political films, we also need films like Anyone But You (2023) to uplift us and keep us going for an hour and a half.
We need these kinds of movies where you can stay entertained but won’t get depressed by the end of the movie. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how insane the world is right now and all the terrible things happening. Sometimes it seems that terrible things translate over to the screen. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as people need to be educated on certain aspects of the world. But we always need a break from those things, and that’s what anyone but you aims to do. It’s nice to go to the theater and watch a film that isn’t an end-of-the-world scenario.
Anyone But You (2023) stars Sydney Sweeney in the main role of Bea. And Glenn Powell, who plays Ben. Both share relatively the same amount of screen time. The film title is pretty close to the plot. Both Ben and Bea had a one-night stand and are thrown into each other’s lives again as a mutual friend/family wedding trip, with them staying at the same resort and participating in the same wedding activities. Throughout their stay, they decide that they both have their reasons to act like they’re together to further their respective agendas against their peers. And from there, you can figure out the rest, I’m sure.
Anyone But You (2023) spends most of its time in Australia, which is where the wedding is held and where the resort is where they stay at. But the film begins by showing their one-night stand and what led to it. Without giving away the whole intro, they get each other’s numbers at the coffee shop. Then, after a pretty good first-night stand, Bea overhears Ben’s conversation with his roommate, talking badly about the previous night he had with her. She walks away, and they never talk to each other again until they meet up later down the line in Anyone But You (2023).
Both are similar in many ways, as both have just recently gotten out of a relationship. Both are also getting older in their early adulthood and are seeing their friends and family around them get married. This gets to them as they feel lonely and are looking to find another partner, even if they aren’t thinking about it openly or showing it to the world. They are both pretty open about what they want in a relationship.
Anyone But You (2023) has the standard rom-com tropes. At first, they hated each other for their respective reasons as to why the one-night stand transpired. But, of course, over time, through their pretending to be together, they do fall for each other. The film becomes cliche, of course, but not to the point where I wanted to turn it off. It was always funny enough, and it was acted well enough to keep me watching.
Luckily, the film didn’t cross the two-hour mark; it stood at 1 hour and 43 minutes, which is a relief because almost every film is 2 1/2 hours nowadays, if not more.
Sydney Sweeney does a good job flexing her comedy muscles in Anyone But You (2023). She has done plenty of serious roles over the past few years, such as Euphoria, which is what she’s mostly known for. Sydney Sweeney has also become a household name due to her many sponsorships with various products. She is also the unspoken heartthrob for many people currently. She is also growing in popularity as she is going to be in the new Madame Webb film, the Spider-Man spin-off film coming next month. Glenn Powell was in the new Top Gun film so he is also growing in his popularity.
In Anyone But You (2023) Sydney Sweeney, can be funny, dramatic, or a little bit of both in many scenes. People can applaud her dramatic performances in Euphoria, and I believe people now can applaud her comedic performance in a film where she didn’t need to overperform. Glenn Powell does a good job as well, playing a self-proclaimed F*** boy. But he also has a heart of gold. As far as rom-com performances, this is definitely what you want; it’s nothing insane, but it’s good enough.
Anyone But You (2023) might be a good couples’ movie, as it does a good job of not becoming a chick flick or a guy comedy movie. It seems to go pretty well with both, so a couple could enjoy it. It came out to a decent weekend, but it seems to be having a better run later and it’s release as it’s in the top five right now at the box office.
It looks like it might make $100 million at the box office, which is very good for a romantic comedy at this time of year. A lot of this is due to it’s viral marketing. The film also had a lot of tablets talking about the stars due to their “interesting” close friendship, but a lot of this press has died down over time.
This time of year is always crazy for all the biopics and Oscar-bait-type films. I’m sure they hope this could at least get something nominated as far as the comedy stuff goes, but this was made as a pallet-cleanser film. But I feel like you know what you’re getting into when you see it in the film and on the screen. You also don’t have to sit through a massive film that gives you a headache. You also can enjoy this film at home once it is out on streaming as it is not a massive spectacle.
The film could’ve been slightly better if they didn’t use clichés and tried more to do something different with this kind of rom-com. The kind of rom-com I’m talking about is the one where you have two people pretend to like each other and then turn out to like each other. Whether that is having some kind of flare to the film that makes it stand out or some kind of special performance by one of the actors that stands out, the material for Anyone But You (2023) is not jaw-dropping. Even though it could have been.
But I kind of can’t fault that because it’s nice to have a film that does what it needs to do, gives you what you want, and gives you an easy viewing experience. These kinds of films are just as important as any other film, as we need balance in the film market for all kinds of people. The film might make for a good “there’s nothing else to watch” streaming night later this year. I am sure it will be on Netflix or Apple TV or some streaming sites like that.
It will be interesting to see what streaming service Anyone But You (2023) lands on, as I’m sure whichever one it gets on will gain a decent amount of views due to its star power. Especially as Sydney Sweeney’s star power rises with Madame Webb coming out soon and another season of Euphoria coming out.
As far as rom-coms go, Anyone But You (2023) is a fun ride, but nothing insane.
