TMS Movie Review: Anyone But You
(Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures)
On the rare chance we get a new romantic comedy these days, the filmmakers might try to put a new spin on an old tale or add something different to the familiar tropes. Will Gluck’s Anyone But You, now in theaters, gives us ALL the tropes on top of a very popular plot instead. This isn’t to say it’s bad, just completely safe. As a longtime fan of romcoms, I’d rather watch one that plays it safe than one that’s complete trash like Michael Jacobs’ Maybe I Do and Jim Strouse’s Love Again from early this year. But at the same time, you have to wonder if giving fans everything they expect actually works.
In modern day NYC, a series of random circumstances lead Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) to spend a whole afternoon and night together after attraction at first sight. But when Bea gets cold feet and ‘ghosts’ Ben the next day, things get awkward when they discover Bea’s sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) is about to get married to Claudia (Alexandra Shipp)—the sister of Ben’s roommate, Pete (GaTa). And of course, Bea and Ben are now forced to be around each other at the destination wedding in Sydney, Australia.
(Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures)
Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths play Bea and Halle’s parents, while Michelle Hurd and Bryan Brown play Pete and Claudia’s parents. Depending on your preferences, you might instantly notice the plot of Anyone But You is borrowed from Will Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1598). Or you might notice all the cliché gags to progress said plot—like clumsy accidents, forced interaction, extreme misunderstandings, fake relationships and schemes—come from Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934), the most influential romantic comedy of all time. You may be surprised Anyone But You opted for an R rating—until you discover the movie actually has quite a bit of crude humor, including nudity, similar to a Judd Apatow romcom of the 2000s. Gluck is the director of Easy A (2010) and Friends with Benefits (2011), so a lot of this should not be a surprise to avid movie viewers. He’s a studio guy more than an auteur and seems to be fine with making schlocky comedies. The conflict in Anyone But You is paper thin and the resolutions are incredibly convenient. But hey, sometimes you just feel like watching two good looking stars kiss and make up.