Anyone But You

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, Hadley Robinson, Gata, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel Griffiths, Charlee Fraser, Joe Davidson
Directed by: Will Gluck
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two people (Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell) make a powerful connection, but a misunderstanding causes them to loathe each other. They are reluctantly forced to spend time together when her sister and his close friend get married in Australia.

Review:

Tim: Wow, it feels like it's been an exceedingly long time since we got a good romantic comedy. Will Gluck's Anyone But You has quite a few flaws, but it's still an entertaining, funny, engaging film. While I do wish parts were better, overall, I just felt happy that we had a buzzy, worthwhile rom com to discuss. I enjoyed this movie.

The film's success comes from its two leads. Sydney Sweeney has been all over social media and it seems like her career is blowing up right now. This was probably a good move for her because she gets a ton of screen time and this is the kind of thing her fans will undoubtedly appreciate. This is the first time I've seen anything she's done and I have to be honest- she is currently not a good actress. She's young and I allow that she may figure it out. But wow. Her performance was so uneven. There's times when her comedic timing felt impressive and there were times when her line delivery was awful. The insane thing about this is that she turns in a "not good" performance, but she has so much chemistry with Glen Powell that she comes across fine. It's odd- I know she wasn't good in this film, but I still enjoyed what she did and I'd be interested in seeing her in more things. I'm not entirely sure how to explain that. It has to be the chemistry with Powell. Now, Powell is more experienced as an actor and he gives a very strong performance. He really embraces the comedy of this film and his commitment to the movie is impressive. His comedic timing works and he's not afraid to laugh at himself. I really did enjoy Powell and Sweeney together. They seemed like a natural fit, had a magnetic connection and were just so fun to watch interact together. That's the chief reason this movie works so well.

The supporting cast was solid. Alexandra Shipp is always going to turn in decently effective performances and she does that here. Dermot Mulroney is such an experienced actor and I loved his scene-stealing moments (while never completely pulling the spotlight away from the stars). He quietly draws attention to his performance and he makes the movie better. Gata was fine, if unremarkable. I didn't quite love Hadley Robinson, but she was decent. Charlee Fraser had some nice moments throughout. As a whole, the cast is decent with two future movie star leads.

The film itself is actually really funny. The story is beyond absurd and you really need to suspend a lot of disbelief to go along with the action. However, if you can do that, you're rewarded with so many truly funny moments. The hiking scene is an absolute standout with the spider scene as perhaps the film's funnest gag. The "they went full Titanic" line made me laugh out loud during another especially humorous sequence. The banter between the leads was mostly entertaining and the absurd story gives our characters plenty of opportunity for funny situations to emerge. The movie as a whole is more uneven than I'd like, but I can't remember the last time I laughed this much during a rom com. The movie moves at a quick pace- there's not much fat here, in this tightly wound 1 hour, 43 minute film. Gluck builds solid momentum and keeps the jokes and the humorous situations flying. The pacing here is among the best I've seen in a romantic comedy in a long time. There's just so little downtime, so few unnecessary moments throughout the film. All the jokes don't connect, but when they misfire, it's quickly off to the next one. It also helps that Boston is featured early in the film before the action switches to Australia- the setting certainly helps the film and we get some beautiful shot of the Land Down Under.

Will Gluck is really an interesting director. Friends with Benefits and Easy A were both incredibly entertaining movies that surpassed expectations. I didn't care much for Peter Rabbit, so I was glad to see Gluck back into this mode. He has a thing with directing romantic comedies that feel like they elevate the genre some. Anyone But You isn't as good as those earlier films, but it was absolutely an entertaining, fun time. It had an impressive box office run in this slightly post-covid world, and I believe was definitely a boost to both Powell and Sweeney's careers. I think Powell will be a mega star before long and Sweeney definitely has magnetic energy about her- she just needs to work on her acting ability. Anyone But You shows the power two potential movie stars can have when they're well cast. This movie has some big flaws and ridiculousness, but it was a good one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Everybody Wants Some!!, Easy A, Friends with Benefits