Anyone But You

Anyone But You

After 2010s Hollywood mid-budget films became a thing of the past, romantic comedies seemed to be following in their footsteps. Then came Claire Scanlon and Katie Silberman’s summer hit “Set It Up” (2018), starring Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch, which appeared to have the potential to revive the genre. Five years later, rom-coms remain on shaky ground but another charismatic Powell vehicle has emerged as a possible savior. Director Will Gluck and co-writer Ilana Wolpert’s “Anyone But You” has all the charm, wit and swoony romance (not to mention star chemistry) absent from recent forgettable entries in the category.

Powell stars as Ben, a finance bro with deep emotional wounds who hides behind f-boy nihilism in this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” He meets Bea (Sydney Sweeney), a law student unsure she even wants to be a lawyer, in a meet-cute for the ages. And there are immediate fireworks between them: They spend an entire day and night talking passionately about everything under the sun while eating grilled cheese sandwiches, sharing themselves with each other in ways they rarely do with anyone else.

When a euphoric-but-hesitant Bea wakes up on his couch the next morning, she panics and bolts without leaving so much as a note. Realizing her mistake almost immediately afterward, she rushes back to confess her feelings only to hear a wounded Ben confide in his best friend Pete (GaTa) that she was just another meaningless one-night stand.

Ben and Bea run into each other again months later when Pete’s sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) starts dating Bea’s sister Halle (Hadley Robinson), then cross paths once more about a year down the line when they’re both invited to said sisters’ destination wedding in Australia. The squabbling pair wreak such havoc that the wedding party conspires to get them together solely to keep the peace.

But they decide to go along with the poorly executed ruse anyway because Bea wants her parents off her back about childhood sweetheart Jonathan (Darren Barnet) and Ben wants his ex Margaret (Charlee Fraser) to see him with a pretty girl. As they say of the best-laid plans, though: Things don’t go exactly as planned, and eventually, true love wins out.

In Gluck’s “Easy A,” a millennial take on “The Scarlet Letter” which helped make Emma Stone a star, he enlivens classic story and structure with thoroughly contemporary characters and themes and he does much of the same here. Ben is a man who has built an emotional wall around his life; Bea is a good girl too scared of losing what she has to reach for more than just the comfortable life her helicopter parents (Dermot Mulroney, Rachel Griffiths) have mapped out for her. Both are constantly talking at people in their lives instead of actually communicating with them.

Even with many supporting actors, Powell and Sweeney are the stars of this show. There is something about Powell’s scruffiness that reminds me of Kurt Russell in “Overboard,” while Sweeney’s sad eyes and soft voice bring to mind Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl.” A lot of their chemistry comes from being able to see both their characters’ fire and the shared sadness they have for each other, which is done through clever use of medium shots and close-ups.

The movie does have some goofball moments but I think it shines brightest in those scenes where Ben and Bea really look at each other and eventually find the courage to be with someone who sees them for who they truly are, warts and all.

The film is also successful thanks to great acting by Powell and Sweeney, as well as Gluck’s ability to twist our expectations visually in an R-rated comedy. There is nudity, yes, but it’s mostly shots ogling Powell’s muscular physique; Gluck uses his hulking frame for physical comedy bits or quick jabs. And he positions tiny-framed Sweeney into slightly ridiculous physical situations (like wrestling with a malfunctioning sink early on) that let her show off her own knack for slapstick.

But what makes these moments so funny is how deeply heartfelt everything else around them is whether grand romantic gestures or small personal ones that turns familiar beats on their heads. Bookend scenes of Ben cooking Bea grilled cheese sandwiches (because food = love, even more so when it’s a perfectly cooked sourdough grilled cheese).

Bea helping Ben through a moment of fear by singing him his “serenity song,” Natasha Bedingfield’s undeniably peppy bop “Unwritten.” Or the obligatory last-minute dash declaration of love. Except instead of being a plea for them to be together like these genre classics’ endings are swoon-worthy ultimatums there is a more emotionally complex understanding that to love someone is also to wish for their best, even if that future doesn’t include you. After all, the rest is still unwritten.

Watch Anyone But You For Free On Gomovies.