Anyone But You

Sony’s follow-up to the summer’s explicitly non-romantic comedy No Hard Feelings is an unabashed celebration of precisely this under-appreciated genre and a clever spin on the turn-of-year blockbuster. Opening in North American territories on 22^nd December (the date of the wedding at the centre of the film’s plot) and in the UK on 26^th December, from the very start the setting of Australia, where it’s summer now, brings sunshine, warmth and a breezy lightness to the gloomy winter months a majority of the viewers are experiencing.

After an exemplary implementation of an endearing meet cute at a coffee shop, Bea (played by Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) go out on a date, which unfortunately ends with both of their feelings hurt. Over the next year, this painful memory festers into active resentment towards the other, which the two have to downplay as they learn that Bea’s sister and Ben’s best friend are getting married and they are forced to spend time together at the destination wedding in Sydney.

Loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, there are little hints of the play strewn throughout the feature: be it an inspirational quote on a poster, a message written in sand, or a character suddenly breaking out in iambic pentameter. While it may not be sophisticated enough to win over the hearts of English literature scholars, it is an endearing way to bring this cornerstone of comedy into the modern world and thus keep its legacy alive.

The love-hate banter between Sweeney and Powell is primarily entertaining, even as it becomes somewhat uncreative, circling around the same issues. The ongoing misunderstandings and obstacles placed between them feel too constructed to be wholly believable, but this, too, is easily forgiven because of the visible commitment of those working behind and in front of the camera.

On the heels of her nuanced performance in indie drama Reality, Sweeney’s effortless grace and comedic timing in Anyone But You prove that she can have her pick of projects and excel. Powell may have a more fluid chemistry with his Hit Man co-star Adria Arjona, but in what social psychologists call the matching hypothesis, our collective minds will have no trouble believing that two extraordinarily attractive people are attracted to each other.

The supporting cast appears thoughtfully handpicked, in particular Bea’s parents who are played by rom-com royalty Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffith, even as most of the characters are underused and only serve the main “will they or won’t they” plot.

After running riot with Pocketful of Sunshine in Easy A, director Will Gluck places yet another Natasha Bedingfield at the centre of his film, with so much joy it rubs off onto the viewer and many will continue to hum Unwritten for days on end.

Completely unapologetically, Anyone but You feasts on romantic comedy tropes, making it a perfectly perfunctory feel-good film that will ensure you leave the cinema with a smile on your face.

Selina Sondermann

Anyone But You is released nationwide on 26^th December 2023.

Watch the trailer for Anyone But You here: