Anyone But You (2023)

April 28, 2024 10:59 PM

After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben's fiery attraction turns ice cold, until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

Starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as Bea and Ben. An adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing , January's movie for the Shakespeare Movie Club, which makes it an honorary member of the club.

Currently only available on Netflix in the US, local availability will vary.

Letterboxd

87% Audience Rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

posted by fiercekitten (4 comments total)

A decent adaptation, better than She's the Man but not as good as 10 Things I Hate About You. Technically Rated R but I don't get why? Maybe the swearing or the random shot of dick?
posted by fiercekitten at 11:06 PM on April 28

This is good if you grade it on a rom-com level (which I am!). I don't know how much chemistry Sweeney and Powell actually have but they are trying to sell it so hard I'm buying it. (She does a better job than he does. I continue to be impressed by her as an actor.)

I do grade rom-coms on a curve, but this worked for me. It had a musical number -- they sung "Unwritten" (an important part of rom-coms!) and I love rom-coms where people fall in love under false pretenses (that's awful in real life!). I also have such a soft spot for modern Shakespeare adaptations that just take the general plot and that's it (English major for life!).

So is this good? I think it delivers on all the things it set out to deliver on. Also, all these people got a good vacation in Australia so good for them.
posted by edencosmic at 5:46 PM on April 29 [2 favorites]

I couldn’t get through it. I love a good rom com but the writing was really clunky and it needed a director that understands comedy better.

I really wanted to like it and I hope for good things for the leads.
posted by jeoc at 4:22 PM on May 2

I think the end credits in which everyone sang "Unwritten" was the best part of the movie. And I say this as a huge Much Ado fan: this isn't really it.

The leads are attractive and the relatives very badly/obviously do Bad Bad Acting to the point where the leads are all, "yeah, we GET it, you're setting us up." The writing, alas, isn't great, and there's forcing Glen Powell, a man with a ten pack, to get naked and then be called hot girl fat, and both of them are pretty but jerky and I can't say I liked anyone very much, though the parents seem nice.

Also, Margaret wears little to no clothing, including the world's worst bikini top that made me feel squicked at how bad it was. It was barely a nipple-coverer.

I find it interesting this became a TikTok hit or whatever, and clearly people are starved for romcoms, but this was weaksauce I don't feel bad about not watching it in the theater after all. I just watched The Fall Guy today (also set in Sydney) and that was better at rom-coming than this.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:58 PM on May 5