Anyone But You

When Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) cross paths in a coffee shop their chemistry is palpable. Their first date seems to be a raging success until a misunderstanding results in them hating each other. Six months later and they are thrust back together for a wedding in Australia between Bea’s sister and Ben’s best friend. 

Anyone But You is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. And by loosely I mean that it features quotes from the play set in the background as chapter markers and has characters utter some of the words. It is not however in the same ballpark as something like 10 Things I Hate About You. The main conceit that these characters hate each other and will find love when pushed together is not anywhere near as well done as in that film. 

In fact without its lead actors Anyone But You would sink incredibly quickly. Because despite being an incredibly generic romantic comedy with only a handful of laughs it is the star wattage of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell that lights up the screen. The film seems to have been bank rolled on the idea that if you take two of the best looking people on the planet, stick them in sunny Australia and have them wear swim suits or generally very little for the duration then you will have a winner. Both of them seem to have bright futures ahead of them based on the charisma, chemistry and comedic efforts on display here. 

The films funniest and quirkiest moment though is not in the film itself. It is in the end credits where the cast and crew seem to have found themselves having a lot of fun with Natasha Bedingfield’s song Unwritten which features in the film. Elsewhere though it treads the usual romantic comedy tropes that you would expect and struggles to keep you interested completely. 

Keep your eyes out for Sweeney and Powell in the future and save this for a Sunday evening when you need a low maintenance distraction.