Anyone But You Review: The Cliché RomCom Formula

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30 Dec, 2023

Anyone But You Review: The Cliché RomCom Formula

If you've seen the trailer for this movie, and if you've ever seen a romantic comedy in your life, you know what happens in Everything But You . This modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as a boy and girl who meet, start an affair, have a great first date, but don't get back together for a while. When the sister of Ben's friend Ben (Powell) marries Ben's sister (Sweeney), these lovers find themselves stranded on an island. There they decide to pretend to be a couple so Bea can make her parents believe she is having an affair and make Ben jealous of her ex-husband.

Now that I've explained this premise and that this is a romantic comedy, I think you can appreciate where this story is going. My reviews rarely contain spoilers, but it's hard to spoil a movie based on a proven formula. The director of the film “Anyone But You” was Will Gluck, known for the films “Easy Student,” “Friends with Benefits” and “Peter Rabbit.” He's made a lot of comedies for a wide range of people, and here's his R-rated romantic comedy. The film's script, co-written by Ilana Wolpert, isn't anything unique in the genre. He does not approach the issue from a new angle and does not comment. It hits all the rom-com clichés you'd expect from a classic film of the genre from the 90s or 2000s.

This will be a big selling point for some. Many missed out on sitcoms, which have become fewer in recent years. Romantic comedy shows are often aired, but the idea of two people pretending to be a couple has already been done in Netflix's To All the Boys I've Loved Before. It's not a particularly new idea, and the implementation is disappointing and generic. Yes, the story of two people who can't stand each other and are forced to pretend to be a couple can be funny, but Everyone But You doesn't always contain enough humor or awkwardness to generate laughs. It's funny at times, but mostly everything you'd expect from this genre happens.

The biggest attraction of this movie is the two main characters. This film brings together two charming young stars - Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, Allegiance) and Sweeney (Euphoria, White Lotus) - and brings them together. Unsurprisingly, they had a filming experience full of chemistry and press trips (some of which they had to produce). Fans speculated that Powell and Sweeney were secretly dating, which is exactly the kind of publicity a film like this needs. The chemistry is there for everyone but you as their characters trade insults and hate each other but grow closer. Movies like this with ads like this are outdated, but nothing beats the classics.

When it comes to comedy, some things work and some don't. In the first scene, Bea accidentally splashes water from the sink on her crotch and relies on towels in the bathroom to dry her pants. This gag is straight out of the Mr. Bean movie, but this movie was much funnier. Some of the other jokes in this movie seem pre-packaged and introduced to the audience when Bea tries to steal cookies from a plane but gets hijacked. One of the funniest ideas is when Pete (Gatta) and Roger (Bryan Brown) have a conversation that Ben can overhear. However, many of the antics are predictable and lean more toward humor than anything organic.

No one else will give you the happiness you expect from a film like this. The storyline and cinematography are so perfect that the love story is never sweet. It's a mistake, but Powell and Sweeney are fun to watch. The strongest elements of this film are their jokes and how their actions are influenced by their fears and their past. There are personal details regarding Ben's mother that seem like they should have been worked out, but are instead briefly touched upon and forgotten about halfway through the film.

Overall, Everyone But You is one of the most banal and predictable films of the year. It hits all the points you'd expect from a romantic comedy without going a step above or below. A movie may follow a formula, but when the execution is this bad, it's not worth watching, especially if you can imagine the story based on the trailer alone. Fans of the genre can still enjoy this film for what it has to offer. As in another Gluck film, “Easy Student,” Natasha Bedingfield’s song is used beautifully here. The end credits are sure to leave the theater with a smile on your face. But if predictable romantic comedies make you roll your eyes, you can skip this one.