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The best part about Anyone But You is that for over 100 minutes you get to watch especially beautiful people interact, often in swimwear. The worst part about Anyone But You is that these beautiful people are trapped in a terribly generic romantic comedy.
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell star as two hot people who had the hots for each other but after some poor decisions that only occur in lame Hollywood movies, they now hate each other. But when they are both invited to the same wedding, they decide to pretend they’re a couple so everyone will leave them alone. You can predict everything that happens next.
The movie’s greatest strength, aside from the beautiful people, is that Sweeney and Powell have strong chemistry with one another. It’s downright electric. You want to see them banter. Kiss. Make out. Fuck.
I just wish they were in a better movie.
Directed and co-written by Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits), Anyone But You is a harmless but hardly stimulating romantic comedy. With lots of cringey and largely unfunny humor, stupid physical comedy, and painfully forced conflict that is eye-roll-inducing, Sweeney, Powell, and the rest of the cast are left grasping for straws. Though not without a few funny bits, Anyone But You simply struggles to find its rhythm.
Which is a shame, because you can tell it’s not that far off from being a decent movie. The stars’ chemistry aside, the supporting cast is solid, the characters are likable, and the dynamics at play are ripe for harvesting.
But ultimately, this romantic comedy just doesn’t work. It tries too hard to be clever, when too much of it falls flat. The conflict becomes increasingly unbelievable, culminating in one of those cheesy romantic comedy endings that have been the butt of jokes for decades. Sydney Sweeney may be hot as hell (or if Powell is more your jam, I won’t argue), but she (or he) is not enough to make Anyone But You worth the price of admission.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.
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