**Warning: This article contains spoilers for Anyone But You**
During winter break, me and my hometown friends went to the movies to see Aquaman. But I didn’t want to see Aquaman (and when I told my friends I wasn’t very into Marvel, they got a little mad and told me Aquaman is from DC comics, not Marvel — oops). Nevertheless, while all my friends watched Aquaman (and disliked it very much, might I just add), I decided to watch Anyone But You alone. Was I feeling a little weird, sitting in a movie theater alone watching a rom-com? Yes, I did. But do I regret seeing Anyone But You and not staying with my friends? Not at all, the movie was amazing!
Released on Dec. 22, 2023, Anyone But You follows Bea, a young woman in law school (played by Sydney Sweeney) who meets a man at a coffee shop named Ben (played by Glen Powell). They hit it off, but because of some communication problems, they go their separate ways and don’t particularly like each other. Fast forward a few months, Bea’s older sister is getting married in Australia and Bea realizes that Ben is one of her future sister-in-law’s friends and they are forced to go to Australia together as part of the wedding party. Bea’s family, to alleviate some of the tension, tries to get Bea and Ben to like each other, which the two realize. They then pretend to be in love to make Ben’s ex jealous and get Bea’s parents off her back. In their pursuit, they end up truly developing feelings for each other, and the Anyone But You mindset both of them had for each other begins to fade.
Now I know that there are thousands of rom-coms out there, and I know all of them follow a similar plot: two people fall in love, they struggle to be together because of outside forces, but they usually end up happily together in the end. And you can probably infer that the same thing happens in Anyone But You. I know some people find this same old, reused plot boring. However, while watching, I found it really refreshing — there are so many things in life that are unpredictable, scary, and anxiety-inducing, that it’s nice watching a movie and knowing the premise of what’s going to happen. Not all movies should be like this, of course, and some movies should scare us, make us uncomfortable, and question norms. But there is nothing wrong with watching a movie every once in a while that is comfortable and predictable!
Now let’s get to the actual review. Both Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell were great individually and also together as they had lots of chemistry (even sparking rumors that they were in an off-screen affair). They not only seemed to create a lot of on-screen chemistry, but their humor seemed to mix well together and I could tell how much they respected and liked each other on-screen (and off). Additionally, there were some other great actresses and actors — Darren Barnet, Alexandra Shipp, and many more — that meshed well with the other characters and plot line. What I especially liked was the focus on other characters and other love stories. I don’t necessarily like when rom-coms only focus on the two main characters and exclude and diminish other characters. In Anyone But You, however, there was a focus on other characters and their love stories, especially Bea’s sister and her fiancé as the setting was in Australia getting ready for their wedding. Other relationships like the relationship between Bea’s parents and Ben’s ex and her new boyfriend were important (and also brought comedic relief at times) and allowed for more variation and diversity when it came to how love and romantic attraction were portrayed throughout the movie.
Another aspect of the movie I loved was that, just as it made me feel comfortable, it also made me feel happy and lighthearted. Sometimes rom-coms put too much emphasis on love and not as much emphasis on comedy. To each their own, but I love when rom-coms are equally romantic and equally comedic because not only does the name suggest this, but also because love should be funny and silly and happily awkward at times. Everyone is different, but personally, I can’t imagine being serious and not at least smiling when I think of the love in my life (both romantic and unromantic).
Finally, the last aspect I really admired about Anyone But You was the soundtrack. I loved the music throughout the movie, even if I wasn’t familiar with it because it fit perfectly with the upbeat and happy feel of the film. With some older tracks (and by older, I mean the 90s and the early 00s), it seemed that the director was also trying to create nostalgia within the viewers. My all-time favorite song from the movie was the most notable throughout the movie, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” Not only is it a great song (in my opinion) but the lyrics and beat connect with the movie so well in telling a happy story full of self-discovery and possibilities. Plus, the song was stuck in my head for days after watching it!
So if you get a chance to see Anyone But You (especially because it has been re-released in theaters for the month of February), please take that chance. You won’t regret it!