I think we are too close to call the year 2023 anything yet, but one thing seems for sure. There were a few mainstream raunchy comedies, from No Hard Feelings (2023, my review here) to Joy Ride (2023), which I still haven’t seen but have heard it’s dirtier than your usual comedy to Anyone But You. It seemed that 2023 was the year Hollywood wanted to bring a bit of raunchiness and nudity back into comedies and was testing the waters whether we (the audience) are up for it. For my money, I would say yes, as long as it’s not just about gratuitous nudity.
Take this movie for example. There is some (very light) nudity, but it’s hardly about that. Anyone But You is your typical guy who meets a girl; they immediately fall for each other only for them to hate each other shortly afterwards because of… reasons. That reason is neither of these individuals is mature enough to have a simple conversation. So they go about their life, only to be brought back together again after a couple of months by fate (or the screenplay). Sounds familiar? It should be, as this is the plot of most romantic comedies from the past 30 years. You can find elements of Much Ado About Nothing here too. But, surprisingly, it all (mostly) worked for me.
Firstly, I am but a man, so if you give me Sydney Sweeney and Alexandra Shipp in one movie, I will be happy (almost) no matter what. But I will be even happier when you give them something to do, and Sydney has a lot, since you know she is the leading star of this film. And I thought she was great. Yes, for this movie specifically, she won’t be winning any prestigious awards; however, her character, Bea, never annoyed me, and I think in the hands of a less capable actress, it might have. But Sydney found that sweet spot between comedy and a bit of drama where I laughed with her in some scenes and sympathised with her in others.
The same applies to Glen Powell. He managed to play this on-the-surface flawless character (I mean, this dude is built) with humour, and when it was time for his character to be over-the-top crazy, I believed him that he could be like that in real life. Plus, his chemistry with Sydney was there. Yes, I might be biased as I have seen and read some alleged behind-the-scenes drama/rumours (if you Google this movie alongside Glen and Sydney’s names, you will see what I mean), but I don’t think there was anything else to them but that, rumours. And yet, when you see those two in the movie and how they interact with each other, you can tell where those rumours were coming from.
Besides them, what I thought worked beautifully was the Australian setting. I was afraid of that, as many times, with these destination movies, they tend to overdo jokes about the setting of those films. My worry was we would hear one too many Aussie jokes, bad accents and stereotypes, and despite there being some, it never felt like too much. It feels odd to write this about (at times) crazy, over-the-top comedy, but they really knew when to rein it in.
The only complaint I had with this movie is the side characters are mostly forgettable, and to repeat myself, the story won’t surprise you at any given point. In this instance, I am willing to forgive the predictability of the plot given how many jokes worked and due to my having a good time with these characters. I just wish the family was a bit more memorable because I swear, I don’t remember anything anyone did in this movie besides Dermot Mulroney, and even he was memorable mostly because of his… Mulroneyness (read, he is still a recognisable enough face for me).
But that is where the cookie crumbles with Anyone But You; if you want to see some of the sexiest people in Hollywood right now being all over each other in Australia and having a blast while doing it, then this movie is for you. If you require something more profound from a romantic comedy starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell based on Much Ado About Nothing… I don’t know what to tell you, to be honest. 😉
Overall, Anyone But You is a good time. Yes, it’s a predictable movie where if you googled the definition of “raunchy comedy”, the poster for this movie would display. However, the lead performers had chemistry, most jokes landed, and the story was just crazy enough to work while the movie didn’t take itself too seriously, so I had a great time with this film. Sometimes, predictable is good, mainly when it is mixed with funny jokes. Also, after you watch this film, you won’t forget the song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield any time soon, which is good as that song has been on my playlist for ages and is a certified banger.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke