David R. Walker

Archive for January 8th, 2024

Anyone But You

Director: Will Gluck

Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Bryan Brown, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Bonello, Joe Davidson, Rachel Griffiths, Alexandra Shipp

Running Time: 1 hour 43 minutes

Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Friends with Benefits and Easy A director Will Gluck delivers another light weight romantic comedy this time set in Sydney, Australia and starring Sydney Sweeney as aspiring law student Bea who accidentally meets the perfect hunk, Ben wonderfully played by rising star Glen Powell (Top Gun Maverick) in Anyone But You which is set in Boston and Sydney, Australia.

Sydney Sweeney rose to fame in creator Mike White’s wild satirical series The White Lotus as the spoilt manipulative daughter of a wealthy couple on holiday in Hawaii and learnt her comic timing in this award winning series. In Anyone But You, she battles with her male counterpart Ben as they both pretend to be in love with each other at a destination wedding of Bea’s sister Halle played by Hadley Robinson and her fiancée Claudia played by Alexandra Shipp (Tick, Tick… Boom!; Barbie).

Ben is friends with Claudia and her brother Pete played by GaTa, whose parents Carol and Roger played by Michelle Hurd and Bryan Brown (Cocktail, Australia) live on a sprawling estate on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia.

It is refreshing to see this famous Australian city used as a primary film location and in a way, Sydney and its famous Opera House overlooking the harbour become characters in this funny and rather rude comedy in which the two main lovers oscillate between love and hate, friendship and rivalry in a bid to convince the wedding party that all is well with the pair, similar to William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

As Ben and Bea fight and make up again, they slowly learn some interesting facts about each other such as Ben’s fear of flying and Bea’s fear of commitment.

Anyone But You is a sunny, fun filled romantic comedy, nothing too dramatic and will leave audiences feeling happy and fulfilled. The cast including Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding, August: Osage County) and Rachel Griffiths (Muriel’s Wedding) as Bea’s parents create a bubbly if slightly awkward ensemble while the two main stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell are the perfect eye candy as eventually their characters meet at the Australian city’s most iconic location.

Add some nude scenes to spice up a fun romantic comedy and Anyone But You is a hilariously silly romantic comedy which is perfect for a date night film filled with love and laughter.

The sexy chemistry between Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell makes this film work, although the script and sound editing could have been vastly improved. Anyone But You gets a film rating of 6.5 out of 10 and is an enjoyable chance to watch a love story set in a beautiful city. It’s nothing deeper than a splash in the Pacific.