Anyone But You Review: Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell's Rom-Com Get Mixed Response, Critics Call It 'Soulless'

Anyone but You stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell amidst an opulent Australian setting. The plot involves sworn enemies, Bea and Ben, feigning love at a destination wedding to deter meddling friends and family. This echoes Much Ado About Nothing but adds unique quirks—a dog doing yoga and a man serenading a koala. The movie has opened to mix response from the critics. Anyone But You Review: Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell's Sizzling Chemistry Shines, Garnering Netizens' Rave Acclaim for a Perfect Raunchy Rom-Com.

See The Critics Review For Anyone But You Here:

The New York Times: Sweeney and Powell could do wonders with a better script, something that makes more use of the way they grin at each other like they ate knives for lunch. She’s skilled at layered insincerity; he specializes in smirky, put-on machismo, shooting the camera a horrifically funny tongue waggle. Here, their performances get bullied around by the insistent pop soundtrack. One genuinely tender scene involves Bea crooning a peppy Top 40 hit to steady Ben’s nerves. But she only gets in a few quiet a cappella bars before Gluck cranks the original at an earsplitting volume — are you not entertained!? — and, for good measure, blares it again at the end over some riotous behind-the-scenes karaoke. You wonder if he spent more time on the closing credits than the actual film.

The Guardian:  The Shakespeare of it all might also be a nostalgic callback to films like Clueless, Get Over It and 10 Things I Hate About You but it proves to be one of many stumbling blocks for writer Ilana Wolpert, coercing an age-old farce into distractingly, annoyingly convoluted slapstick-heavy corners, quotes clumsily crowbarred in throughout as a reminder. Vague meta attempts to comment on just how convoluted it gets aren’t enough to fix the problem, serving more as a confession that maybe this wasn’t a good idea in the first place.

Vox: At the heart of it, the prospect of Powell and Sweeney falling for each other — or at least a Powell type and an actual Sweeney type — remains far more compelling and convincing than the story that’s been constructed for Anyone But You. Of course it’s not just possible or even probable, but nearly certain that all this chemistry is just good acting, coupled with a savvy marketing and social media campaign.

Variety: It’s brazenly traditional, right down to its use of Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten as Ben’s “serenity” song, and the one that seals the joy of their connection. The big final meet-up, in front of the Sydney Opera House (which looks about as romantic as a box of designer shoulder pads, but never mind), is a testament to the wounded sincerity that lurks on the other side of the new hostility. And the theme of the rom-com remains eternal: You probably have to love someone a lot to hate them this much.

The Hollywood Reporter: Mostly, they just have the unenviable task of fleshing out the familiar tropes of a fake-it-till-you-make-it romance in a movie not graced with much charm or wit. The secondary roles are no more interesting. At least the end credits make it look like they had a great time making it. But I’m a sucker for a frothy rom-com with sexy leads, and this did nothing for me

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2023 05:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).