A forgettable, expendable rom-com where all the somewhat funny, shock value scenes are exposed in the theatrical trailer and there is hardly any laugh-out-loud scenes in this film overall.
While Glen Powell has the comedy chops and romantic charm for this film genre, to my astonishment it's the EXACT OPPOSITE for Sydney Sweeney. Her line delivery is dull and she has the same facial expressions, blank stare, dead eyes for most scenes in Anyone But You. You can tell she's acting as in she's not embodying the character in the story and she's simply reading the lines, not conveying any natural nuances in her character each time she does this. Sweeney's crying scene in the taxi felt unnaturally forced. I was surprised her acting was half-a**ed, whereas in the TV series Euphoria (2019-present) her acting feels natural. Or highly likely that she's a limited-range, one-note actress that can only do dark, coming-of-age drama genre and fails at rom-com. IMO, Powell and Sweeney had the most chemistry when their characters were arguing and hating each other. When they got all lovey dovey, the on-screen chemistry felt forced and it was lacking that romantic spark between their characters. I was not invested enough in their progressing relationship to care once they officially got together in the end.
So one, I feel like Sweeney largely ruins the film with her bland acting and line delivery, and lack of emotiveness. A better choice for the lead actress in this film should've been a comedic actress or an actress who can deftly juggle comedic timing and dramatic, emotional scenes. If this film was made and released in the 2000s decade for example, Amanda Bynes would be a prime choice for the role of Bea. And two, the character development is lacking and backstory are just tacked-on but don't add any characterization substance. The screenplay pushes the two characters to meet instantaneously at the start of the film, so viewers don't get any individual scenes of each lead character beforehand leaving a lot of character backstory nonexistent. The screenplay gives a brief overlay of each of Ben's and Bea's backstory in a scene montage and it's the error of telling over showing, and it doesn't work, leaving a rushed characterization of both characters that cheapens the film.
Supporting characters feel like caricatures and don't add anything to the story. No supporting character was memorable. Some corny dialogue and meta rom-com instances that seem shoehorned in. Also, I wish Darren Barnet (Paxton from the TV series Never Have I Ever (2020-2023)) had more scenes, dialogue and that he would've been the guy Bea ended up with if there was an unexpected surprise, twist ending, instead of the "enemies to lovers" and "stuck together so they'll end up together" overused romance tropes. But the screenplay is too safe and screenwriters would never be bold enough to rise up to a different, atypical ending like this.
I did like that the majority of the film was set in Australia and a few of the songs used in the film's soundtrack.
It's ironic that Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths are in this sucky rom-com when blasting back to the past to 1997, both Mulroney (as the leading man and love interest) and Griffiths (in a supporting role) starred in a first rate quality rom-com, My Best Friend's Wedding. This is why most of my fave rom-coms are from the '90s and the 2000s. When quality storytelling, chemistry, and character development reigned in comparison to this current rom-com garbage.
Anyone But You is a derivative, formulaic rom-com that's ultimately unmemorable, vapid rom-com plot, and a waste of time. Just casually watch it once it comes out on streaming if you have nothing else to watch and don't care about draining 1 hour 43 minutes of your time.
While Glen Powell has the comedy chops and romantic charm for this film genre, to my astonishment it's the EXACT OPPOSITE for Sydney Sweeney. Her line delivery is dull and she has the same facial expressions, blank stare, dead eyes for most scenes in Anyone But You. You can tell she's acting as in she's not embodying the character in the story and she's simply reading the lines, not conveying any natural nuances in her character each time she does this. Sweeney's crying scene in the taxi felt unnaturally forced. I was surprised her acting was half-a**ed, whereas in the TV series Euphoria (2019-present) her acting feels natural. Or highly likely that she's a limited-range, one-note actress that can only do dark, coming-of-age drama genre and fails at rom-com. IMO, Powell and Sweeney had the most chemistry when their characters were arguing and hating each other. When they got all lovey dovey, the on-screen chemistry felt forced and it was lacking that romantic spark between their characters. I was not invested enough in their progressing relationship to care once they officially got together in the end.
So one, I feel like Sweeney largely ruins the film with her bland acting and line delivery, and lack of emotiveness. A better choice for the lead actress in this film should've been a comedic actress or an actress who can deftly juggle comedic timing and dramatic, emotional scenes. If this film was made and released in the 2000s decade for example, Amanda Bynes would be a prime choice for the role of Bea. And two, the character development is lacking and backstory are just tacked-on but don't add any characterization substance. The screenplay pushes the two characters to meet instantaneously at the start of the film, so viewers don't get any individual scenes of each lead character beforehand leaving a lot of character backstory nonexistent. The screenplay gives a brief overlay of each of Ben's and Bea's backstory in a scene montage and it's the error of telling over showing, and it doesn't work, leaving a rushed characterization of both characters that cheapens the film.
Supporting characters feel like caricatures and don't add anything to the story. No supporting character was memorable. Some corny dialogue and meta rom-com instances that seem shoehorned in. Also, I wish Darren Barnet (Paxton from the TV series Never Have I Ever (2020-2023)) had more scenes, dialogue and that he would've been the guy Bea ended up with if there was an unexpected surprise, twist ending, instead of the "enemies to lovers" and "stuck together so they'll end up together" overused romance tropes. But the screenplay is too safe and screenwriters would never be bold enough to rise up to a different, atypical ending like this.
I did like that the majority of the film was set in Australia and a few of the songs used in the film's soundtrack.
It's ironic that Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths are in this sucky rom-com when blasting back to the past to 1997, both Mulroney (as the leading man and love interest) and Griffiths (in a supporting role) starred in a first rate quality rom-com, My Best Friend's Wedding. This is why most of my fave rom-coms are from the '90s and the 2000s. When quality storytelling, chemistry, and character development reigned in comparison to this current rom-com garbage.
Anyone But You is a derivative, formulaic rom-com that's ultimately unmemorable, vapid rom-com plot, and a waste of time. Just casually watch it once it comes out on streaming if you have nothing else to watch and don't care about draining 1 hour 43 minutes of your time.