A frothy diversion with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell

Glen Powell, left, and Sydney Sweeney in a scene from “Anyone But You.” (Brook Rushton/Sony via AP)
| Photo Credit: Brook Rushton

Anyone But You is supposedly based on William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Well, it might or might not be, as all of Shakespeare has taken on archetypal overtones, much like every detective owes something to Sherlock Holmes. Let us move away from discussions on the origins of creativity to dive right into this rom-com.

Though rom-com is a very ‘90s genre, Anyone But You has a reassuringly ‘20s vibe. There is the meet cute, the anxiety of Mr Right turning into Mr Wrong, talking into the night and a glorious absence of social media. There is also the grand romantic gesture, which makes Anyone But You delightfully old-fashioned, bringing memories of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr from An Affair to Remember or Bogey, Bergman and the legendary hill of beans in Casablanca.  

Bea (Sydney Sweeney), a law student, meets Ben (Glen Powell), who works in finance, at a coffee shop. The two hit it off and spend the day together, falling asleep talking. The morning brings misunderstandings and the two go their separate ways. They are back in each other’s orbit when Bea’s sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), is in a relationship with Ben’s best friend Pete’s (GaTa) sister, Claudia (Alexandra Shipp). 

Claudia and Halle’s relationship quickly progresses to a destination wedding in Sydney where Pete’s parents, Carol (Michelle Hurd) and Roger (Bryan Brown), live. Ben and Bea are invited to the wedding where things are bound to get awkward as the wedding party are all staying at Carol and Roger’s house. Bea’s parents, Leo (Dermot Mulroney) and Innie (Rachel Griffiths), want her to get back with her perfect fiance, Jonathan (Darren Barnet), and so they invite him for the wedding. Also in the mix is Margaret (Charlee Fraser) who dumped Ben many moons ago and is hanging out with surfer dude Beau (Joe Davidson). 

Bea and Ben decide to pretend they are a couple to get Bea’s parents off her back and make Margaret jealous. Everything comes right in the end with a squashed wedding cake and a chopper ride to the Opera House. While not wildly inventive, Anyone But You is powered by Sweeney and Powell’s charisma, with able support from Brown and Hurd, eye candy thanks to Barnet (Paxton Hall-Yoshida from Never Have I Ever) and laughs from Davidson.

Anyone But You is currently running in theatres