By Athziry De La Peña

This rom-com checks all the fascinating boxes. Written by Ilana Wolpert and director Will Gluck, Anyone but You is loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing. They spend the entirety of the movie being at each other’s throats and arguing, resulting in  mutual hostility long enough to realize they are more alike than they think.

Anyone but You follows the Journey of Ben (Glen Powell), who works in finance, and Bea (Sydney Sweeney), a law student unsure if she even wants to be a lawyer. They meet in a cute coffee shop and sparks fly immediately between the two. They spend a night passionately talking, eating grilled cheese, and sharing pieces of themselves they rarely show to anyone. 

The next day Bea wakes up on Ben’s couch. She hesitates and leaves without saying a word. Regretting her mistake, she returns almost immediately. Bea overhears Ben telling his best friend Pete (GaTa) that Bea was just another one night stand, and she meant nothing to him.

A few months later, Ben and Bea cross paths again when Pete’s sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) begins dating Bea’s sister Halle (Hadley Robinson). They soon meet up at their fairytale wedding in Australia.The wedding party plots to get them together to keep the peace. Bea and Ben decide to play along to keep Bea’s parents from getting her back together with her ex Jonathan (Darren Barnet) and to make Ben’s ex Margaret (Charlee Fraser) jealous. Although, eventually true love falls into play, they are faced with challenges because of their strong personalities.

This movie is rated R, based on the foul language used consecutively. Although it is recommended for adults, it has gained it’s popularity from adolecents. Moviegoers began flooding the app TikTok with millions of videos such as: recreating scenes, rating the movie and or lip syncing to the famous theme song Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfied. The cinematography is admirable, the shots taken of australia are undeniably terrific. While the plot was somewhat predictable, the turns the movie sets you on the edge of your seat waiting to see how this film will play out. 

Anyone But You has brought a classic story and structure to life with unique characters and themes. Ben is a man who has built emotional barriers around his life. Bea is a girl afraid to take risks. Both are talking to people in their lives, but rarely communicate. Powell’s and Sweeney’s chemistry is undeniably shared in close up shots. Yes, there are wacky moments in the film. The greatest moments are found in the scenes where Ben and Bea truly see each other. This well produced film shows that people need to have the courage to embrace that you need to be in a relationship with someone who sees the real you, even with your flaws. 

My Rating: 5 Stars