“Anyone But You,” impressively surpassing $100 million in earnings worldwide, became the first R-rated rom-com to do so in the past eight years. The movie’s $25 million budget left co-writer Llana Wolpert and co-writer and director Will Gluck proud of the movie’s financial success. Llana Wolpert is known for “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” (2019) and “I’m in Love with the Dancer from My Bat Mitzvah,” while “Will Gluck is known for Easy A” (2010), “Friends with Benefits” (2011), “Annie” (2014), the “Peter Rabbit” (2018) movies, and “Woke” (2020), “Chicago Party Aunt” (2021), and “The Michael J. Fox Show” (2013) shows. These two writers came together to write this edgy comedy.
The movie’s trailers had audiences excited for a psychosexual thriller. The trailer’s WizTheMc’s “Death of Me” song and seductive shots of main characters, Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, created the expectation of many for a thriller rather than the fun rom-com the movie proved to be. Will Gluck took the blame and apologized for the misleading and confusing trailer.
“I blame myself, the teaser wasn’t well received, and I put that completely on my own shoulders. We tried to get too cute with it. It is a big, fun comedy, and if you saw that teaser without anything else, you’d think, ‘Is someone going to get killed? Is this a thriller?’ That was a mistake on my part. I just wanted people to lean in and say, ‘What is this?'” apologizes Will Gluck to Entertainment Weekly.
The film was based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The works both share character names, the use of eavesdropping for manipulation of characters’ love lives, and the theme of trickery and secrets, especially for one’s benefit.
After the movie was officially released, however, the negative comments did not stop. Earning 51 percent from critics and 87 percent from general audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie’s reviews have been controversial.
“Anyone But You checks all the boxes for a rom-com with charming leads, classic source material, and an upbeat soundtrack. It’s an entertaining romp that knows exactly the type of film it sets out to be,” says the critic Paul McGuire Grimes, giving the movie a ⅘ on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The locations are stunning, but outside of that, you’ll likely struggle to find any value, humor, romance, or humanity in Anyone But You,” says critic Steven Prokopy, who gave the movie a harsh 1.5/4 on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the general audience who is not looking for a cinematic masterpiece when viewing has positive opinions of the film.
“Anyone But You had some of the funniest scenes I’ve seen all year,” says Broughton junior Rosalind Hollar.
The connection between the two leads, Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, was apparent to fans, making them question if they were dating in real life. Their connection, however, was a result of great acting and a strong friendship. Sydney Sweeney is engaged to businessman and producer Jonathan Davino, while Glen Powell is single.
The stunning beach setting of the movie takes place entirely in Australia. The costumes also received attention, thanks to costume designer Amelia Gebler. She made sure to use the Australian beach style in her well-thought-out costume choices.
