Kimber Myers
Much Ado About Nothing is the urtext for the entire rom-com genre, so it’s shocking that we had to wait for the year of our Lord 2023 for a modern adaptation à la 10 Things I Hate About You’s take on The Taming of the Shrew. Practically every enemies-to-lovers romance on shelves and screens owes its existence to Shakespeare’s witty comedy, thanks to the sparky banter between its classic characters. However, Anyone But You is the first studio movie to cheekily import Much Ado About Nothing’s Benedict and Beatrice — now Ben and Bea, so help me — into the modern era. Sure, we got Joss Whedon’s 2012 version, but that simply had actors in a contemporary setting reciting the Bard’s dialogue in iambic pentameter with varying degrees of success.
This update from Will Gluck (Easy A, aka The Scarlet Letter 2.0) is a loose but loving translation, full of romantic misunderstandings, well-intentioned scheming, and dick jokes. Anyone But You is delightfully dumb, with nowhere near the joys of Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 classic, but it’s enjoyable enough to please fans of the R-rated rom-com genre.
Anyone But You begins with a few subtle nods to its source material, then it escalates into direct (unattributed) quotes and its final moments have the title Much Ado About Nothing just show up on screen, for anyone who hadn’t caught on by that point. It’s all done with a sense of fun and real affection for the play, updating it for modern audiences with an appropriate level of respect and a gleefully bawdy streak that Shakespeare likely would have appreciated.
But before things get raunchy, Ben (Glen Powell) and Bea (Sydney Sweeney) have a meet-cute at a Boston coffee shop in the opening moments. Their connection evolves into an amazing and largely chaste all-night date, but a misunderstanding turns their initial attraction into animosity when they run into each other again. Ben is BFFs with Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), who is dating Halle (Hadley Robinson), Bea’s sister. When Claudia and Halle decide to get married in Australia and invite their loved ones (who happen to hate each other), hijinks ensue. Ben and Bea snipe back and forth, but they soon realize that pretending to date amidst the wedding festivities will help Bea avoid her ex-fiancé (Darren Barnet) and Ben make his ex-girlfriend (Charlee Fraser) jealous. Cue the fake dating trope.
Gluck and co-writer Ilana Wolpert reveal a love for the genre, invoking its trappings and hallmarks with enthusiasm. Anyone But You is self-aware, winking at the audience with every reference to Much Ado About Nothing and each nod to rom-com conventions. It tries too hard to amuse, but it’s silly fun and only offensive if you’re not a fan of comic nudity.
While it’s par for the course for lesser entries in the genre, these characters don’t behave in remotely believable ways as they stumble their way toward a happy ending. They’re also underdeveloped, with Ben getting far more attention from the writers. The self-described fuckboy works in finance, which serves as shorthand for what a douche he is and provides some believably bonkers stories about his time working at Goldman. But he loves his mom, so he’s actually a good guy. Meanwhile, Bea has just quit law school and isn’t sure what she wants to do (Which is fine! That’s what being in your 20s is about!), but her lack of direction in life only gives Ben ammo for his insults and creates issues with her parents (Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths). She isn’t given much opportunity for growth or realization other than her love for Ben, which everyone else already knew.
Gluck and Wolpert’s script is funny enough, but it largely coasts on the charm, chemistry, and attractiveness of its stars, like Gluck’s Easy A, whose success is largely owed to Emma Stone (and teen movie hall of fame parents Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci). Powell and Sweeney are best when they’re bouncing off each other (literally and figuratively), but the leads aren’t the best part of the film. Rapper and Dave actor GaTa is the movie’s stealth MVP as Ben’s friend and brother of the bride, Pete, who calls people on their shit with deadpan delivery. Also like Gluck’s Easy A, Anyone But You makes excellent use of a Natasha Beddingfield song, whose presence probably elevated the movie by half a letter grade in my estimation because I am easily amused.
Like its romantic lead before he grows up a little (as they often do in these sorts of stories), Anyone But You is a good time for a short time, but it’s not worth making a commitment to. It’s cute and funny if it’s your type, though its charms won’t work in the long term.
B-
“Anyone But You” is in theaters Friday.
