Anyone but You isn’t being sold as an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (which is a mistake!), but Will Gluck’s modern adaptation of the Shakespeare play follows the story of Ben (Glen Powell) and Bea (Sydney Sweeney) as they have to navigate their sisters’ wedding despite their hatred for each other.
Like any good romantic comedy, it’s only as strong as the chemistry of the leads, and while there are shining moments between Sweeney and Powell, what Anyone but You really did was prove one important thing: Glen Powell is a romcom powerhouse. Sweeney and Powell have their moments and the movie itself clicks into a rhythm that works when it gets over an awkward start, but without Powell, those more awkward moments would have stuck out throughout the entire movie.
Luckily, we have Powell to carry us through them and make us forget about it. The beginning of the movie forces the pair on a fated first date that ends with them both too afraid to admit their feelings and lying about how they feel. It is then a lot of suspending our disbelief about why these two care that much about one night to be this angry at each other, but after that awkward setup, the movie works because Powell is just incredibly charming as Ben, even if he does have a creepy chained up ATM in his apartment that is never explained.
A perfect balance of Shakespeare and the modern romcom
Much Ado About Nothing is not my favorite of the Shakespeare comedies (that goes to Midsummer Night’s Dream), but it’s a classic for a reason. What Anyone but You does is poke fun at the setups of those around Bea and Ben and make it a fun bit in the movie. Watching as Pete (GaTa) and Roger (Bryan Brown) are loudly trying to get Ben to think Bea likes him (and doing a very bad job of it), it is so clearly mocking the setup of Much Ado About Nothing but still works in the context of the film.
Little nods throughout the movie remind us that this is an adaptation, but it’s also its own story, which lets Ben and Bea have moments that are their own and are different from Benedict and Beatrice from the play.
But truly, none of this would work without how Powell plays a Wall Street bro like Ben. It’s not that Sweeney doesn’t do a great job in her portrayal of Bea, a former law student trying to figure out her life, but it’s a romantic comedy lead that we’ve seen before and one that is an archetype that works for a reason. Powell’s take on Ben, though? He could have easily sucked. Instead, we are laughing at his weird stories from work with absolutely outrageous antics.
He’s charming and endearing, and when he makes a grand gesture that we know he’s terrified of, we find it sweet and caring instead of obnoxious like big public displays can often be. Powell made a character who could easily be the worst into one that is adorable and I love him, so please, Hollywood, more of Glen Powell in romantic comedies. We’re begging.
(featured image: Sony Pictures)
