Anyone But You

“When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “You’ve Got Mail” are all classic romantic comedies talked about to this day. Each one poses an incredible story of two adults finding their way to love with various obstacles getting in the way. No matter if the movie was made in the ‘80s or ‘90s, young teenagers today still enjoy these classics. So what is the new “it” movie? What is the new rom-com that all the young adults are talking about? Well, in my opinion, the answer is, “Anyone But You.”

Director Will Gluck’s movie “Anyone But You” is a truly entertaining and uplifting film starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. This movie shows their funny, happy, and ultimately inspiring journey to find each other. Though the journey may be like that of most other classic rom-coms, the soundtrack, jokes, and wit has found the way to audiences around the world. While the beginning of the movie is set in Boston, the majority takes place in Sydney, Australia, offering viewers a new locale.

The rom-com poses the two leads, Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell), having an amazing first date, which eventually turns to a mutual feeling of hatred toward each other. However, the two find themselves unexpectedly reuniting at a destination wedding. So they do what all other mature adults would do in a rom-com: Fake a relationship. But was the relationship really fake? We all know the answer.

This new movie found its way around social media platforms at an increasingly fast rate. Across TikTok, one can see numerous videos of people skipping and dancing in the movie theater, saying, “POV: me after watching ‘Anyone But You.’And of course, these videos are all to the same “serenity” song, “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield.

According to Billboard, the song “has played a pivotal role” in the narrative of Glen Powell’s story. It is sung by multiple characters throughout the movie and is a defining musical feature to this love story. Despite the song having come out 20 years ago, its popularity has risen exponentially since the release of the movie. Just from December 29 to January 1, the song reached 1.3 million listens—a 153% increase from the previous week. Even though I have known and loved this song for years, I can confidently say I found a new sense of joy listening to it after the movie. Its uplifting and catchy tune compels everyone to sing along.

However, the film may not be everyone’s cup of tea. “Anyone But You” sure has its fair share of clichés and corny jokes, and if you want to see the movie you have to be prepared for the average acting and basic plotline. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a chill Saturday night at the movie theater filled with laughs, this, my friend, is your movie.

Sophomore Raffa Koloskov said, “It was funny and intriguing; however, it is similar to other rom-coms and kind of predictable.”

Even with the fun and laughter that came with the movie, it was quite predictable what would happen at the end: a classic, the guy will get the girl love story, just with a few twists in the middle.

Junior Lily Neumeier agreed. She said, “It was really fun and reminded me of [the] classic rom-com ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,’ but it was more of a one-time cute movie, not to see again.”

Junior Ben Gibson said, “I thought it was really good and was the perfect amount of cheesiness for a rom-com.” Also, going back to the soundtrack, he mentioned, “It had me playing ‘Unwritten’ on repeat.”

So yes, the movie is not for everyone. It definitely has a specific attraction base for viewers, but I would recommend it to young adults who are looking for a fun and fresh movie to go see in theaters. If you love a light and a not-so-serious love story, this rom-com isn’t for anyone but you.