A new romantic comedy starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell called “Anyone but You” was released in December. The movie follows two characters, Ben (Glen Powell) and Bea (Sydney Sweeney), who meet at a coffee shop and have a “perfect” day together. This perfect day ends quickly when Bea overhears Ben saying their time together meant nothing. From this point on, the two hate each other and are appalled when they find out Ben’s friend and Bea’s sister are getting married. The two will have to spend a week in Australia together, which becomes the central focus of the movie. 

The plot and characters are loosely based around Shakespeare’s play “Much Ado About Nothing.” However, if that reference was not explicitly stated by the director, it would not be obvious. Once in Australia, Ben realizes that a girl he used to date will also be attending the wedding. On top of that, Bea’s parents invite her ex-fiancé to Australia with hopes of getting them back together. Ben and Bea concoct a plan to pretend to date to get Bea’s parents off her back and make Ben’s ex-girlfriend jealous. 

Fans are especially enjoying this movie since the leads are two popular actors in Hollywood right now, but critics seem to disagree with the public regarding the film’s quality. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a popular movie critic site, was 87%, but the critic score was only 51%. John Nugent, a critic for Empire Magazine, said, “The obvious chemistry and charm of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell counts for a lot, yet not quite enough, in a romantic comedy severely lacking in both romance and comedy.” Many critics agreed, saying the movie was a cash grab and a way to use popular actors to make a lackluster script seem interesting. 

Personally, I thought the movie was quite entertaining. While it will not be the movie of the year by any means, it did keep me on the edge of my seat and incorporated plenty of funny moments. The use of Natasha Bedingfield’s song “Unwritten” as Ben’s “serenity song” was especially enjoyable. Overall, the movie was a fun two hours, and I would recommend it as a rom–com that became available just in time for Valentine’s Day.