“Anyone But You” or Everything Wrong With Modern Romcoms
Will Gluck’s new romantic comedy is another proof that modern cinema can always fall lower.
Summary
Bea and Ben’s random meeting in a coffee shop ends with an amazing first date. A silly misunderstanding the morning after causes them to part ways in the worst possible terms.
Months later, a wedding in Australia will thrust them together once more, along with both their ex’s. Their best solution for this stressful situation, is to pretend to be a couple to fool their friends and family.
Avoiding Fun At All Costs
Most people would agree that the film industry is not going through a golden time, and productions are not at their best. That being said, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie that’s as cheerfully mediocre and bland as Anyone But You.
It suffers from the same disease that has infected most film genres in the past years (that being, the politically correct “humor”), and takes it to a whole new level. Of course, one can criticize, for example, a superhero movie for infesting its script with terrible jokes. But at the end of the day, that kind of project’s main objective is not really to be funny. With correct writing, it certainly could combine action and comedy to make something enjoyable, but it’s not mandatory.
It is drastically different when you’re trying to make a romantic comedy. In that case, comedy is vital. And being unfunny is not a luxury you can afford. Anyone But You failed to understand that, and provided little occasion for laughter in the almost two-hour running time. The most it could get out of me, was a smirk of second-hand embarrassment.
Who Was This Made For?
That was one of the first questions that came to mind as I was watching: who do the people behind this think their target is? Even in the early stages of development, creatives have an idea of the audience they want to reach with their project and how to do it.
Romantic comedy consumers are mostly women, and in this particular case, given the casting choices and the general tone of the story, I believe they were aiming towards young women. Up until this point, it seems clear. But as the film moves forward, you begin to see many issues that are contradictory.
They made a point of emphasizing sex and nudity every chance they had, but when you pay attention to the situations the characters are thrown into and the dialogues, they are Disney-Channel-show-level at best. The supporting characters “talking loudly” to try and trick the protagonists into being together are cringe-worthy. I’ve seen fan fiction do better than that.
That is to say, the audience that could find the humor of the movie actually appealing, can’t watch it, because they are all under thirteen years of age.
As a young woman and alleged target of this production, I don’t appreciate being treated like an idiot. I don’t need every movie to be a masterpiece, but going through the trouble of making up age-appropriate jokes should be the bare minimum.
Sex Jokes Can Be Funny (When Done Right)
There are plenty of romantic comedies that revolve around sex, and make it work. Those movies understand that it’s not so much about showing people having sex as talking about it in a way that’s provoking. The “talking loudly” part is supposed to be the jokes.
If I have to give an example, I would go for The 40-year-old Virgin, a movie about a guy’s sex life (or lack thereof) that, twenty years later, is still funny. Or we can speak about Easy A, which was also directed by Will Gluck, about a teenager who lies about losing her virginity, and ends up being branded as the school’s slut.
It is possible. There is one explanation for what happened here: laziness.
Romance Is Missing In Action.
Leaving comedy aside for a little bit, let’s go to the other vital part of a romantic comedy: the romance.
When you watch a romcom, the thing you want most, is to see two people falling in love. I believe you can forgive fails in the script, plot holes, or some absurdities usual in the genre, if the actors have an amazing chemistry together.
Take all the movies starred by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, made during the 30s. The scripts are not award-worthy; in fact, I would define them as austere. Conflicts are typical of a generic soap opera; the twists go from unlikely to bizarre, and the characters are basically the same in every story; they just have different names. The only thing that makes (at least some of them) memorable, are the actors. They’re magnetic, not only as a pair, but individually. Their charm makes up 95% of the films. You replace them, and you’re left with a dull product.
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney don’t have that kind of chemistry, and they can’t compensate for the lousy script. They just don’t work as a couple. You never feel a real tension between them; it’s just not possible to believe that they are falling in love.
Two Uninteresting Characters To An Uninteresting Love Conflict
Their characters as individuals are also not interesting. Everything we’re told about them is superficial.
Our female lead, Bea, is in the middle of an existential crisis. She broke up an engagement with her long-term boyfriend, and dropped out of law school. Why? We don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Sydney Sweeney is wearing a bikini; that’s all you should care about.
The only thing I remember about Ben is that he works in something related to programming (I think) and that he likes Natasha Bedingfield’s music. That’s about it. I must recognize that Glen Powell is the one person in this film who shows potential for the genre.
Comedy Should Be Respected
Contrary to what some actors seem to believe, comedy is not easy. You need a level of charisma, and a certain “spark” that dramatic roles don’t call for. In most cases, this is something you either have, or don’t.
Powell has it. With a better script, he could have shined. Sydney Sweeney, on the other hand, doesn’t have it at all. It’s not my intention to undermine her merit as a dramatic actress, but she lacks the charisma to be a good romcom heroine. She is boring, and she can’t get away with it by being naked.
Another thing that made Fred and Ginger’s comedies great, were the supporting actors. Comedies, in general, count with a few good ones to work as comic relief. In cases where the protagonists are lame, the supporting characters can save the day.
In Anyone But You, there’s no one to be the savior. The supporting cast is even more boring than the protagonists, and unforgivably annoying. From Bea’s parents, to her sister, to her ex-fiancé, not one of them is funny or likable.
Mediocre But Profitable
The only good thing about Anyone But You, is that it was smart in money matters. As bad as I think it is, a budget of $25.000.000 is not that hard to recover for a movie like this, unless circumstances are very untoward. Up to this point, the film has grossed over $170.000.000 globally, making it a financial success.
And of course, that’s why companies will continue to produce and release content such as this. Content with no substance, and no soul, that speaks to nothing human; the movie equivalent of a dinner at McDonald‘s. I’m afraid that fast-food cinema has become the norm in these modern times, extending to every genre imaginable.
As an audience, we should be more critical of what we consume, and demand from these companies projects of much better quality. We’re the paying customers, after all! If we do, maybe in the long term we can have, no great romcoms, but at least some funny ones.
Is it too much to ask?
