ANYONE BUT YOU (2023)
Label: Sony Pictures
Region Code:
Rating: R
Duration: 103 Minutes 43 Seconds
Audio: English, French, Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles, English Descriptive Audio Service
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Will Gluck
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet and Rachel Griffiths
I typically don't take in rom-coms on a regular basis, but this horror fan right here is happily married (for over 20 years), and as such I have to watch something sweet and romantic once in awhile to appease by non-horror loving wifey. Recently I watched the star-studded Ticket To Paradise and had a solid time watching it, and this week we threw on the hit rom-com Anyone But You (2023) with new-gen hotties Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell and gave it a watch. Again, not my usual cup o' tea but still a solidly entertaining and well-made flick, it warmed by jaded heart and actually made me laugh quite a bit, so mission accomplished. In it law-student Bea (Sydney Sweeney, HBO's Euphoria) and finance-bro Ben (Glen Powell, TV's Scream Queens) have a meet-cute at a coffee shop where Bea needs to use the restroom, but as she is not a paying customer they won't let her do her business, so in steps nice guy observer Ben who is buying coffee and pretends to be her husband so she can take a piss, he even buys here a tea. It's a cute meet-cute, and of course there's some ridiculous shenanigans with Bea accidentally spraying her groin area with water from the bathroom faucet which leads to her doing some bathroom gymnastics to dry her crotch area off using a hand dryer. Afterward they hit it off big-time and head back to his place for a wicked-buttery grilled cheese and a night of pleasant chat - no sex, but the chemistry is thick. In the morning Beau wakes up in his arms but decides to sneak out without saying goodbye, while walking home she realizes she's made a mistake and heads back to his place to keep the flame alive, but shows up just in time to hear Ben, who is irate that she left without a goodbye when he thought they had something special, making a half-hearted insulting comment about her to his best pal Peter (GaTa, House Party), and that pretty much closes the door on any romance blossoming for either of them.
But wait, it's a small world after all and six months later Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson, HBO's Utopia) announces that she is marrying Claudia (Alexandra Shipp, Tragedy Girls), who turns out to be Ben's besties' Pete's sister, woah. They are both invited to the destination wedding in Australia and once they get there they mix like sexually repressed battery acid and evian water, but their insult-trading shenanigans threaten to derail the wedding. Both sides of the family clearly see chemistry between them and attempt to intervene to make them reconnect romantically, but they both realize what;s afoot and for the sake of their friend's marital bliss both secretly agree to pretend to me attracted to each other. Of course, all this romantic pretending leads to them actually starting to fall for each other again, only for it to be derailed by their own insecurities, which are exacerbated by the arrival of both of their exes, played by Darren Barnet (Gran Turismo) and Charlee Fraser, who bring some charm as well.
As rom-coms go this does not exactly re-write they playbook by any means, and the main characters come off pretty shallow, but I still found it quite charming and funny, and easy on the eyes. Their onscreen chemistry is pretty decent as well, it's the stuff of legendary romances, but good enough to keep me interested. Probably my favorite aspect of the whole shebang were the scenes of them machine-gunning mutual insults at one another; that and the scene of them reenacting the "I'm King of the World" scene from Titanic, resulting in Bea falling into Sydney Harbour and Ben diving in after her, both bonding while stranded on a buoy awaiting rescue, that was good stuff.
It also gets bonus points for the gorgeous Australian locations which look stunning, and for the excellent supporting cast which includes Rachel Griffiths (HBO's Six Feet Under) and Bryan Brown (F/X) as Claudia's parents, and and Michelle Hurd (Picard) and Dermot Mulroney (Career Opportunities) as Bea's parents, who add more flavor to the argumentative destination wedding proceedings, with Bea's parents described as overbearing "Black Hawk helicopter parents"m, while Claudia's folks are a bit more easy going.
Not a top ten rom-com for me but totally fun, funny and heartwarming love-story as we follow the adventures of star-crossed would-be perfect couple dead-set on not ending up with each other after a mutual misunderstanding. If you know anything about rom-coms I will say that this goes exactly where you thought it might, but it's fun getting there, and it's R-rated so there a bit of nudity for the guys, bawdy humor, and plenty of chiseled abs to gawk at for the ladies.
Audio/Video: Anyone But You (2023) a solid Blu-ray release from SPHE in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) with bright vivid colors and natural looking skin tones with solid depth and clarity. Details in the close-ups looks terrific as well, you can see the beads of sweat on the ample amounts of bare skin, if you;re here to oggle you will not be disappointed. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles, the track is strong and well-balanced, the supportive score is full-bodied, including several showings of Ben's serenity-song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield.
Extras include a handful of brief featurettes, these include bloopers and outtakes, EPK style cast and crew interviews, deleted scenes, a fun ASMR Pickup Lines promo for the film, plus Robinson and Shipp sampling some Aussie-centric sweets and offering their opinions. The single disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, inside there's a code for a digital copy of the film, that redeems along with all the extras on both Vudu and MoviesAnywhere.
Special Features:
- He Said She Said (4:01)
- Everyone Down Under (3:54).
- Outtakes & Bloopers (3:10)
- Deleted Scenes (1:37)
- ASMR Pickup Lines (1:11)
- Aussie Snacks (2:15)
- Aussie Snacks (2:15)
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