Anyone But You, a Sydney Sweeney Hit, Coming to Netflix Sooner Than You Thought

Summary

• The box office smash will land on Netflix in April.
• Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell were great together.
• Poor old Glen didn't deserve the hate he got.

When it was released in theaters, Anyone But You proved that there's still a demand for your standard rom-com. While it may not have been the most innovative or thought-provoking story ever put on the big screen, it did gross nearly $215 million thanks to the great performances of Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell.

But some fans seemed a bit confused as to where Ben (the character) ended and Glen Powell (the actor) began. In fact, Powell got a lot of hate. This despite the fact that he was just the one playing the character – and it wasn't like Ben was a bad guy anyway.

Much Ado About Nothing for Glen Powell

The movie is loosely based on the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. And that pretty much sums up the whole hoopla surrounding the couple's on-screen relationship.

It was the classic on-off we've come to expect from romcoms – with Ben being far less of an a***hole than Daniel (Hugh Grant) in Bridget Jones's Diary or Mark (Andrew Lincoln) in Love Actually.

So why Glen Powell got the same kind of hate as Jack Gleeson for his portrayal of Joffrey in Game of Thrones is a bit of a mystery.

Powell and Sweeney Showed Great Chemistry

Anyone But You could be the rebirth of the romcom genre. It was an unexpected hit at the box office, largely because of the on-screen chemistry between the two leads (that chemistry was so good, in fact, that it sparked rumors that Powell and Sweeney were cheating on their partners with each other).

It benefits from a good supporting cast, including Alexandra Shipp, Hadley Robinson and Michelle Hurd, and a well-paced plot, but it could have been just another romcom that came and went and ended up on some obscure channel at 11am on a Sunday.

The partnership made it more than that and elevated it to a movie that could easily become a Valentine's Day or date night classic. You could argue that it's a bit of a modern take on the genre. Bea is arguably more able to stand up for herself than the romcom girls of yesteryear.

But that's just a reflection of the times. And maybe just what the genre needed.

It May Not Be Critically Acclaimed, But It's Worth a Watch

Anyone But You was projected to make $7 million in its first four weeks in theaters. It actually made half that on its opening day. This is further proof that there is audience demand for romcoms.

Despite its surprising success at the box office, the movie only has a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 52% on Metacritic. It was nominated for Comedy Movie of the Year at the People's Choice Awards, and both leads were also nominated for Best Comedy Movie Star of the Year. None of these resulted in a win.

But none of that matters.This was never a movie that was going to muscle in on the whole Barbieheimer battle. But as a romcom it has everything you could ask for. And the good news is that Powell and Sweeney loved their time working together and are already looking for their next collaboration.

Anyone But You will be available to stream on Netflix on April 23.

Source: Variety.