Anyone But You

2023 is ending with one of the best rom coms of all time, Anyone But You. Now the first thing I have to say about this movie is fire the marketing team. When I first saw the trailer I wanted to see it because I like rom coms and Sydney Sweeney is hot. However there was nothing that even vaguely indicated that this romantic comedy was a Shakespeare adaptation. Literally the best romantic comedies of all time are Shakespeare adaptations and this movie is no different. Anyone But You beautifully adapts Much Ado About Nothing in a modern and entertaining way.

First of all I loved how on the nose the adaptation was. The main characters' names were Beatrice and Ben. Instead of Claudio we had Claudia. If you are a fan of the stage play then the movie is perfect. And if you have never watched or read Much Ado About Nothing hopefully this movie at least got you interested in reading some Shakespeare. Throughout the movie there were Much Ado quotes, scrawled on walls or signs. But even more than that the play's best lines were woven right into the dialogue. And if you didn’t understand all the references by the end of the film there was a literal and giant Much Ado About Nothing sign to tell you what the film was based on.

Now as someone who could never make it past the first 3 episodes in Euphoria I genuinely did not know how incredibly talented Syndey Sweeney is. Not only is the woman gorgeous and listed as an executive producer on the project but she is truly incredibly talented. She conveys so much with a look and honestly I would love to see her on stage. I think she would do remarkably well in an actual play. Her and Glen Powel had amazing chemistry but after the end credit sequence I think he just has intense chemistry with whomever he is standing next to. They were both very entertaining to watch both individually and together.

The film played on a lot of tropes but in a good way. Shakespeare was the originator of most romantic comedy tropes and the movie played to that in a Shakespearean way not in a cheesy romantic comedy way and that’s why the movie worked so well. All the overhearing scenes were great but the first one when Ben is literally hearing his friend and his friend's father talk through the grapevine was exactly how you would put that on stage. A lot of the film was perfectly farce like and it made it feel like a 2000s rom com.

Anyone But You definitely joins the ranks of perfect Shakespeare adaptations and watchable and rewatchable romantic comedies. She’s the Man and 10 Things I Hate About You haven’t gotten a movie to join them in years and it is time audiences finally got their taste of modern Shakespeare again. Now if someone could just give me a fun rom com based off of As You Like It I will be having a great day. Overall the movie is a perfect 10/10 as an adaptation and as a stand alone romantic comedy. It is absolutely one of the most entertaining movies of the year and you can’t tell me that adapting Shakespeare, conveying romance, comedy and drama all in one project isn’t a skillful feat. However it will receive no awards…why class? That’s right! Because romantic comedies are predominantly marketed to and seen by women! And the things that we like and make popular can’t possibly require any actual skill.