Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Anyone But You Blu-ray Movie Review

Anything but this...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 14, 2024

Do you find accidental nudity hee-larious? Not the graphic sort. The kind where lady-bits and gent-pieces are just out of frame so that all attention is directed to the wide-eyed discomfort of the characters witnessing or experiencing said nudity? Do you laugh uncontrollably every time someone, somehow loses their clothes and has to explain it to their gawking friends? Do you enjoy vapid, shallow humor perfectly satisfied with least-common-denominator romantic comedy punchlines? Then oh man, do I have the flick for you and yours. Anyone But You: a grating reverse rom-com about exceptionally pretty people doing exceptionally pretty-people things while misunderstanding anything and everything in exceptionally un-pretty ways. The premise has potential, though you've seen it played out a hundred times before in better films, but the execution? I found myself muttering, "end it. Dear God, end it now. Please."

Pictured above: my only two facial expressions while watching 'Anyone But You'.

Beginning at most other rom-coms' ending, law student Bea (Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney) and Goldman Sachs stock trader Ben (Scream Queens' Glen Powell) fall for each other after an inadvertent meet-cute at a local coffee shop. After an evening of sweet nothings, longing looks, and falling asleep fully clothed (a sign of true love in these things), the two soon find themselves separated and at extreme odds, the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, interpreting the wrong words the wrong way, and judging one another without, you know, asking a question that would instantly clear things up. Roll credits. But no, we're not so lucky. Six months later Bea's sister, Halle (Utopia's Hadley Robinson), begins dating Ben's best bro's sister, Claudia (Barbie's Alexandra Shipp)... cause who else would Bea's sister meet that would force Ben and Bea to spend time together at a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia? What follows are a comedy-of-errors lineup of unintended betrayals, wild misunderstandings, and clothes being discarded, ripped or torn away by just about everyone at one point or another as Ben and Bea devise a plan from a completely different movie: pretend to be a loving couple so as not to spoil the wedding. Which they of course do. Then don't. It's a happy ending, cause what else would you expect? Directed by Will Guck with a screenplay by Guck and Ilana Wolpert, the film also stars GaTa as Ben's friend Pete, Picard's Michelle Hurd, the always funny Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown, Rachel Griffiths and Charlee Fraser.

Sydney Sweeney may be a breakout star but she'll need to be far more careful with her career if this is the kind of dreck she wants to build stardom on. With three gags recycled ad nauseum, Anyone But You wants to be several different movies all at once: a boundary-crossing R-rated comedy, a saccharine sweet rom-com, a throwback to the era of romantic romps, a sitcom born for the big screen, a star-crossed lovers comedy, and on and on and on. Most of all I suspect Guck and Wolpert desperately want it to be a less homicidal Ruthless People (1986), perhaps the greatest of all comedies that toy with never-ending misunderstanding and misperception. Sweeney and Powell are... fine, given the material, and the supporting cast is... fine, with the mouthfuls of genre dialogue they have to chew on while taking each scene seriously. But what remains is a competently shot misfire that isn't sure what it wants its audience to feel, much less who to root for. We naturally root for our happy-then-unhappy duo -- we've been trained by movie posters and trailers for decades to do nothing less -- but the lesbian couple at the plot's center are starring in a far more palatable flick. (Which also raises the specter of how funny or unfunny it is in 2024 to watch two well-meaning straight people tumble headlong into an inclusive family getaway and nearly obliterate an LGBTQ couple's big day.)

By film's end I didn't care a lick about Ben and Bea, other than to wish them the best so they could hurry up, hook up and move on. But even when they re-hook months after the initial hook, it's only to create more tension (fully by the screenwriters' hand), more miscues and more distance before inevitably crashing back together... only to learn more dishonesty, from completely different people, has been lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce and push everyone together. So, to recap: misunderstanding tore them apart and lies bring them back together. Makes total sense. Like a movie-amnesiac being hit on the head a second time, but this bonk recovers their memories instead of causing further damage. Sigh. Unfortunately (if you'll allow me to toss another "unfortunate" onto the misfortune heap), it only gets worse when you realize how many rich, attractive people are on screen, making the whole story more and more disconnected from reality. My ultimate hot take? Track down a copy of Ruthless People and watch how it's done, kids. You'll spend far less and enjoy your time far more, plus discover a classic comedy that has no business being as laugh-out-loud masterful as it is.

Anyone But You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Modern rom-coms certainly have a look, don't they? The Blu-ray release of Anyone But You delivers an immediately striking 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that does its job from the get-go. Rich, warm colors, vibrant primaries, inky black levels and gorgeous contrast balancing make every tear-away shirt and naked mishap an opportunity to show off more beautifully lifelike skin tones. (Even as the joke grows terribly old in the process.) Delineation is excellent too, as is detail, which is often so sharp it seems able to split hairs. Edge definition is as crisp as it gets -- to the point of almost looking too artificially sharp -- but fine textures, while exacting, are filmic enough to keep things more natural. If I have any nitpick it's that daytime scenes are sometimes overly sunny and nighttime scenes a bit too bright. However, it's all in keeping with the original photography and by no means appears to be a problem with the encode. Banding and artifacts are nowhere to be found either, making for a delightfully clean and colorful presentation free of distractions.

Anyone But You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is up to the genre task too, with enough playful charm and quick-hit power to bolster the film's Australian locales and buoyant rom-com score. Dialogue is intelligible at all times and reasonably well grounded in the mix. The rear speakers are a tad subdued early on, but once Ben and Bea head Down Under, the soundfield becomes more immersive. Waves swell and crash, wind brushes the sand, busy gatherings wrap around the listener, and every last expedition and misadventure becomes notably more engaging. LFE output holds true, with assertive support that, while not entirely punchy and explosive, needn't be anything grander. It's predictable and proficient, leaving little, if anything, to complain about.

Anyone But You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

I'd almost rather have no special features than the dreary, short rom-com extras meant only to sell you on a movie you've already purchased. Throw away studio EPK featurettes include "He Said She Said", "Everyone Down Under", "Aussie Snacks" and "ASMR Pick-up Lines", while a handful of deleted scenes and bloopers add few laughs. You'll make it through the whole package in less than a half hour.

Anyone But You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I won't rehash my issues with Anyone But You. Someone out there loves this stuff, and that someone is several million people (given the genre's number of unapologetic apologists). You can gripe about superhero movie fatigue all you want. These are the sort of genres that are actually exhausting. Thankfully, Sony shows up for anyone who digs what Sweeney and company are slinging. With a strong AV presentation, you could almost be forgiven for overlooking the trite, tired bonus content that offers little to no insight into the production.