Anyone but You’s real draw is the supporting cast

After slipping into theaters simply earlier than Christmas of 2023, the romantic comedy Anyone but You grew to become a sleeper hit, lingering in theaters and racking up hundreds of millions at the box office, due to its horny stars and flirty banter. Now that it’s on Netflix, it’s more likely to discover a entire new viewers and begin a complete new spherical of dialog about what makes rom-coms thrilling nowadays. But the steamy scenes and its stars’ off-screen chemistry isn’t what actually makes the film gratifying — the real draw is the stellar supporting cast.

Directed by Will Gluck (Simple A, Mates with Advantages), Anyone but You is a (very) unfastened adaptation of Shakespeare’s A lot Ado About Nothing. The film facilities round legislation scholar Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and finance bro Ben (Glen Powell), two cussed individuals who had one excellent date that blew aside, due to miscommunication. Now they hate one another! But they’re pulled again into the similar net when Bea’s sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), begins courting Ben’s childhood pal Claudia (Alexandra Shipp).

When Halle and Claudia get engaged and resolve to have a vacation spot marriage ceremony in Australia, Ben and Bea almost break the opening marriage ceremony festivities with their dangerous attitudes. But when each their exes present up, they resolve to fake to be in a relationship so Ben could make his horny Australian ex, Margaret (Charlee Fraser), jealous, and Bea can present her dad and mom that she’s doing simply high quality with out her childhood sweetheart, Jonathan (Darren Barnet). True to the rom-com components, that pretend relationship finally ends up digging up some real emotions.

But despite the fact that Ben and Bea are tremendous sizzling and their entire fake-relationship state of affairs is compelling, the finest shenanigans come from the supporting cast.

Claudia, Halle, and Claudia’s brother, Pete (GaTa), are literally scheming to trick Ben and Bea into liking one another — which is about so far as the A lot Ado adaptation goes. Claudia and Pete’s stepfather, Roger (Bryan Brown), is completely gung-ho for the concept as nicely. Cue some fabulously hilarious pretend interactions the place Pete and Roger stiltedly focus on how dangerous Bea has it for Ben, whereas pretending to not discover Ben clearly lurking in the nook. Pete and Roger have a typically hilarious dynamic, bouncing off one another with their over-the-top personalities.

Pete is notably hilarious on his personal, to the level the place generally he eclipses Ben and Bea’s shenanigans. One in all the film’s early gags has the entire marriage ceremony get together on a hike, the place due to a convoluted state of affairs involving a spider, Ben and Bea find yourself stripping. Whereas that set-piece feels weirdly compelled and contrived, Pete in the meantime spots a koala and shares a non secular reference to it, charming the remainder of the marriage ceremony get together. The juxtaposition of Ben and Bea freaking out over a big spider and the remainder of the get together having a trancelike encounter with a cute creature is amusing, but the latter is simply funnier as a result of it’s extra surprising.

Picture: Sony Footage/Everett Assortment

One in all the different standouts is Beau, an Australian surfer bro who speaks in a thick Crocodile Dundee-esque accent, performed by Joe Davidson. He’s imagined to be Ben’s romantic rival with regards to successful again Margaret, but he’s simply such a gung-ho radiant ball of sunshine that I’m rooting for him over everybody else on this film. You possibly can barely perceive what he’s saying, but he’s right here to look fairly, provide constructive vibes, and absorb the solar. He brightens up each scene he’s in.

The whole lot of the supporting cast has fascinating relationships with each other, and seeing them work together is one in every of the film’s finest components. These are individuals who know one another, like one another, and have spent quite a lot of time collectively, and from their straightforward banter and interactions, you possibly can completely inform. They’re hilarious and dynamic, at all times stealing the consideration away from Bea and Ben’s snippy sniping. So come to Anyone but You for a horny rom-com and to see what the hype is about, but keep for the glorious ensemble in the background.

Anyone but You is streaming on Netflix now.