THE IDEA OF ANYONE BUT YOU
But really I just want to watch Ryan Gosling adjust Emily Blunt's hat for two hours
I’m a bit late to these big star rom-coms but I watched THE IDEA OF YOU, ANYONE BUT YOU and FALL GUY in quick succession and so the state of the modern rom-com needs to be discussed.
Despite everyone touting the return of the romantic comedy, I feel we’re still wading in a sea of mediocrity. In fact, of all the ones I’m going to discuss today, last summer’s NO HARD FEELINGS probably scores highest in my book. Yes, it was a bit unconventional given there was no true love interest for J. Law, so it doesn’t totally live in the classic rom-com sphere, but it was the most enjoyable laugh-out-loud experience. I don’t know how we’re not talking about Jennifer Lawerence’s full frontal nude fight scene every day, but I digress. Some thoughts on THE IDEA OF YOU.
I would pay to watch Anne Hathaway do anything. Brush her teeth. Sort recycling. Sit on the phone with Spectrum, occasionally saying “no” and “speak to a representative.” But in this case, THE IDEA OF YOU was available on Amazon Prime, so my subscription included the 1 hour 57 minute watch (too long for a movie where very little happens). FIRST, the tropes that worked. Anne looked hot hot hot — that is a minimum requirement and we got there. The film quickly establishes that Anne is turning 40 and has a troubled relationship with her ex-husband, who recently left her for his much younger colleague. While chaperoning her teenage daughter’s Cochella trip, she meets Hayes Campbell, a sexy boy band singer with a hard on for Anne. I’m sorry, not Anne, “Solène” - Anne’s character has a sexy French name and is an effortlessly beautiful art gallery owner.
How are we still doing the “art gallery owner” thing? I could forgive that wildly uninspired choice if the film were a bit more fun, but the whole thing was like Solène’s gallery. Sterile. Uneventful. She felt like she had whole body botox. And she wasn’t very funny : ( Name an iconic female rom-com character and I promise she was funny as hell.
I’m gonna say it, the sixteen year age difference was too much. I don’t care if they “resolved it” by (spoiler alert) pushing off the resolution of their romance by five years. When he reappears, love interest Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) is now a strapping 29-year-old and I guess his prefrontal cortex is developed enough for us to believe he really loves Solène. I think they should have kept the age gap at 12 years and just set him in his late 20’s and her in her 40’s. That’s still a very titillating age difference! But the notion that this insanely cultured woman is actually into a 24 year old, who has no shared interests, life experience, or really anything to offer that Solène is lacking, was unrealistic and worse, boring.
Also, for a film that was obsessed with the age difference, they didn’t once address the biggest issue with a summer / early fall romance. Not one mention of children, which feels like a cop out because if Solène really wanted to cite reasons for ending the relationship, that’s her trump card. You might say, “but this is a rom-com, we’re here to watch them bang not talk about hypothetical children!,” and yes I agree with you. But the film took a turn around the midpoint into moody, indie-drama territory. So if they’re going to do that, talk about the kids. Either give me a makeover montage in Monacco, or have a serious conversation. Thems the rules.
That said the leads did have good chemistry and I appreciated the more sexy bits. Bonus that the August Moon songs (the fictional boy band Galitzine leads) were pretty fun?? Good even? Music producer Savan Kotecha and music supervisor Frankie Pine did a bang up job - Kotecha was a vocal coach and song writer for One Direction and Pine was recently nominated for an Emmy for her work on Daisy Jones & the Six, a soundtrack that ABSOLUTELY SLAPS and was 100% on my Spotify wrapped last year.
Um… ANYONE BUT YOU was bad. So so bad. The premise: Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell experience a potent meet cute, but through some classic Shakespearean miscommunication they part ways feeling hurt and betrayed. They meet a year later at a mutual friend’s wedding and the enemies to lovers plot thickens.
I had medium-level hopes because I generally like Sydney Sweeney and was excited for a wide-release rom-com, but wow. I don’t want to blame the script, because even though it was just-okay-bordering-on-bad, it had potential. I think it could have been translated to screen much better if they’d had stronger comedic leads and settled on a tone. One moment it was a true Shakespearean farce, with characters scheming to be overheard from behind topiaries. Other moments it was Hallmark level schmaltzy. There were attempts at classic 40’s screwball (they did not work. The cookie on the airplane? Come on) and then we’d get flickers of 2000’s era sex-comedy. But the direction by Will Gluck felt like a bad DJ set — no crossfades between those genre switches. Just hard cuts between tones that would have felt more jarring if I was at all emotionally invested.
I don’t mind Glen Powell. I recognize he has some good comedic chops in that he can deliver needlessly complicated dialogue and has great physical control. But his character is such an uber alpha male, you desperately want to see him humiliated/cut down a peg and that never happens (unless you count the time a spider goes down his pants and oh no he has to get naked and reveal his perfect body). And Sydney… sweet thing. I liked her much better before watching this film. I think this letterbox review said it best.
I love the lore around her as a producer, I will continue to eagerly watch her dramatic work, but wow I may never trust her in a comedy again. HOWEVER, her tits were magnificent. I wouldn’t mention them if they weren’t truly presented as a third lead, which I have no problem with! If we’re selling a sex comedy, let’s see the ladies! I just wish the direction and script were as supportive as the double pushup bras they strapped Sweeney in.
The winner in the last 6 month rom-com(petition) is definitely FALL GUY. Is there any on-screen couple more charming than Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt?? Wow I loved these two together. Every scene between them was just oozing with chemistry and charisma. World class actors, world class entertainers, and both very funny. ANYONE BUT YOU? Trying so hard to be funny, was not funny. THE IDEA OF YOU, not trying to be funny and was not funny. FALL GUY… funny!
Director David Leitch1 did a great job. His only flaw in my opinion was separating the leads for a majority of the film. I’m not a full throttle action lady, so I understand if my “but did we need that much action???” assessment of an action-comedy directed by a former stuntman sounds ridiculous. BUT at the end of the day I am not here for a wide of a Ryan Gosling stand-in driving a boat into a water explosion. I’m here for the moment when Ryan adjusts Emily Blunt’s hat. When they giggle “spicy margaritas” to each other in English accents.
Leitch even admits that in test screenings the audience asked for more Gosling/Blunt, so they went back into the cut and let some romantic scenes play out longer. But the film still gives WAY more screen time to fight sequences and chase scenes than it does to Ryan and Emily. Were there scheduling conflicts?? Why were these INCREDIBLE leads with INCREDIBLE chemistry in different locations 60% of the time? Also the action was good, but the editing made it feel way more CGI than it actually was. The end credits featured BTS of action sequences revealing that a majority was actually practical! But the choppy edit made it somehow feel less real.2
I suppose it’s no coincidence that the most successful of these films is the one that stuck to the classic rom-com mold. Just two hots at a wedding, enemies to lovers. No frills no chills. And it made a ridiculous amount of money. ANYONE BUT YOU scored $200 million in theaters on a $25 million budget. FALL GUY hasn’t done poorly, it’s pulling $160 mil right now, but the thing cost $140 to make : / Considering the marketing budget was certainly in the 10s of millions, we’re not even breaking even. Two less explosions my dudes and you’d have a more profitable and tighter film. Also curious that two of these, ANYONE BUT YOU and FALL GUY were both filmed in Australia to take advantage of a very generous film tax incentive. Which means ANYONE BUT YOU made a bit more and FALL GUY lost a bit less. Go see the latter in theaters and help that box office!
So where are we with rom-coms mid 2024? It feels like the big budget ones are still falling short. And it’s likely just a numbers game. Look how many rom-coms (big studio rom-coms) came out in 2004. ALONG CAME POLLY, 5O FIRST DATES, THE NOTEBOOK, SHALL WE DANCE, LAWS OF ATTRACTION, 13 GOING ON 30, WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON, JERSEY GIRL, WIMBLEDON. All huge films with huge stars. And I’m not even citing the more indie rom-coms that were successful enough that we still talk about them - GARDEN STATE, BRIDE AND PREJUDICE, BEFORE SUNSET, SPANGLISH… Which of the 2024 rom-coms will we be talking about in 20 years? IRISH WISH? The math ain’t mathing.
I feel like I have to note that these are all directed by men, as was NO HARD FEELINGS. In terms of female directed studio comedies from the last year (summer 2023 to summer 2024) we’ve had BARBIE, BOTTOMS, JOY RIDE, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3, LISA FRANKENSTIEN… But only two of those were “big” budget, and only Barbie had true star power.
I recently rewatched MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and was reminded how good the editing is. So much of the action was practical and the editing supported that. GREAT listen about the making of the film on WHAT WENT WRONG. George Miller’s wife edited the film and received a well deserved Oscar for her impeccable work.