Since 2017, there has been no studio-level release of a romantic comedy film. A shocking turn of events, Sony's new movie Anyone But You recently racked a whopping $100 million in the global box office.
The beloved rom com used to be a key player in the studio system pipeline. Accredited with the 90s, films such as Pretty Woman, 10 Things I Hate About You and Sleepless in Seattle gave stardom to the genre. Although, the popularity and surge of rom-coms slowed down by the 2010s, this holiday season marks the return of romantic comedies as "Anyone but You" takes home 2024's first box-office success story.
“I don’t think the audience for romantic comedies ever went away.”- Thomas Rothman (CEO and Chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group)
Since we already established that romance films has a long history in Hollywood, inherently, this means that the genre has undergone much cultural transformation. However, both the older and the contemporary rom-com holds a "prevailing cultural ethos" that governs and represents our understanding of love and romance (Dowd, 553). In other words, these rom-coms are popular because in one way or a another they portray human romantic desires in everyday life.
Consequently, romantic comedies often share common themes that contribute to the genre's distinctive charm and appeal. Anyone But You features the classic trope of Enemies to Lovers. A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", the film stars rising industry babe Sydney Sweeney and Hollywood hunk Glen Powell. The film begins when a indecisive law student Bea meets finance bro Ben, in which over a misunderstanding become enemies. Months later, they are forced to stay at vacation home together in Australia, and decide that it would please everyone around them if they pretended to be a real couple.
With mixed reviews from critics and the public, the film was heavily marketed on social media platforms which contributed to its box-office success. Anyone But You adheres to almost every typical rom-com formula; two characters who under circumstances fall for one another. Although glossy, the film has faced lots of backslash and critism.
One central consensus is the film's overuse of nudity as a plant for comedy. In a scene when the wedding center piece catches on fire, Ben's ex girlfriend saves the day by taking off her dress to put out the flame. Although the inciting incident is exciting, Ben and Bea set a fire during a bickering fight, the payoff is less compelling and also unnecessary. Another controversy in the film, is Sydney Sweeney being dressed in clothes that either don't fit her or are exposing. The two characters are not given particularly complex emotions or thoughts, which weakens the dynamic between them and the audience. Many suggests that the appeal of the couple is rooted in their good looks and aesthetics rather their distinctive characteristics. Thus, The value of interesting character chemistry is traded for physical aesthetics and sex.
Although Hollywood romances are usually silly and exaggerated, these films fundamentally still reflect cultural values and social norms. The public's devotion to rom-coms is rooted in the excitement of a possible romance that fill a "cultural niche of considerable importance" (Dowd 570). While adhering to the traditional formula yet simultaneously deviating from it, Anyone But You's takes a modern spin on romance. But when we examine the film a little closer, we begin to ask ourselves if these premises are really that romantic after all.
What are you thoughts? Leave me a comment :)
Work Cited
Allen, Dennis. “Why Things Don’t Add up in ‘The Sum of Us’: Sexuality and Genre Crossing in the Romantic Comedy.” Narrative, vol. 7, no. 1, 1999, pp. 71–88. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20107170. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.
Blyth, Antonia, and Anthony D’Alessandro. “Sony’s Tom Rothman Celebrates ‘anyone but You’ & Rom Com Return: ‘Studios Just Stopped Believing in Them’ – Golden Globes Red Carpet.” Deadline, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2024, deadline.com/2024/01/golden-globes-2024-red-carpet-anyone-but-you-tom-rothman-1235697669/.
Dowd, James J., and Nicole R. Pallotta. “The End of Romance: The Demystification of Love in the Postmodern Age.” Sociological Perspectives, vol. 43, no. 4, 2000, pp. 549–80. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1389548. Accessed 22 Jan. 2024.
Gleiberman, Owen. “‘anyone but You’ Review: In a Rom-Com of the Moment, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell Find (at Least) 10 Things I Hate about You.” Variety, Variety, 31 Dec. 2023, variety.com/2023/film/reviews/anyone-but-you-review-sydney-sweeney-glen-powell-1235846889/.
Guerrasio, Jason. “‘anyone but You’ Was a Sleeper Hit at the Box Office. Its Success Proves Hollywood Needs to Reinvest in Romantic Comedies.” Business Insider, Business Insider, www.businessinsider.com/anyone-but-you-studio-rom-com-revival-2024-1. Accessed 21 Jan. 2024.
Comments