There’s something off aboutAnyone but You. While not without its charms (many of them found in a closing credit sing-along toNatasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” and the comic chops ofGlen Powell), too much of the film feels like rigid emulation of “relaxed” rom-coms rather than the real thing. Going through the expected narrative motions of these films (complete with tiny strained misunderstandings resulting in relationships falling apart) with little excitement or panache, Anyone but You could’ve used an extra jolt or two of energy. Its shortcomings are especially bizarre, though, considering its leading man previously inhabited a far superior romantic comedy that provided a great blueprint for how to pull off this kind of movie. Specifically, the 2018Claire Scanlonmotion pictureSet It Upone-upsAnyone but Youin nearly every way.
It’s rare to say aNetflix Original Movieis artistically superior to a theatrical endeavor, but this is no case ofMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part OneputtingHeart of Stoneto shame. Pairing Powell up withZoey Deutchfor a frothy matchmaking romantic comedy turned out to be a recipe for a sweet cinematic diversion inSet It Up. It’s even easier to appreciate the pleasures of this particular production when one places it alongsideAnyone but You. Romantic comedies often get dismissed as “junk food” and an easy target of ridicule by the general public, but there is an art to making one of these properly.ComparingSet It UptoAnyone but Youexemplifies the qualities that separate the subpar entries in this genre from the ones people have talked about for years and years.
Two corporate executive assistants hatch a plan to match-make their two bosses.
What Makes a Good Rom-Com Couple?
One key to making a great romantic comedy? Get lead actors who are entertainingly different from one another. There’s so much innate entertainment to be wrung out of witnessing two personalities who shouldn’t even be in the same room together bounce off one another…and maybe it even becomes moving to see those disparate souls get intertwined in romance.Gregory PeckandAudrey Hepburn, for instance, couldn’t be more different in terms of their big screen personas, which just made them such a perfect duo to anchorRoman Holiday. The stoic Peck made a great counterpoint to the younger spunky Hepburn. Similarly, the radically different personalities in thelead performances ofWhen Harry Met Sally…are the cornerstone of that movie’s funniest moments. The initial animosity and increasing intimacy of the film’s titular leads are such entertaining elements becauseBilly CrystalandMeg Ryan’s performances seem to have come from different planets.
Set It Upis noWhen Harry Met Sally…orMoonstruck, but it does get a lot of charming material out of tapping into the innately very different demeanors of its two leads, Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch. Playing Harper Moore and Charlie Young, respectively, the duo make sure to inhabit distinctly unique sensibilities that can be incredibly fun to watch rub up against one another. Scanlon’s direction specifically seems to revolve around having Deutch convey a more modern sensibility in her lead performance, while Powell has a demeanor that appears rooted in more old-timey romantic comedies. They each sell those personalities nicely and their commitment to those auras makes watching the two characters spar as they attempt to set theirtoxic bossesup with one another an enjoyable experience. Powell had fewer comedies under his belt beforeSet It Up, but he did show up in one key feature that helped him get familiar with this genre:Everybody Wants Some!!That 2016 film also saw him rubbing shoulders with Deutch, which ensured the pair had some familiarity with one another before a frame of footage forSet It Upwas shot.
‘Set It Up’ Review: The Romcom Genre Lives on Netflix
‘Set It Up’ could serve as the worthwhile beginning of a revival of the genre thanks to sharp writing and excellent performances from Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell.
By comparison, unfortunately, the leading performers ofAnyone but Youaren’t very compelling. The most glaring issue here is that Powell and Sydney Sweeney’s respective characters often speak in the same style of snarky sarcasm-laden dialogue, while their decidedly modern personalities often blur together. There are no real contrasts between the two regarding their world outlook, class, music tastes, comedic delivery, or anything else. That makes the movie more than a bit of a slog to sit through, as lengthy conversations between their respective characters just sound like one person chattering away to themselves. Meanwhile,Sydney Sweeney’s gifts as an actor(seen in some of the most viral scenes fromEuphoriaand the 2023 featureReality) are not well-utilized here. Being experienced with dark dramas up to this point, Sweeney just seems a bit stilted with her comedic line deliveries while her most emotionally vulnerable moments come off as a tad insincere (a problem compounded by the entire film’s snarky overtones).Without a great pair of leads to anchor the proceedings on,Anyone but Youis already sinking from the get-go, even before one places it alongsideSet It Up.
‘Set It Up’ Is Just More Fun Than ‘Anyone but You’
It’s not like every single element inAnyone but Youis inferior toSet It Up. Most notably, the former film (with its pair of soon-to-be-wed lesbians) has way better LGBTQIA+ representation than the latter feature (which featuresPete Davidsonas the least believable gay roommate in a rom-com ever). However, in its most critical areas,Anyone but You’slackluster qualities just feel even more frustrating when one remembers how much better Set It Up was years ago. This is especially true when it comes to the supporting casts of each movie. Unsurprisingly,Set It Upscores a massive win here since its ensemble of players includes the alwaysiconicLucy Liuas a malicious boss. Liu ingeniously leans into the inherently outsized nature of romantic comedies by chewing up the scenery and then some as only she can do.
AsdirectorJoel Schumacheronce said, “No one ever paid to see under the top” andLiu lives up to that mantra with her hysterically maximalist work inSet It Up.Meanwhile, the likes ofTaye DiggsandMeredith Hagnershow up for charming supporting turns while a cameo fromTituss Burgessas a plant-obsessed janitor delivers some of the film’s most absurdly amusing moments. TheAnyone but Yousupporting cast, meanwhile, isn’t bad, they’re just not given much to do. Whereas a two-scene character like Burgess’s janitor inSet It Upgets a distinctive hobby and unique personality, supposedly key players inAnyone but Youlike Margaret (Charlee Fraser) or Pete (GaTa) barely get any dimensions at all. They’re just around to deliver expository dialogue, not generate laughs or let the creativity of the script run wild.
To add insult to injury, Claire Scanlon’s visual sensibilities inSet It Up, while far from ambitious, at least get the job done and rarely undercut the jokes or actors on-screen. By contrast,Will Gluck’s filmmaking inAnyone but Youhas a strange habit of derailing gags. The first big comedic set piece of the film, involving Sweeney’s character trying to remove a water stain from her jeans, is awkwardly executed through clumsy blocking and camerawork that initially makes it difficult to tell what’s even going on! It’s not likeSet It Uphas sublime cinematography and directing (it’s still got the distracting overly digital visual shortcomings Netflix movies have), it’s just that it’s often competent enough to let us appreciate the actors on-screen.Anyone but You, meanwhile, often features ramshackle editing and blocking that dilutes whatever joys can be found in its surface-level pleasures.
It’s easy to take for granted the intricacies of aromantic comedy. These films and their hallmarks (like a climactic mad rush to the airport) have been lampooned so much in our culture that it’s easy to forget all the craftsmanship that goes into the greatest entries of this genre. Even a fluffy diversion likeSet It Uphas virtues to offer that set it apart from weaker phoned-in movies likeAnyone but You.If one wants to see how to both produce a decent romantic-comedy and properly utilize Glen Powell as a rom-com lead, thenSet It Upis your movie.
