Anyone But You (2023)

The rom-com is a sub-genre that is often unfairly maligned. Yes, a bad one can feel extra painful, but a really good rom-com is cinematic comfort food. You can enjoy the fantasy, enjoy the chemistry between the main players, and hopefully feel a warm glow as a big grin stays on your face while the end credits roll. Anyone But You manages that. It is quite predictable, and tries to make itself stand out from other rom-coms by throwing around a bit more raunchiness and a few extra curse words, but it does exactly what you want it to do.

Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) meet one day in a coffee shop and end up on a date that ends in a great night for both of them. But Bea then heads away the next morning before Ben wakes up, having doubts about her feelings. Seeing sense while walking away, she returns to over hear Ben then putting on a front as he chats to his friend, Pete (GaTa). Ben claims that Bea was a disaster, not knowin what she wants to do with her life, and it was a meaningless one night thing. The two will probably never see one another again. That becomes much more difficult when, 6 months later, Bea's sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), starts dating Pete's sister, Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), which leads to their engagement, which leads to a destination wedding in Sydney. Bea and Ben both attend the wedding, unable to conceal their dislike for one another, but it soon becomes clear that everyone around them will be happier, and stop meddling in their lives, if they pretend to make up, and fall in love with one another. That would stop Bea's parents trying to reunite her with her ex-fiancé, Jonathan (Darren Barnett), and Ben becoming unavailable might make him even more appealing to an ex that he still seems to hold a candle for (Margaret, played by Charlee Fraser). I am sure you know how things end up playing out from there.

Co-written by Ilana Wolpert and director Will Gluck, who have decided to loosely base the whole thing on Much Ado About Nothing, this shows you what can happen when you make use of genre tropes and audience expectations in a way that somehow feels more about delivering simple pleasures than being lazy. It's all very obvious, no need for subtlety here, but everything is signposted within the realm of logic established in the movie, and it's all helped by a cast that seem to be having a lot of fun with their roles.

Gluck directs the whole thing with a deft hand, keeping things moving along nicely in between the minor set-pieces, and there are so many different gags that at least one is guaranteed to make even the most stone-hearted viewer smirk, at the very least. The Australian scenery is used as an attractive backdrop, there's excellent use of a Natasha Bedingfield pop song, and almost every little detail feeds into the various highs and lows on the path to where we all know the characters will end up.

I was unfamiliar with Sweeney before this, and am unlikely to rush to anything else she does, but she's okay here. She's pretty enough, but delivers her dialogue in a strange way that makes her seem permanently dazed/stoned. That's obviously just the way she is, but it stops her from being the most captivating and watchable performer. Thankfully, Powell delivers enough star power to make both of them shine brighter together, and he's someone I will happily watch in anything he does (which should be plenty, considering how much his cache has risen in recent years). GaTa is fun, very laid back throughout almost every minute of his screentime, and both Shipp and Robinson are very good, and make a very cute couple, while Fraser gets to play the typically gorgeous and sexy "one that got away", even as she seems to be in a new relationship with what seems to be a stereotypical Australian surf-dude (Beau, played entertainingly enough by Joe Davidson). Barnett doesn't have much to do, although he's fine, but that allows for more amusing moments involving Bryan Brown, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, and Rachel Griffiths (all playing the parents of the two women to be wed).

Two attractive people resisting attraction to one another until they just give in to their feelings isn't anything new. But this film also includes a scene that involves a large spider, a mellow koala bear, and nudity that you won't find in any other rom-com. And that's just one of many highlights in a rom-com that serves as a reminder of how good it can be to just sit back and enjoy the formula when it is utilised as well as this.

7/10

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Prime Time: Cocktail (1988)

Everyone knows that it can be a great life when you make some money working in a bar. Get hired in the right place and you can get great tips, be paid for having fun, and try to boost your sex life. There was also a time, throughout the 1980s, when everyone was encouraged to grab the American dream by the throat, make millions in some comfortable job that allowed you to go full yuppie, and generally have much more money than taste (or manners). Cocktail, one of a number of classic Tom Cruise films that helped him solidify his superstar status, comes up with what seems to be a perfect combination of these life dreams, focusing on a cocky young man who wants to have the fun, wants to have the money, and wants to have a level of respect afforded to him that is rarely given to anyone who is “just a bartender”.

Written by Heywood Gould, and based on his own book, this is a film that somehow ends up being even worse than you remember. I may be wrong, but I don’t THINK many people genuinely loved this when it was released. It was a hit, there were things to enjoy (the soundtrack being a big plus), and it had Cruise being at his most desperately alpha male (can pick up any woman he wants, will make his dreams a reality by sheer force of will, happy to start fighting people when he feels wronged, etc), but even those who enjoyed seeing this when it was first released surely had a number of better films they would always revisit ahead of it. 

I should try to sketch out the plot, and I will put more words here than necessary. Cruise is Brian Flanagan, a young man who has just left the military and wants to make his fortune. He ends up working in a bar alongside Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown), being taught both bar skills and valuable life lessons. One thing leads to another, which leads to Brian working at a bar on a sun-drenched beach, where he meets the lovely Jordan Mooney (Elisabeth Shue), but Brian seems unlikely to be able to ever commit to a full and honest relationship. Can he overcome the big obstacle of his own making by the time the end credits roll? Does a Bloody Mary have tomato juice in it?

Director Roger Donaldson knows the movie he is making here. It isn’t a dark drama. It isn’t an unpredictable journey through the heart of American maleness. It isn’t a “How To” guide for those wanting to segue from bartending to the world of big business. It’s a Tom Cruise movie. And Tom Cruise needs to be Tom Cruise, but at a stage where he can still be taught a thing or two by his elders. 

Cruise aside, and I guess he does fine here (although this is arguably his most obnoxious onscreen role), the real treat of Cocktail is listening to the ridiculous wisdom imparted by Brown, who serves as both a mentor and a grave warning to our “hero”. Brown matches Cruise in terms of attitude and presence, but also shows how quickly someone can become tiresome and laughable when trying to retain an air of cool superiority. Shue is also a welcome presence, even if she is treated as poorly by the script as you might expect. She’s not EXACTLY a trapped princess waiting to be rescued by a brave prince, but it’s pretty damn close. Gina Gershon, Kelly Lynch, and Lisa Barnes all turn up to play three very different women who cross paths with one, or both, of our drink movers and shakers, but it’s only Gershon who is allowed to have a bit of resistance to the charms of Tom, and Roger Dean is good fun in a small role, playing Uncle Pat, who also delivers wisdom while tending his own small bar.

Much like the flair bartending tricks and flourishes at the heart of this, Cocktail is ultimately impractical, pointless, and superficial. It is a showy distraction, but it’s also moderately entertaining while you watch it. And you can always practice those moves at home, in private, with the soundtrack blasting from your speakers. 

5/10

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