Anyone But You

I knew from the trailers that I would love this. But if I'd known it was a "Much Ado About Nothing" retelling, I would've gotten around to watching it way sooner. It took me until about a quarter of the way in, but then all the names and Shakespeare quotes made sense. I loved the clever callbacks to both the play and the 1993 movie, from the overdramatic conversations overheard in the garden to the leads even looking a bit like Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. This had me grinning from ear to ear. And my goodness, the credits had me cackling. I will never listen to "Unwritten" the same way again.

I went to see this movie because I am a sucker for a romantic comedy, even the average ones (and let's face it, most of them are). Having seen the trailer, I had low expectations, yet this film still managed to come it at an even lower level.

Boy meets girl, they hit it off briefly, there is a misunderstanding and when they reconnect through a friend/family wedding, they hate each other. Except as anyone could predict, ultimately they don't really, but it takes an eternity of inauthentic, puerile dross to get there. No tissues needed here.

The acting is generally average to poor, and local actors like Rachel Griffiths and Bryan Brown (much of it filmed in Australia) do the minimum required, and are completely wasted here. The script is juvenile, facile and has little in common with reality. The direction is pedestrian and much of the movie is a travel ad for Sydney. Throw in plastic, unlikeable characters and a healthy dose of gratuitous nudity. The attempts at comedy are almost laughable as that, and what little romance eventuates at the end fails to convince after nearly two hours of tripe beforehand.

Not recommended, even if you are a fan of the genre.

This movie is exactly what I thought it would be so I can't complain too much.

The two leads are both very attractive and have good chemistry, so that was entertaining to watch and nice on the eyes. It had some cute scenes. I gotta say the ensemble was pretty good if I laughed it was always because something one of them said. They were a bunch of goofy characters. I also enjoyed dermot mulroney's character when he was learning how to dive and the reoccurance of that at the end of the movie. It made me giggle.

But I gotta say... the dialogue was very mediocre and at times just not good at all. It just lacked depth which again didn't expect it to have depth but still could have been better.

We've seen a million movies set at weddings before - where even the couple getting married gets invested in the main couples status. So I knew a lot of the tropes would be the same, but it was the same but a bit worse. The main couple story I actually really liked, I thought they were hilarious and cute and beat out other movies with the same storyline. It was everything else that fell short. The background characters felt cheesy and fake. All surface level gags or you didn't really get to know them, nothing felt genuine - case in point Bea's parents were incredibly unrealistic, no ones that out of touch. Even Bea's background felt half-done, never explaining why she didn't want law school.

It's nice to watch something for a change that just makes you smile...it doesn't pretend to be an Oscar masterpiece, just a bit of fun that makes you feel good! There's questionable parts and moments that make you wince for sure but If you want something that's easy to watch that just makes you feel a bit happier about life then this is for you! I think we take things a little too seriously now and expect more and more from cinema...this film reminds me of the romcoms back in the 90's and we really should make more of them! Please don't expect the world it's just a bit of fun and it certainly will leave you with a smile!