Anyone but You Director Says “Cringe” Scenes Are “Taken Directly From William Shakespeare”

Anyone But You director Will Gluck says someone else is to blame for the film’s “cringe scenes:” Unbeknownst to some, Anyone But You is loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The romantic comedy stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as Bea and Ben, who pretend to be a couple despite a mutual dislike for each other. If you’ve ever seen a rom-com, you’re likely to know how that story ends, but predictability never killed a rom-com.

While chatting with Letterboxd about Anyone But You, Gluck touched on some of the reviews that found some of the film’s scenes cringe-worthy:

“It’s funny because even my favorite of all the Letterboxd reviews say, ‘Oh, there’re so many cringe scenes.’ I say, ‘Well, which ones are cringe?’ ‘Oh, the goofy part when the dad and the brother over-act loudly.’ And then I just have to say, ‘That is directly from William Shakespeare.’ All the cringe scenes in this movie are taken directly from William Shakespeare. The tropes that all the romantic comedies have now, he started it back in sixteen-whatever. That’s where they began. So, yes, you’ve seen it millions of times, but this was honoring the goofiness of that.”

He adds:

“I also truly believe that, for some reason, when we watch movies, we expect the characters to be the smartest people in the world, [as if] it’s the first time they’ve ever been through this, the first time a guy’s ever liked a girl in the world and never does anything goofy and silly. And yet in the real world, every interaction I have, you have, is ‘I just cannot believe you’ve done that. It’s so goofy, it’s so silly, I feel like such an idiot.’ So I try to walk the line between what would really happen—and it was even more goofy in Shakespeare, it was even crazier in the original play. So my conversation is more with the play, I’d say.”

Will There Be an Anyone But You Sequel?

Despite a mixed critical reception, Anyone But You has been well-received by audiences (the film has passed the $200 million mark at the global box office), largely thanks to the undeniable chemistry between Powell and Sweeney. Even the film’s critics seem to agree on that point. Given their on-screen dynamic, it’s reasonable that the movie’s fans would want to see more of the two leads together. On whether a sequel film will ever happen, Gluck shares:

“Glen and I are definitely talking about doing things together in the future. We don’t know. We definitely plan to do something together. We don’t quite know what it is. We have some ideas. How about that for an answer?”

Whether it’s through Bea and Ben or two completely different characters, Powell and Sweeney will likely collaborate in the future. Just last month, Powell shared that he and Sweeney were looking for their next joint project:

“When you find somebody that you really jive with, Sydney is so easy to work with and so fun. We’re definitely trying to find the next thing.”

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In the meantime, Powell can next be seen in the Twister sequel, Twisters. The film, directed by Lee Isaac Chung from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, and starring Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Maura Tierney, Brandon Perea, Daryl McCormack, Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka, and Nik Dodani, lands in theaters July 19. Sweeney’s latest feature, the psychological horror Immaculate, premieres on March 22, 2024. Sweeney has received early praise for her work in the film.