Allegedly, romantic comedies have been put on the bus for the longest time as they have been drowned by extravagant blockbusters and serious dramatized biographies. However, Anyone But You film demonstrates that this genre is far gone. This contemporary rom-com encompasses clichés of the genre, but reinvigorates the plot with new elements for today’s viewers, thus revamping a cherished film tradition.
A Romantic Comedy that Resonates
Anyone but You is directed by Will Gluck, has a relatively small production budget of $25 million and grossed over $200 million worldwide, indicating the attractiveness of niche storytelling across cultures. Money may have been made while creating popular films such as The Marvels, but this profitability proves that there is always space for low to mid range budgeted films. One popular blockbuster has so much dollar value, studios could have produced eleven romantic comedies, such as Anyone But You instead, splendid imaginations to consider.
The film stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell does not revolutionize in its story. Rather, it seems to borrow heavily from an original romantic comedy, William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, first performed in 1600. If you still haven’t seen it, maybe there is no need to rent a movie. In general, love, misunderstandings, and witty bickering will always be relevant, especially when new elements like nudes and koalas are thrown into the mix.
William Shakespear’s Works In Different Perspectives
Hollywood has come a long way in revisiting Shakespeare’s pieces and this is not done in always very visible ways. 10 Things I Hate About You recalled Richard III, West Side Story was a development of Romeo and Juliet, and even Walt Disney’s animations The Lion King resembles Hamlet without much of a stretch.
Anyone But You is part of this tradition and doesn’t abandon its heritage. The characters in the film seem to belong to Much Ado About Nothing: Bea and Ben represent Beatrice and Benedick in today’s world while Claudia and Halle assume the roles of Claudio and Hero. Even such secondary characters as Leo (Leonato) and Beau (Borachio) are noble Shakespearean allusions. This film is an example of returning to origins, so to speak, as the play includes citations from the original play aforementioned.
Deriving Influence Ars Poetica – Click here to read more about inspirations by literature
Anyone But You never hides away from the fact that it owes much to Shakespeare- both in terms of the dialogue as well as expressions. For example, one of the scenes phrases “Assume your part in some disguise” s a direct reference to his character Don Pedros line in act 1 of the play. At other times subtle lines are incorporated like “Some Cupids kill with arrows, others with traps,” in a seamless manner. There was also another gem from the original text in terms of the wedding vows: “I love so much heart that there is no more body left to be controverted.”
The womb of the theatre does not hide away from paying respects to Shakespeare, with graffiti saying: “A lot can be done with hate but more can be done with love”, which is relevant to the world of Twitter hate today. At one point while the couple is dancing, there is a banner that reads ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ which hangs over them. Effortless? Certainly not. But it is a conscious acceptance of what Shakespeare did – And it is an encouragement to revisit romantic comedies with a Shakespearean touch.