Anyone But You: Why Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney's Rom-Com Is Rated R
In what could be a brilliant bit of counterprogramming, Sony Pictures is commemorating the end of December with the release of "Anyone But You." The film, which stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as a pair of former lovers who find themselves caught up in a plan that'll inevitably lead to romance, is set to hit theaters the same week as "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," "The Iron Claw," and "All of Us Strangers." One of those titles is the family-friendly blockbuster sequel to a popular superhero film, while the other two are somber, acclaimed adult dramas. "Anyone But You," conversely, is a fairly straightforward romantic comedy starring two increasingly recognizable actors.
The film, in other words, promises to offer a completely different experience than any of its fellow high-profile late-December releases. That doesn't mean, however, that "Anyone But You" is a family-friendly romp. On the contrary, the film has officially been rated R for its "language throughout, sexual content, and brief graphic nudity." That may not come as much of a surprise to anyone who has seen the early trailers for "Anyone But You," which have teased its adult sense of humor and potentially steamy moments of nudity and sex.
Its R rating could either hurt the film or only make it seem more appealing to all the moviegoers out there who have been wanting to see Hollywood take a risk on a new, adult-oriented romantic comedy. Either way, it seems safe to say that the film's creative team members have made exactly the movie they wanted to make — adult content and all.
Anyone But You is a rom-com made for adults
Despite the palpable chemistry between its two leads, viewers shouldn't go into "Anyone But You" expecting its instances of nudity to be just seductive or romantic. As a matter of fact, one of the film's nude scenes is meant to be purely comedic. Filming the scene in question, which sees Glen Powell's Ben desperately disrobe while standing next to a cliff out of fear that there's a spider in his pants, turned out to be a surprisingly dangerous experience for its central star, too.
Powell revealed as much in an interview with Variety, telling the outlet, "I almost died falling off a cliff taking my pants off too fast." Speaking with PEOPLE about Sydney Sweeney's presence on set during the filming of the scene, Powell added, "The key to a great partner in that journey is someone who's not afraid to look dumb, and who's in it with you, and not protective." The actor ultimately surmised, "I think that's the one thing that we had, is that we both just had the best time looking stupid on this movie together."
Taking Powell's remarks into account, it seems safe to say that the adult elements of "Anyone But You," including its nudity, sexual content, and language, were included in the film to help it achieve a heightened sense of both humor and romance. Viewers will, of course, get to make up their minds about the quality of the film's tone when it's released in theaters. For now, though, the one thing that is clear about "Anyone But You" is that it definitely isn't intended for younger audience members.