Sony Pictures
In a recent interview during the fourth hour of Today, co-host Jenna Bush Hager suggested that Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell—stars of the new rom-com Anyone But You (in theaters Dec. 22)—could be our next Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. “We’ve talked about it,” Powell said in response to Hager’s pleas for a proper rom-com renaissance, harkening back to the magic of You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. “We’ll ‘Meg Ryan-and-Tom Hanks’ this thing.”
There’s just one problem: Ryan and Hanks didn’t just have firecracker chemistry together onscreen; they were also great performers in their own right, fun to watch even when they weren’t sharing a frame. Then, when both seasoned actors joined forces, they brought out the best of the material—often aided by a hilarious, considerate script penned by the genius Nora Ephron. Their spark burned so bright that they elevated rom-coms past the point of conventional genre fare. There’s a reason that Bush and millions of others revere those ’90s hits as classics: Both leads worked so damned hard to make them so.
While Anyone But You grazes the allure of Ryan and Hanks’ collaborations, the film lacks the proper push and pull between comedic beats and dramatic stakes that make those movies so watchable (and rewatchable). And even when it hits a pleasant middle ground to stride upon, Sweeney’s bizarre turn as a flighty law student in a romantic rut pulls the audience out of their momentary stupor. Though her performance is as discombobulated as her character seems to be, Sweeney’s distinct chemistry with Powell—along with Powell’s completely irresistible leading man charms—keep Anyone But You perfectly palatable, even if it won’t trigger a proper rom-com renaissance anytime soon.