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Anyone But You is now streaming on Netflix, which means soon millions of Netflix subscribers will be watching Sydney Sweeney tenderly serenading Glen Powell’s butthole, to the tune of “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. Isn’t that beautiful?
Directed by Will Gluck (Easy A, Friends with Benefits), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ilana Wolpert, Anyone But You is a loose, modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. Sweeney stars as the Beatrice character, aka “Bea,” a law student who hits it off with a charming finance bro, Ben (Powell), at coffee shop. They spend an incredible night together, but Bea sneaks out, changes her mind, comes back… and overhears Ben shit-talking her to his roommate. Yikes!
Flash-forward to two years later. Bea and Ben are both in the wedding party for Bea’s sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), and her bride, Claudia (Alexandra Shipp). Ben and Bea now hate each other, and their animosity is getting in the way of the festivities. But there’s a fine line between hate and love, especially between two people as hot as Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. And what good would an R-rated romantic comedy starring two very hot people be if it wasn’t at least a little bit raunchy?
Gluck doesn’t go too hard on the raunch when it comes to his main stars—brief shots of a topless woman and a penis are courtesy of the supporting cast—until the very end of the movie. Rather than a blooper reel or a post-credits scene, Anyone But You employs a sing-along credits sequence, in which the entire cast sings along to Natasha Bedingfield’s 2004 hit single “Unwritten,” at various points while filming the movie. The song is an important plot point: it’s Ben’s “serenity” song that soothes his crippling fear of heights, which Bea uses to calm him down in a tricky situation.
It’s also just a really great song that is very fun to scream along to. (Source: I’ve done this.) Not to mention the fact that another Will Gluck movie, Easy A, utilized another iconic Natasha Bedingfield song, “Pocketful of Sunshine.” I see you, Gluck! You’re a Beding-head!
There’s a scene in Anyone But You where Ben strips down naked after Bea finds a tarantula crawling on his butt. (And yes, you do briefly see Powell’s toned booty.) Ben, with one hand clamped over his genitals, spreads and bends, screaming at Bea to check for more spiders.
During the Anyone But You singalong credits sequence, we return to this scene. But this time, Powell is clutching his junk, singing his heart out, while Sweeney uses his butt as a microphone.
“Reaching, for something in the distance,” Sweeney sings, as she reaches her hand up toward Powell’s butthole. Powell, in turn, gently bounces his powerful thighs in beat with the song. The moment only lasts a few seconds before Sweeney breaks and turns her head away. But it’s more than enough.
Truly, this is an iconic credit sequence. Sweeney was so close to that butthole that she could almost taste it! Bedingfield was right: You really do have to live your life with arms (or, in this case, legs) wide open.
