Sydney Sweeney's 2023 R-Rated $218M Hit Comes to Streaming This Tuesday

Summary

• Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing has recently been adapted into a raunchy rom-com.
• The movie stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as a couple fighting their attraction to each other.
• The movie isn't the first hit to be based on one of Shakespeare's plays.
• Several members of Hollywood rom-com royalty fill out the cast.

When Ilana Wolpert was studying English literature at the prestigious Duke University, she never imagined that one of her first loves – Shakespeare – would lead directly to writing R-rated movies.

But the writer found her life changed when she took a screenwriting class in her senior year, and her love for the classics led her to adapt Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing into a contemporary rom-com. The enemies-to-lovers romance became Anyone But You, and it's coming to streamers this Tuesday.

What's It About?

Ben and Bea meet in a coffee shop and form an instant connection. They spend a perfect day together – but the next morning their wires get crossed, their defenses go up, and they both blame each other for the relationship failing.

Six months later, Bea's sister is getting married. Ben's connection to the family means that they end up on the same flight, and start pushing each other's buttons right away. But when both of their exes are at the wedding, they come up with a plan: pretend to date. That will get Bea's ex off her back, while hopefully making Ben's ex jealous enough for him to win her back.

Of course, in classic rom-com fashion the sparks begin to fly between Bea and Ben, and hijinks ensue – like her accidentally falling off a boat after 'Titanic- ing' for show.

It's Worked Before

This isn't the first time Shakespeare's rom-coms have been updated into contemporary stories.

In 1999, the Bard's The Taming of the Shrew was reimagined into 10 Things I Hate About You, which took place in a California high school. Katherina (the Shrew of the title) became Kat, a droll and unpopular teenager who can't wait to escape to college. Petruchio became Patrick, the school's wild and mysterious heartthrob who is paid to take Kat out so that her sister can date.

10 Things I Hate About You still holds a place of honour in the rom-com canon, with Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger in the lead roles and with an incredible secondary cast that included Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, and Allison Janney.

Then there was the Amanda Bynes / Channing Tatum charmer She's The Man, which reimagined Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as the tale of a teenage girl who disguises herself as her twin brother in order to play on his school's prestigious soccer team.

And of course we mustn't forget The Lion King, which used the plot of Hamlet as its jumping-off point.

A Stellar Cast

Anyone But You stars current 'It Girl' Sydney Sweeney, who plays Bea opposite Glen Powell's Ben. You probably recognize Sweeney from a number of big-name titles, including Euphoria, White Lotus, and Madame Web. Sweeney has also begun work on the producing side of Hollywood, and is currently busy trying to get a reboot of 1968's Barbarella off the ground.

There are also several members of rom-com royalty in the cast, including Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding) and Rachel Griffiths (Muriel's Wedding).

You can currently rent Anyone But You on Prime, YouTube, and Apple TV.