how 11 minutes broke anyone but you 

not done watching but the fact that 11 minutes remain after your title card is AMAZING!!!!!!! very excited for this video.

"their relationship dynamic is plotbased when it could have been character based" your brain is HUGE

Sydney Sweeney is a good actress, but she can't do the breezy, lighthearted roles nearly as well as the more dramatic and intense ones. She's great in Euphoria and Handmaid's Tale, but for some reason she can't seem to nail the romcom-lead-actress energy that a role like this requires. She's not Julia Roberts, but she can sure cry and scream like Jessica Lange when she needs to. If I was her, I would stick to my strong suits.

Pointless opening and terribly stilted dialogue aside, I don't know why we were supposed to root for two characters who were so unwilling to put their "dislike" of one another aside long enough to celebrate a wedding for two people they supposedly love.

“we’re making romcoms big again!” feels like the “disney’s first gay character!” of the 2020s

And the thing is that Glen Powell WAS in a fantastic romcom with plenty of chemistry...in 2018. "Set It Up" is my favorite rom-com of all time. I know there are some flaws in the movie but the chemistry is great, the writing has lots of truly funny & well-fleshed out moments, and it has my long time sapphic crush Lucy Liu in it

glen powell and sydney sweeney are literally a chemistry vacuum

Agree with this!! Also the entire timing of the movie felt off somehow? Like jokes, dramatic moments, "sexy" moments -- it was all either incredibly rushed or drawn out into several lifetimes

“I want to bring back rom coms” proceeds to make the worst most basic formulaic exhausted rom com ever

I think you really nailed the main issue of the movie. Ben's insults to Bea made no sense to me and tbh he was just giving me incel vibes. Like, he says she uses her sexuality to take advantage of men, except we didn't see her "take advantage." They didn't even have sex. They talked and cuddled and fell asleep and she left...for some reason, and two seconds after she leaves he gets so incredibly butthurt by it that he feels the need to start talking shit to his friend, and by that time she of course comes in at the exact moment to hear him talking shit, and then they both stay mad for six months. Honestly, if they weren't going to cut out those 11 minutes, why not just actually have Bea have sex with Ben, and then leave because she feels embarrassed because "she doesn't usually do this" or something, then she comes back and overhears Ben. It'd still be cliche, but at least her leaving after sex would make more sense (instead of her literally saying "idk why i left!"), Ben feeling taken advantage of would make more sense, and his animosity towards her, while still uncalled for, would again make more sense. Otherwise, omit that scene entirely. It felt *so* rushed. And then they tried to do the fake dating plot which also made no sense. I actually was rooting for Bea's ex-boyfriend when he showed up. Not only was he cuter than Ben, he was much less annoying and they had better chemistry! Also, there was a distinct lack of lesbian's at that lesbian wedding, I'm just sayin. Such a waste of time. The one scene I actually liked was Bea singing Unwritten to Ben to calm him down, that actually was kinda funny and sweet, and the singalong with the whole cast at the end was very cute, kinda felt like a homage to Easy A. Throw the rest of the movie away tho.

Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite play, it could've led to a great adaptation if the people involved in this movie were clever enough to understand why it works so well

When you said that the verbal sparring between the two characters is virtually nonexistent, I’m reminded of the phrase, “characters can only be as smart as the writer” so either the writers did not have enough time to create meaningful dialogue or were not smart enough themselves to create it.

my biggest problem is kind of an extension of this, which is basically that conflict doesn’t exist because the writers couldn’t come up with clever ways for them to get out of it. like how quickly the family moves on from the main couples lies like it never happened. a nonsensical miscommunication where even /she/ doesn’t know why she left😭 it just feels like watching little kids play dolls instead of an actual story

If anyone's looking to watch a genuinely charming 2023 romcom that's effortlessly funny with compelling leads I'd recommend watching Rye Lane instead. It's not second chance enemies-to-lovers but it's definitely a fun time!

Sydney sweenie cannot play a lead comedic role. Shes such a talented actor but she literally is running over her words. I feel bad. she tried so hard and got no direction. she needs some training for comedic timing. shes like one beat behind. i could see her doing so good at this typa role ina few years

As a former theatre kid nerd (played Beatrice when I was 16 and everything) and a current screenwriting student: Julia, as always, you are SPOT. ON. 👌

100% agree. I was watching it and turned it off right after she said “Why DID I leave?” because I was asking myself the exact same thing

The montage at the end was better and more endearing than the entire film

Babe turn off the stove new julia cudney video just dropped

I felt like after the spider scene the movie had a level of silliness and levity which was fun and enjoyable to watch, but I wish they would have embraced that from the beginning and really committed to it. Particularly Glen Powell’s character is pretty consistently funny through the latter half of the film. But yes I agree, my main problem with the movie is that I didn’t buy their hatred towards one another at all. It felt very artificial over what was a simple miscommunication, and made their relationship dynamic feel forced and unbelievable.

I still haven’t seen it (tbh the stated goal of ‘making a BIG romcom and reviving the genre’ made me wary before the trailer even dropped, I never trust when movies promise that) so I will skip the first 11 minutes and report back on my experience.

Haven’t even seen the movie but I so admire you ability to pinpoint issues like these. I can’t always put into words why a movie sucked, I just know it did. Also pride and prejudice is a great example of that “merry war” kind of playful bickering, and part of what makes their chemistry so palpable. Who hasn’t had a good bicker with someone and felt a spark?

i am not one to write off a movie completely, i can usually see it’s merits and understand why people might love it, but this movie was so joyless it’s insane. i am wracking my brain trying to think of a worse movie and im coming up blank. i am a romcom defender, but this was neither funny or romantic😭

a romcom with glen powell i did enjoy was called “set it up” very sweet and kinda cringey. perfect storm

i literally had the same gripe. anything else that I didn't enjoy would be on me, as a matter of personal taste. But the opening doesn't set up any particular chemistry of them as a couple that I'm rooting for. And so when they "hurt" each other, it doesn't have any impact and doesn't really convincingly set up their mutual hatred (which is the premise of everything else and so everything falls flat from thereon). And yeah, specifically on their "mutual hatred" there isn't any real need for it. Let the banter be a part of the romance not an obstacle in its way. It feels like it was made by people who don't fully understand the tropes and devices they're playing with, and so they don't get what makes them work.

I thought this movie would be the best plane movie, but about 5 minutes into it I was like "Nah I can't" and went back to watching Bride Wars for the umptieth time. No ragrets.

Julia I love when you put my vague feelings about something into intelligent thoughts thank you!! I also didn’t care for this movie much even though I really wanted to

I love this video! thank you for sharing your insights! Strangely enough, this take reminds me of a lot of takes about Passengers (the Jennifer Lawerance/ Chris Pratt movie), in which the take was: why not hide the reveal of Chris Pratt's character's selfishness from the audience, so we find out when Jennifer Lawerance's character does? And this feels similar here. It's so common now for films to give too much information, or not allow information to be revealed slowly. We can have flashbacks any time (though they seem unnecessary with Anyone But You), but once the audience knows something, there's no unknowing. My take is that intrigue and 'leaving up to interpretation' is dying because there's such concern about the audience getting confused/bored and turning the film off, and/or general oversaturation and the end of media literacy. It all just means as audiences we're not getting interesting stories, characters, and motives. We're still getting all of those, but it's less nuanced and up to interpretation, while also being less interesting and thrilling to watch. But again, fabulous video - thank you!

Looks like another day of sitting alone on my empty hill screaming to the heavens “Remember Ticket to Paradise!? It was pretty good!”. Ticket to Paradise felt like the proper return to form to the movies this wanted to be.

"A dear happiness to women" 😭😭

Glen Powell's appearance (I can't explain it...) and Sydney Sweeney's voice both make me some kind of uncomfortable so I never wanted to watch this movie, definitely interested in your opinion so thanks for posting this! I woke up 30 minutes ago in a lot of pain and now it's too bright out to go back to sleep again - at 5 am 😭 Oh my god, the dialogue is horrible?!

THANK YOU! You just explained exactly what i was feeling. Also another issue I had was Sydney Sweeny being cast. Listen I love Sydney, I know she's a great actress, but i don't think comedy is her strong suit YET* Her line delivery at times came off as awkward and stiff to me, which affected their on-screen chemistry imo.

The fact that their whole thing took away attention from the wedding really annoyed me.

Had to switch from my phone to my laptop because a Julia Cudney deserves big screen internet and not little screen internet

What killed me was how clear it was they didn’t have a single Aussie in that writers’ room. Aus characters were using slang totally out of context and it was so painful 🥹

this is why it's important you actually fully understand the source material instead of just taking the plot of it, modernizing it, and proceeding to throw it on screen. and i mean reading it, analyzing it, thinking about it, up and down left and right, switching it up like nintendo. if you're going to adapt classic literature like shakespeare, jane austen, brontes, and everything in between, you have to understand what the author was trying to go for or you could end up butchering the whole thing.

props for highlighting Lady Jenevia! she's amazing, persistent and detailed and even if i too didn't like this movie that much, i enjoyed her video more

The theatrical version of Much Ado about nothing still hits. It's got an incredible cast!!!

i haven't seen it because watching the trailer and any clips, it appears so dull and lifeless.

Fun fact this was the first movie I ever saw in a theatre with my grandma. I don’t know if that made the viewing experience better or worse.

I saw this movie in theaters and I honestly really enjoyed it. I don't think it's a movie I'll make a point to rewatch and I don't think it will be regarded among ~the greats~ but it was funny enough for a fun afternoon at the cinema. I do think it makes a difference watching it with other people - mid jokes can be much funnier when everyone else is laughing. All in all, an okay movie. However, even as I was watching it I thought the beginning was weird, I thought the whole schtick was going to be that they *didn't* hit it off at all that night and later got to know each other better, etc etc. But that's where being at a theater works in its favor, I was getting settled, putting my little table up with my soda and the popcorn and all that and it was almost like the movie didn't really start until the six months later part.

I wanted to like this movie.... but i felt the acting was sooo bad

Would have been better if they didn’t reveal why they hated each other at first then gradually revealed a backstory

i’ve been watching your videos since 2018 and i haven’t see one in forever! this was so refreshing and such an interesting take

pete and his family CARRIED this movies

yessssss the LadyJenevia shout outttt!!! she's an old time fav, we've all got such good taste here tonight haha

GIRL YOUR COMMENTARY IS ELITE! Funny, Smart, Intuitive. Please make videos more often!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

I really didn’t wanna watch the movie but I was curious whether it was actually good so ty for making this video 😭 The editing is absolutely gorgeous

I can't get over ur hair. It's perfect

I didn’t get why they hated each other/the insults most of the time. It wasn’t that deep. However, I was like “ok,” and went with it. The movie was fine! I love a romcom, so it’s hard for me to hate them cause I know what I’m signing up for: miscommunication, a soft moment, they rethink their hatred or whatever, still some time to go before admitting things, then a kiss

I enjoyed it and would watch it again, but absolutely agree with evert point you made. So well put!

Love your work Julie

i randomly was thinking about your channel and boom you uploaded yay!!!!

I love the essay vocabulary here, if I ever get stuck on mine I'll just rewatch this, thanksss (also lovely video... and horrid first 11 minutes)

what a great video. thank you julia

ok i finished the video now and yep your points were 100% true i never even thought of any of that but you're so right

I kept nodding along to your video, more truer words have never been said 👏

YOU GET IT!! THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!!

I couldn't articulate what bothered me about the opening sequence, and you just opened my eyes to exactly what it is. Making the bickering plot based instead of character based.

This film made me want to smack my head into a brick wall I have never felt such distain for something forcing itself to exist. This is not a romcom. It is a stealer of joy. If this film was a person I would battle it until the world’s end. Dare I say, Shakespeare I am so sorry. I wish I could look into the eyes of the crew on set and tell them it’s not their fault. Thinking about the fact that I watched this movie from start to finish brings a sense of dread to the point where I am nauseous. What happened? Why? How is this a romcom if the chemistry is that of a nuclear meltdown? What the fuck?

this is the most confusing title for a yt video i've ever seen but i saw it was julia and you know i had to click on it

this movie has been on my list of things to watch eventually and i need to know ur take on it but i dont want spoilers so im pausing ur video at 3min and watching the movie now - and im skipping the 6 months prior segment since you said cutting it would better the story. Then I'll go back and watch those 11 at the end and finish ur video. Hope ur having a nice day

weee, new Julia video!!! yaay, yippyyy!

This movie was definitely flawed, some of the jokes were cringey, a few the actors really left something to be desired by their performances etc etc. I think you also made some great points in your video as well, especially with the redundancy. And yet I can't help but to find it charming and endearing. I love Glen Powell, and Sydney Sweeney was surprisingly good in this role (at least imo). So much of the story, the (good) jokes, and the character dynamics remind me of my favorite romcoms of the 2000s, in a way that a lot of the other newer releases haven't.

most certainly here for this video BUT queen i NEED your thoughts on TTPD!!!

totally agree, great observation!

love this

I was genuinely thinking of just walking out of the theatre during those first 11 minutes. I ended up sticking it out, and I enjoyed the rest of the movie a lot more. I wouldn't say I thought it was a good movie, but not "walking out of the theatre" bad.

this is so astute !!

Every video from you is a gift

clicked on your video because this was exactly what I was thinking the minuets were a waste!! Also, I did not think they had any chemistry

I had fun watching the movie, but i think this is a very fair critique. Great video!

Omg I’m happy I found this video! I thought I was going crazy when I saw people online saying this movie was a solid romcom. It was honestly unwatchable for me. I couldn’t even finish it because I thought the writing and acting was noticeably awful. Glenn and Sydney had no chemistry, the line deliveries were very off, and I could’ve ignored the contrived plot if it was at least fun to watch. But everything about the movie was so sloppy and boring. I wasn’t invested in the story at all. This movie had no business being a part of the legacy of Shakespeare romcom adaptations. It makes She’s the Man look like an Oscar worthy film. (Which in my personal opinion it is lol).

So I read about the plot synopsis when the project first came out and it was marketed as former college nemeses fake dating for a destination wedding and I was so stoked! But when the trailer came out, it was very obvious that they cut out the whole academic rivals portion for... whatever we got, which was why I knew right away I wouldn't care for it as much. I was a BIG fan of Set it Up (2018), but their chemistry fell flat for me. The blocked-out dialogue from the first 11 minutes is useless and boring and sets the tone for the rest of the movie, which disappointed me. It wasn't a romcom hit for me, but it caught the public's attention!

Yeah, I think the kind of guy that wrote romcom in the 90s and 2000s those guys don’t exist anymore because they’re not teaching in school to write around

for a RomCom, it was sooo unfunny... the Pete character especially I found genuinely grating and obnoxious

I watched it and had some problems too. The weird dialogue being the biggest. It felt rushed but also slow at points snd it was too short/they didn’t maximize their time correctly

i get all the criticism of this movie but i DID love all the much ado about nothing references, i thought it was cute how blatant and silly they were. but im sure others hated that lol

Omg thank you! I finally know what my problem is bc you are so right! Its not that I didn’t enjoy it at all but I couldn’t pin point what bothers me amd it’s that freaking first scene! I even told my sister in law that I just don’t get why they fell in love bc that first scene was so mid and zero heat 😂

Ok I haven’t watched the video yet but my main issue with anyone but you was that Sydney Sweeney didn’t achieve any career goal, which is a classic second priority in modern rom coms

It’s so funny because I attempted to watch this movie last night and those exact 11 mins is where I stopped

I definitely agree with you. The initial sequence was seemingly endless and could've been kept much simpler and shorter. To me the biggest problem with the movie was pacing. There were a lot of interesting ideas, but the scenes just took forever to get to the point and then kept going for way too long, both for the plot exposition and for the jokes.They should've edited the hell out of that script and made it simple and to the point.

Maybe it’s relative because everyone is saying that the movie is a romcom rebirth but i have seen clips,all the humor is just lazy “actor gets naked or finds themselves into a sexual situation” with no good punchline. Also, I can’t put my finger on why Sydney despite being a good actress and a funny person just doesn’t click for me as a romcom lead, while Glen Powell just proved that Set it up was a lucky hit because he seems just generic here. Like,he had one good romcom and people already were giving him king title

julia if ur reading this i love ur voice

Well, I arrived late to watch the movie, so i missed their first interaction and they were already in the airbnb of australia, and let me tell you… it doesn’t improve the movie. It was very shallow, and you couldn’t really see the appeal of the relationship because to me, it seemed like watching your conventionally attractive friend, start flirting with another conventionally attractive guy in a wedding and honestly, why wouldn’t they? It seems logical from both points of view. Not really a love story worthy of romcoms, you know?

This is so funny because I missed the first twenty minutes when I was late to the movie theater and totally enjoyed the rest of the film (probably because of this)

Yes I'm excited 😆

It’s so funny that this was found and pushed for by Sydney Sweeney because I feel like you can smell the “We really wanted Zoey Deutch” vibes of off the script lmao

I forgot Anyone But You was a movie. Then I remembered it was a movie, but thought it was part of the After series for some reason. And now I remember it was a movie not associated with Harden lol.

My biggest issue was how mad they were at each other over this insanely small thing. At least a year had passed between their meet cute and the wedding, possibly more, yet both characters couldn't let it go. I also wasn't a fan of the slapstick, I usually love a silly visual gag but I didn't feel like Sydney Sweeney was the best for this kind of role. Bea and Ben just felt like really flat characters and their family felt even more two dimensional. There were plenty of cute scenes and I liked the coast guard bit, I just think it needed a little something more.

Interesting! I haven’t watched this movie and the trailers didn’t entice me to do so

also the sets and costumes are soulless. like its giving those sterile cringy p@rn ads that appear on illegal streaming websites.

The writing was just terrible, the "physical comedy" was awkward and honestly embarrassing, plus the chemistry off-screen was way better than whatever was onscreen. Please please please give us good modern romcoms, film industries of the world!

i agree with the lack of character motivation, i think that it lacks that which is strongest in other shakespeare adaptions tbh. in 10 things, easy a, she’s the man, you know exactly what every character wants and why they’re doing what they’re doing even if it’s stupid. i think miscommunications are even more frustrating if you don’t understand why the character is doing the thing they’re doing.

a Bucky Barnes fanfic did this misunderstand trope/storyline 100x better than this movie (it was called heart on the line lol)

I actually never would have known this was supposed to be based on much ado about nothing if I hadn't watched this video 🥴 and I was Iiterally in a production of it in high school.......

girl where are you bridgerton dropped need your thoughts asap!!!!!

If they had adapted much ado about nothing it would be soooo much better, the shakespeare play is so hilarious

idk if this is just me but the dialogue (read: mumbling) in this movie was also absolutely unintelligible?

I need to know your thoughts on Richard Linklater's "Hit Man"