Anyone But You and My Best Friend’s Wedding: A Rom-Com Reunion

Anyone But You has all the ingredients of a modern romantic comedy: two attractive leads, a destination wedding, a fake relationship, and a soundtrack moment that refuses to leave the audience’s head. Yet beneath its glossy Sydney setting and sharp banter, the 2023 film hides a quiet reunion that reaches back twenty-seven years to one of Julia Roberts’ most beloved rom-coms. How often does a breezy date-night movie double as a love letter to the genre’s past? In the case of Will Gluck’s Anyone But You, the answer is more often than casual viewers might expect.

Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Anyone But You follows Ben and Bea, played by Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. Their attraction flares during a great first date, then curdles just as quickly. When they are forced to travel to Sydney for the wedding of Bea’s sister to the sister of Ben’s best friend, the two find themselves sharing time, space, and a growing amount of awkward tension. Bea proposes a fake relationship that would benefit both of them: her parents might finally stop pushing her toward her ex-fiancé, and Ben might win back an old love. The plan is familiar, chaotic, and exactly the kind of premise that rom-com fans adore.

What makes Anyone But You more than a standard genre exercise is its supporting cast. Bea’s parents are played by Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths, and they are not simply background figures. They secretly invite Bea’s ex-fiancé, Jonathan, to Halle’s wedding, hoping to reunite the former couple. That meddling creates much of the film’s conflict, but it also creates a meta-textual pleasure for longtime rom-com viewers. Mulroney and Griffiths had already appeared together in My Best Friend’s Wedding, the 1997 Julia Roberts comedy directed by P. J. Hogan. Their Anyone But You reunion, arriving almost three decades later, is a subtle Easter egg that rewards attentive fans.

In My Best Friend’s Wedding, Mulroney plays Michael O’Neal, the lifelong friend of Julianne “Jules” Potter, played by Julia Roberts. Michael is about to marry Kimmy, played by Cameron Diaz, and Jules realizes she is in love with him. The film follows her increasingly desperate attempts to stop the wedding, even when her schemes hurt the people around her. Griffiths plays Samantha Newhouse, the twin sister of Amanda, played by Carrie Preston. Samantha is one of Kimmy’s bridesmaids, and she is best remembered during the movie’s only musical number: a lunch scene in which the wedding party, the restaurant, and eventually almost everyone joins in singing “I Say a Little Prayer.” It is a pop-culture moment that helped define the film’s legacy.

Anyone But You echoes that musical DNA. Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” becomes Ben’s relaxation song during flights, and later Bea sings it to him while he is being rescued from Sydney Harbour. At the end of the film, as the credits roll, a montage shows the cast singing “Unwritten” while filming different scenes. That playful, communal energy mirrors the “I Say a Little Prayer” sequence from My Best Friend’s Wedding. Both films understand that a great romantic comedy is not only about romantic chemistry; it is also about shared moments, silly rituals, and songs that become emotional shortcuts.

The connections between the two films can be summarized clearly: 🎬

Critics were not universally won over by Anyone But You’s story and tone, but audiences responded strongly. The film became a significant box-office success and broke records, proving that the rom-com is not a dead genre. By 2026, that resurgence looks even more meaningful. Streaming platforms continue to produce romantic comedies, while theatrical releases such as Anyone But You remind studios that audiences still crave glamorous settings, witty banter, and the satisfying arc from fake romance to real feeling. Is it any wonder that a movie built on Shakespearean confusion and pop songs would also honor the rom-coms that came before it?

Dermot Mulroney and Rachel Griffiths may not share many scenes in Anyone But You, but their presence adds a layer of history. They are not merely playing Bea’s parents; they are living links between two eras of romantic comedy. One era gave audiences Julia Roberts, Rupert Everett, Cameron Diaz, and a restaurant full of people singing “I Say a Little Prayer.” The other gave audiences Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, a harbour rescue, and a credits montage set to “Unwritten.” Both eras understand that love is messy, timing is everything, and a well-placed song can turn a simple scene into a memory. In that sense, Anyone But You is not just a romantic comedy. It is a reunion, a tribute, and a reminder that the genre’s best tricks never really go out of style. ❤️