And, Oh, the View!

 Schmoozing with the beautiful people ...

ANYONE BUT YOU (C) - Our Annual Christmas Day Mainstream Movie tradition put the emphasis on "mainstream" this year, with this trashy goof featuring handsome people in a gorgeous setting in a sort-of anti-rom-com romp. It's one of those movie when two hot actors pretend to hate each other -- but they probably really like each other! Let's just say that "Sydney Sweeney in a bikini" or "Glen Powell in a towel" does more than just rhyme.

That doesn't mean there's much reason to this painfully reductive genre exercise. Sweeney's Bea has a meet-cute in a coffeeshop with Powell's Ben, and they make a connection before she sneaks off from his apartment the next morning, but then has second thoughts, only to go back and overhear Ben, his male pride wounded, trash her to his roommate. Fast forward to them discovering months later that they are both on their way to the destination wedding of Bea's sister and Ben's friend. When their animosity threatens to overshadow the big event, the two concoct a scheme to pretend they are now a couple -- this will appease the brides and the families while also getting Bea's ex off her back (her meddling parents invited him as a surprise) while having the side effect of making Ben's ex jealous (she lives in Australia). What could go wrong?

 

There are enough laughs in this, and Sweeney and Powell are nearly naked enough, to make it a tolerable diversion. (One character refers to Bea as "the plump girl with the sad eyes.") What's most annoying is the film's pretensions to Shakespearean high jinks. The story is a high school sophomore's interpretation of "Much Ado About Nothing." Director Will Gluck ("Easy A," co-writing here with newcomer Ilana Wolpert) use the Bard's quotes as chapter headings and also go full-on silly by convening obviously transparent Greek choruses who engage in conversations meant to be overheard by Bea and Ben in order to psyche them into falling for each other, as if they were Samantha and Darren Stevens on an episode of "Bewitched." Gluck exaggerates these moments so that they are obviously unbelievable, which only serves to remind us that we're watching a contrived, light-hearted movie amid the smell of popcorn and the wails of a toddler dragged to R-rated fare on a holy holiday. 

I'm not demanding that we get drawn to the cineplex and then subjected to an overly faithful remake of a 17th century farce. Sure, Joss Whedon managed to do that successfully in 2013 with "Much Ado," but that was an artsy indie take, and no one would suggest that "Anyone But You" has such pretensions. Gluck and Wolpert pepper the script with some solid one-liners, even if it's not the most original banter. And they nod to rom-com conventions even while they blink out their desire to subvert them (though they fail to do that, big time, in the end). 

Sweeney and Powell are serviceable, but they don't have a ton of chemistry despite the ease with which their physical parts would likely fit together. The supporting cast is certainly C-List. Dermot Mulroney, as Bea's dad, is the biggest fish. Model Charlee Fraser stands out as the Aussie seductress, and Joe Davidson has a blast as her lunkheaded boy toy (but with a perfect comedic fake-out at the end). The soundtrack is packed with bangers -- "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield makes for a cute punch line at the climax (and for end-credits outtakes). All of this is about as close as you can get to a classic definition of dumb fun.

CREATIVE CONTROL (2016) (B) - I'm torn about this shallow but oddly compelling futuristic tale of a man getting cracked-out on AI (and drugs), shunning his lovely yogi lover in favor of a virtually enhanced version of his best friend's more conventional girlfriend. Benjamin Dickinson is disturbingly manic as his character David has a meltdown while working on an ad campaign for a drug that eases anxiety. The irony!

Dickinson directed this stylish black-and-white bid for auteur status, and he co-wrote it with Micah Bloomberg (a similarly provocative "Sanctuary"). This one has a cocky attitude throughout, and many viewers will find that a turn-off, but there are enough good ideas and crackling lines of dialogue that it overcomes its shortcomings. There is a temptation to dismiss this as shallow -- at times it absolutely is -- but then comes more clever, biting dialogue, and you set down the remote. A critical scene in the middle of the film -- where David responds to his passive-aggressive girlfriend Juliette (Nora Zehetner) with a shout-storm -- injects a burst of reality that is exhilarating.

Otherwise, David is self-medicating (with pills shaped like '70s cereals) while working up a strategy to sell Augmenta (a version of Google Glass) and obsessing over Sophie (Alexis Rasmussen), who is both a model at the advertising firm and the partner of Wim (Dan Gill), the firm's photographer, who himself is banging another model on the side. David is deft with virtual reality (this takes place in a future of translucent, mouseless computer devices) and manages to magically create a virtual fantasy character that embodies Sophie's face and voice. For all the good it does him; he seems to spend much more time moping than masturbating. David's slow-building train-wreck of a career and relationship grows compelling by the final reel (if you make it that far), as his obsession with Sophie goes off the rails. 

Dickinson shoots in a creamy monochrome, except for splashes of color whenever computer screens and avatars come to life. He leans heavily on modern takes on classical music (Vivaldi, Schubert), with lots of haunting strings that introduce chapters. Cinematography credit goes to Adam Newport-Berra ("Last Black Man in San Francisco"), as director of photography.

And props to whoever crafted the many yoga-class scenes, because they got the parlance, teaching styles and temperaments of Juliette and her rival, Govindas (Paul Manza), down perfectly. (Juliette's single-leg down-dog, elegantly framed, is an example of how breathtaking the visuals can get here.) Throw in Reggie Watts (as himself), for no compelling reason, and you have a sadly sexy and sometimes suspenseful character study from the mid-teens.

BONUS TRACK

As noted, "Anyone But You" was our annual Christmas Day outing that returned after a one-year absence due to 2022's pathetic offerings.  For the record, here is our full list from previous years, in order of preference, updated:

  1. Up in the Air (2009)

  2. Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

  3. Dreamgirls (2006)

  4. Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

  5. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)

  6. Little Women (2019)

  7. The Fighter (2010)

  8. Licorice Pizza (2021)

  9. American Hustle (2013)

10. The Shape of Water (2017)

11. La La Land (2016)

12. The Wrestler (2008)

13. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

14. Young Adult (2011)

15. This Is 40 (2012)

16. Anyone But You (2023)

17. Holmes & Watson (2018)

18. Into the Woods (2014)