Why Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney’s Rom-Com Is Rated R
Despite the palpable chemistry between its two leads, viewers shouldn’t go into “Anyone But You” expecting its instances of nudity to be just seductive or romantic. As a matter of fact, one of the film’s nude scenes is meant to be purely comedic. Filming the scene in question, which sees Glen Powell’s Ben desperately disrobe while standing next to a cliff out of fear that there’s a spider in his pants, turned out to be a surprisingly dangerous experience for its central star, too.
Powell revealed as much in an interview with Variety, telling the outlet, “I almost died falling off a cliff taking my pants off too fast.” Speaking with PEOPLE about Sydney Sweeney’s presence on set during the filming of the scene, Powell added, “The key to a great partner in that journey is someone who’s not afraid to look dumb, and who’s in it with you, and not protective.” The actor ultimately surmised, “I think that’s the one thing that we had, is that we both just had the best time looking stupid on this movie together.”
Taking Powell’s remarks into account, it seems safe to say that the adult elements of “Anyone But You,” including its nudity, sexual content, and language, were included in the film to help it achieve a heightened sense of both humor and romance. Viewers will, of course, get to make up their minds about the quality of the film’s tone when it’s released in theaters. For now, though, the one thing that is clear about “Anyone But You” is that it definitely isn’t intended for younger audience members.