Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell are still in Australia working on their new movie. They were shooting outside the Sydney Opera House yesterday. The project is currently untitled, but we do know it’s a romantic comedy so the setting and the wardrobe are giving us some clues – if, that is, they’re following the formula. And with a rom-com, well, there has to be some formula. Like, even if you subvert the formula, the formula is still there, hovering, because you have to know what it is to appreciate that it’s a subversion.
For starters, then, there’s the setting. The Opera House is a grand setting. And their clothing matches the location. Glen’s in a tuxedo, Sydney’s in a long pink dress. All of that in combination lays the foundation for the Big Moment. If you know rom-coms, you know the Big Moment. Sometimes the Big Moment happens at the prom, or at a wedding, or the concert – the point is, everything in the story leads up to the Big Moment which is usually preceded by a conflict. Our lovers are temporarily separated, either by misunderstanding or circumstance. And in the Big Moment, they finally reunite, put aside their differences, confess their feelings…and kiss.
Oh look, Sydney and Glen are kissing.
And to be clear, there’s no sarcasm here. I love a rom-com. Rom-coms, to me, are an artform, like any film. There is magic to it – you can’t just throw two people together and snap your fingers and make it work every single time. There’s a formula to rom-coms, sure, but to make that formula bubble you need chemistry, and that’s not always achievable.
On paper, for sure, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell are a no-brainer for a rom-com. Two emerging stars, with all kinds of hype over the last few years; she’s riding the buzz from her supporting roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus and ready to take centre stage, and he’s flying high from Top Gun: Maverick and Devotion – putting them together, no doubt, was the casting agent’s first choice. But will they pop on screen the way they seem like they would on paper? Can they hit the secret rom-com sweet spot?
Speaking of secrets though, the particulars on this project remain a secret. Will Gluck is directing (you know his work from Easy A and Friends With Benefits) and it’s an R-rated movie, but beyond that, they’re keeping the story details quiet. I’m not sure why we have to turn a rom-com into an MCU mystery here because as those of us who live and die by rom-coms know, I’m more afraid of a bad kiss than a spoiler. I’d rather you invest more energy into giving me some good kissing and a hot love scene than trying to keep the story under wraps. This kiss between Sydney and Glen looks promising. They could give Harry Styles some pointers.
