There are plenty of reasons why actor Glen Powell’s films have been shattering box office records. He’s talented, charismatic, has marvelous chest hair, and, of course, he’s an absolute smoke show. With these powers combined, it’s no surprise that the man has starred in two romantic comedies being released less than six months apart, with Anyone But You and Hit Man, the latter of which will be exclusively streamable with a Netflix subscription. Is this due to the circumstances surrounding this stage in Powell’s career, is it simply coincidental, or is it a concerted effort on Powell’s part? According to the actor, it may not be fair to compare the two films at all, as they exist in entirely different universes.
I caught up with Powell to talk about Hit Man, which he also wrote with iconic filmmaker Richard Linklater. When I compared the two films, he said this:
We shot this before Anyone But You. Actually, right before. I mean like, the crazy part about those two movies is they really just exist in completely separate universes. They really couldn't be more different. At the end of the day, I'm obviously just blessed to share the screen with two wonderful costars.
Welp, I guess there’s egg on my face. Nobody puts Powell in a box! I’m kidding, of course, as the actor handled the line of questioning with grace, giving me a taste of that trademark charm, as you can see in the video at the top of this article.
Truthfully, labelling Hit Man as a rom com is debatable. Sure, there’s romance and comedy, but is that relationship the primary focus of the film? Probably not. Hit Man is about a CIA operative who sets up sting operations to catch folks who are trying to hire contract killers, which I think we can agree is, at the very least, slightly different from the premise of the Sydney Sweeney-led feel good flick. In fact, the lack of murder might be what truly sets them apart, as Powell cheekily extrapolated:
I would just say the nature of how Rick (Linklater) works is he's just his own beast. It's his own ecosystem and how you bring people together and bake it up. I'm proud of both movies in their own right. But yeah, if we had murder in Anyone But You, I think it would have really changed the whole vibe.
So it seems that Glen Powell had bigger plans than simply bringing romantic comedies back to box office glory, as he also has enormous respect for Richard Linklater’s vision. The respect goes both ways, as the director compared Powell’s ambition to that of Ben Affleck’s after the two worked together on Everybody Wants Some!!. That’s now two projects they’ve completed, and hopefully there’s more to come and leads to them becoming one of those legendary Hollywood duos.
You can see Hit Man in select theaters now and on Netflix June 7! With Anyone But You also living on the streamer, you can get a double-dose of romantic Powell on the 2024 Netflix schedule. Just remember, they are still very different films. As the Summer of Powell grows closer, we here at CinemaBlend will certainly keep you updated.
