Summary

• Anyone but You has reinvigorated Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten," driving a rom-com record-breaking success with Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney at the helm.
• Will Gluck masterfully weaves Bedingfield's "Unwritten" into pivotal moments of Ben's character arc, culminating in a heartwarming wedding dance scene.
• Gluck's rom-coms, including Easy A and Anyone but You, highlight his knack for reviving classic narratives with timeless pop songs.

The hit 2023 movie Anyone but You’s cast, the rom-com has sured expectations to smash decades-old box office records as an undeniable hit with audiences. The popularity of the movie also led “Unwritten,” which is featured several times in important scenes, to go viral – 20 years after the song’s original release.

Throughout the plot, Anyone but You’s ending as Bea and Ben cheerfully dance to the song at the wedding reception, with the end credits then including clips of the cast singing it at different points in the film. Of course, this isn’t the first time Gluck has made a Natasha Bedingfield song the star of one of his rom-coms.

Anyone But You's "Unwritten" Obsession Continues Will Gluck's Natasha Bedingfield Gag From Easy A

Similar to how Anyone but You’s viral scene has the cast singing “Unwritten,” arguably the most famous scene from the Emma Stone-starring 2010 movie Easy A sees her belt out Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine.” In the Will Gluck-directed romantic comedy, Stone’s character Olive receives a greeting card that plays “Pocketful of Sunshine” when she opens it, leading to the song playing numerous times and annoying her until she comes around and ionately sings it. Consequently, Gluck has created his own Natasha Bedingfield-loving rom-com universe with Easy A and Anyone but You.

Anyone but You is now available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. Easy A is available to stream on Fubo.

Considering both Anyone but You and Easy A are modernizations of classic literature, respectively being Much Ado About Nothing and The Scarlet Letter, Gluck’s use of pop songs that peaked years beforehand is a fun way to continue his trend of repopularizing older media with new audiences. Gluck’s most popular romantic comedies do a fantastic job of proving the timelessness of certain narratives and music, and present them in clever ways that successfully connect with modern audiences. Whether it’s Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, or Natasha Bedingfield, Gluck knows how to connect today’s audiences with media that may be considered outdated.

Gluck has created his own Natasha Bedingfield-loving rom-com universe with Easy A and Anyone but You.

Will Gluck's Next Rom-Com Already Has The Perfect Natasha Bedingfield Song

Though Will Gluck hasn’t announced his next romantic comedy project, it already has the perfect way to continue his Natasha Bedingfield obsession. Alongside “Unwritten” and “Pocketful of Sunshine,” Bedingfield’s other most popular song was the 2004 hit “These Words.” This song has yet to receive the same viral treatment from a movie like Easy A or Anyone but You, but Gluck seems to be the best director to accomplish this feat in the future. Hopefully, Gluck will try his hand at another rom-com modernization of classic literature with Bedingfield’s “These Words” as its main song.