Netflix’s catalog of movies continues to expand every week, and it’s now housing one of the most successful comedies from the 2010s, which is a must-watch after one of 2023’s biggest box office hits. After a couple of rough years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 was a great year for cinema, with huge box office successes like Barbie and Oppenheimer, and others that became surprise hits, as was the case for Anyone But You. Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Anyone But You introduced the audience to Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell).

After a successful first date that soon turns sour, Bea and Ben cross paths again on their way to Sydney for a wedding. To stop Bea’s parents from trying to get her back with her ex-fiancé and for Ben to get his crush’s attention, they agree to fake being together, but they end up bonding more than they anticipated. Anyone But You wasn’t the critics’ favorite, but it was a hit with general audiences, grossing $220 million against a budget of $25 million – and now a recent Netflix arrival is a bigger must-watch after Anyone But You’s success.

Easy A Is Now On Netflix – What The Emma Stone Movie Is About

Easy A Is One Of Emma Stone’s Best Comedies

The perfect companion to Anyone But You is the comedy Easy A. Directed by Will Gluck and partially inspired by the 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Easy A stars Emma Stone as high school student Olive Penderghast. Set in California, Easy A follows Olive as she lies to her best friend about losing her virginity to a college boy. Their prudish religious classmate Marianna Bryant (Amanda Bynes) overhears their conversation and spreads it throughout the school, completely changing OIive’s reputation, though not for the better, as the rumor gets worse and worse.

Olive embraces her new reputation and agrees to let other students claim they slept with her in exchange for gift cards to various stories, but it all gets too complicated and harmful when she’s used as a cover-up for the infidelity of one of her teachers with a student. Easy A was a success with critics, holding an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77% audience score and grossing $75 million against a budget of $8 million.

Easy A is regarded as one of the best comedies of the decade and is often ranked among the best high school movies ever made, with Stone’s performance considered one of her best. Aside from Stone’s performance, critics also praised Easy A’s humor, how it redefined teen movies’ tropes, and appreciated its similar tones and homages to 1980s teen comedies.

Why Easy A Is Perfect To Watch If You Like Anyone But You

Easy A Has A Key Connection To Anyone But You

Despite their different stories, Easy A and Anyone But You have one key connection: they were both directed by Will Gluck, and he made sure to add some subtle references to Easy A in Anyone But You. Although no characters from Easy A appear in Anyone But You, Gluck added a subtle reference to Olive in the airport scene. In it, a driver can be seen holding up a sign with Olive’s name, making way for theories about Easy A and Anyone But You being part of the same universe of Gluck rom-coms.

If that connection isn’t enough reason to make Easy A a perfect watch for those who like Anyone But You, there are other elements that prove they are a perfect double feature. Both movies are modernized versions of literary classics that keep the typical tropes of rom-coms while also subverting some of them, making them feel fresh but at the same time familiar. Easy A also has all the elements that make Anyone But You a fun rom-com, both narratively and visually, including the use of Natasha Bedingfield songs in the catchiest ways possible.

Easy A Is Even Better Than Anyone But You

Easy A Has More Strengths Than Anyone But You

Although, as mentioned above, Easy A and Anyone But You share the same rom-com elements that led to their success, the former is a better movie than the latter. One element from Anyone But You critics weren’t fully on board with was the story, which was completely predictable, whereas Easy A has a more layered story with different twists and turns. Anyone But You was labeled by some critics as “generic”, but found that Easy A had a lot more to offer in its story and character development, the latter being one of Anyone But You’s biggest weaknesses.

Ultimately, both Easy A and Anyone But You are fun rom-coms with interesting connections between them that may or may not hint at a subtle rom-com universe of Gluck movies. Although one succeeded more than the other with critics, Easy A and Anyone But You are a perfect double-feature for those who like one or the other.