Throughout Anyone But You, Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" pops up many times, but what is the song's deeper meaning within the story?

Summary

• The recurring joke about Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" adds humor and depth to Ben's character growth.
• Ben's love of "Unwritten" foreshadows his love of Bea.
• Ben's internal character arc connects to the lyrics of "Unwritten."

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Anyone But You

Natasha Bedingfield's song "Unwritten" is extremely important to the plot and character development in Anyone But You. The Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeny rom-com follows Ben and Bea, a couple who had a one-night stand gone wrong and decide, a year later, to pretend they're dating while attending a wedding in Australia. While critics had mixed responses to the movie, audiences overwhelmingly loved it.Anyone But You succeeded with viewers because of Powell and Sweeny's strong chemistry, the likability of the characters, and the movie's humor.

The connection between the main couple in Anyone But You is palpable, making it easy to root for them. Unlike many rom-coms, there's also no "bad guy" in the Anyone But You characters, grounding the plot in miscommunications, instead. As for the humor, there are many notable jokes in the movie, but one of the funniest is the running gag about the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. This song starts out as a joke between Bea and Ben but eventually expands to include the entire cast of Anyone But You.

Related

Where To Watch Anyone But You: Showtimes & Streaming Status

Anyone But You's release provides a chance to see Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney's R-rated rom-com, and here's how to watch it in theaters or at home.

"Unwritten" Is Ben's Serenity Song In Anyone But You & Plays Multiple Times

To calm him down, Bea starts singing "Unwritten," and Ben joins in.

The song "Unwritten" is Ben's serenity song in Anyone But You, calming him down any time he feels nervous or anxious. Bea first discovers this when she tries to steal his cookies on the plane and gets stuck on top of him on the plane. He's sleeping with headphones on, and she's shocked to hear that song because it seems so out of character for him. Later, Harbour Rescue saves the pair from the water, and Ben gets scared of flying. To calm him down, Bea starts singing "Unwritten," and Ben joins in.

The last instance of the song in the movie occurs at the end of Anyone But You when they're dancing at Claudia and Halle's wedding. In a hilarious moment, everyone starts to sing along, making Ben confused as to how everyone knows his serenity song. However, the gag about Ben's serenity song continued in real life. When Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell presented an award at the 2024 People's Choice Awards, they did a bit. Powell pretended he was nervous, and Sweeny started singing "Unwritten" with the audience. Natasha Bedingfield surprised everyone by joining them onstage to sing the chorus.

Why Unwritten Means So Much To Ben In Anyone But You

At first glance, Ben's love for "Unwritten" seems jarring, but Ben liking the song reveals deeper truths about him. The fact that he likes "Unwritten" signals early on that he enjoys things that seem out of character for him. This foreshadows the rest of the movie. Anyone But You is a great enemies-to-lovers rom-com, and Ben's serenity song provides the first sign that he'll eventually love Bea – someone who wouldn't seem like the most obvious choice because they bicker and push each other's buttons.

Related

Anyone But You Broke An Impressive 8-Year Rom-Com Record (& It's Great News For The Genre)

The surprise box office hit Anyone But You has already broken a rom-com record that has stood for nearly a decade, giving new hope to the genre.

Additionally, his love of "Unwritten" matches up with the fact that he's not quite who others expect. The lines "I'm undefined" and "the pen's in my hand ending unplanned" relate to the fact that he seems like he has it all together but is willing to grow and change, which he does by the end of Anyone But You. Ultimately, he isn't as stubborn as he seems at first glance.

He may be hard-headed about acknowledging it out loud, but he clearly has the internal recognition that he's a human whose mistakes don't define him.

The line "we've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way" aligns with him making mistakes, like saying the wrong thing about Bea. He may be hard-headed about acknowledging it out loud, but he clearly has the internal recognition that he's a human whose mistakes don't define him. Luckily, as the story progresses in Anyone But You, he learns to vocalize those mistakes to others and apologize without shame – an important part of his character growth.

Anyone But You

Director

Will Gluck

Release Date

December 22, 2023

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures , Roth/Kirschenbaum Films , Fifty-Fifty Films , Olive Bridge

Distributor(s)

Sony Pictures Releasing

Writers

Will Gluck , Ilana Wolpert

Cast

Sydney Sweeney , Glen Powell , Alexandra Shipp , GaTa , Hadley Robinson , Michelle Hurd , Dermot Mulroney , Darren Barnet , Rachel Griffiths