The year of Harry Styles, actor, hasn't been a smooth one, to say the least. Having more than earned his stripes as a generation-defining popstar over the last decade, he made the jump many have done before. The musician-to-actor pipeline is a well-trodden road, from the likes of Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg crafting A-list Hollywood legacies, to Justin Timberlake dusting off his acting chops between album cycles. There's no set blueprint to make the transition from troubadour to thespian, but even by the wateriest of metrics, Styles going from a small role in 2017's Dunkirk to roles in three major films in the space of a year feels like a big leap.
First we had 2021's The Eternals, where he snuck into a post-credits scene, in a cameo setting up a potential future in the MCU. Next was, of course, Don't Worry Darling, which hit more headlines for its off-set drama than what we got on the screen. Styles took over the supporting role after Shia LaBeouf left (or was fired from production, depending on whose account you believe), and picked up moderate to less-than-favourable reviews for his swing as an entitled incel. Finally, to round off the year, we have his role as closeted cop Tom in the intimate My Policeman. After premiering at TIFF, critics seemed more forgiving of his competency, with many commenting on the star's convincing ability to emote through a character who often leaves a lot unsaid. Some, however, noted that he still probably needs to hone his craft more.
The criticism that Harry Styles should dedicate further time to training before taking on two (potentially three, if his MCU character does reappear) major roles isn't unfair. Star power will always carry weight in casting, especially as we edge further into a crisis of trying to get bums in seats at cinemas, but some of the tactics used by film publicists to whet stans' appetite and drum up hype for Styles as a serious film actor (looking at you, ill-advised clip from Don't Worry Darling on Twitter) backfired pretty spectacularly. So where does he go from here? Suppose Harry Styles, undeterred by the online furore, wants to continue treading the metaphorical boards. Where is he best suited? Our suggestion: romcoms.
Rom-coms hinge on not only their premise, but also the quality of their stars. Sure, anyone can be in a romcom, but not everyone can master them. There's a reason why the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Hugh Grant have remained timeless icons of the genre while others have left audiences unmoved. You've Got Mail hinges on its antagonist, Tom Hanks, being likeable enough that you forgive him literally putting Meg Ryan out of business, while Clueless relies on you being so charmed by Paul Rudd that you forget the weird pseudo-sibling storyline. There's an affability and charm to these performances that connect tangibly through the screen and, even if they are, by all accounts, Hollywood-level, unattainably good-looking, maybe, just maybe, we like to dream we could encounter someone like them in our own lives. That idea of an approachable but transcendent figure? Harry Styles to a tee. He has an undeniable congeniality to his fame, existing both as a modern-day pop icon that can sell out 15 consecutive nights at Madison Square Garden with no stage production, but also somehow Just A Guy. His charm has carried him through the usual lifespan of a boybander-turned-soloist, and legions of fans stick by him not just because they think he's hot but because they feel like they know him.
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All this means nothing, though, if you can't actually act. Rom-coms may be considered low-hanging fruit but often require more skill and vulnerability than they're given credit for. Like we said, many have tried and almost all of them have failed. But in watching the scenes of Don't Worry Darling before things get all incel-y, where Styles and co-star Florence Pugh are, by all accounts, hopelessly in love, driving recklessly through the desert laughing while drunk on Champagne and infatuation, it's impossible to not feel warmed by the idea of Styles as a romantic leading man. When he dons an apron and oven gloves to haphazardly cook a roast, there are hints of the kind of loveably useless stalwarts that litter the annals of rom-com history. The chemistry between them jumps off the screen in these moments, and arguably bolster the blunders that come later in the film when the relationship breaks down. If Don't Worry Darling had been two hours of Styles and Pugh being beautiful and in love, with more (consensual) hanky-panky and less Chris Pine-induced rage, well, the reviews overall probably would have been better.
Styles is a similarly intoxicating object of lust in My Policeman, playing a character whose ineffable allure extends beyond just being good-looking. The role asks for someone who could believably be a person you risk it all for which, yeah, Harry Styles. But My Policeman isn't exactly a laugh-a-minute, in fact it's kind of a drag, which seems a waste of the contagious warmth that radiates from its co-lead. There's an argument to be made here that film studios understand the draw of Harry Styles, but have just interpreted it wrong, like a phrase put through Google Translate a few too many times. He's already shared his love for the genre multiple times and has shown a penchant for comic timing hosting SNL in the past, so, really, there's not much of a jump. 2022 has by no means been a failure in the pursuit of acting for Styles, more an exercise in what should stick around and what shouldn't. And anyway, what's a great romcom without a fumble or two before the big, climactic success?
So this is our plea to Harry Styles: Please, if you want to keep acting, we support it, just try a romcom. A loveable best friend looking to be the object of their unrequited love's affection, or maybe a mysterious new co-worker with a cold heart looking to be thawed. The possibilities are endless.
