Never Forget Netflix’s ‘Set It Up’ Made Glen Powell Rom-Com Royalty

It’s June 2024 and Hollywood It Man Glen Powell is starring in Netflix’s top movie, Hit Man. As one of the hottest celebs of the summer, the 35-year-old actor is being hailed as king of the modern-day rom-com. But longtime Powell stans know this isn’t his first sizzling summer. In celebration of the actor and streamer coming full-circle, we’re throwing it back to June 2018, when Powell starred in another beloved Netflix movie, Set It Up, his glorious OG rom-com.

Since Set It Up premiered six years ago on June 15, 2018, Powell’s star power has increased exponentially thanks to other 2018 projects like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, 2022’s box office smash Top Gun: Maverick, and — of course — his recent romantic comedies.

In addition to reestablishing Powell’s irresistible rom-com charm, Anyone But You — which paired the actor with Sydney Sweeney — was praised for putting a fresh spin on the enemies-to-lovers trope. With a $25 million budget, the movie went on to earn $200+ million in theaters, becoming the highest grossing R-rated rom-com since 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby. On top of its box office success, Anyone But You became a TikTok phenomenon and found a new audience when it landed on Netflix in April 2024.

The Powell Play of the moment, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, finds the actor playing Gary Johnson, a professor who poses as a tough professional killer named Ron and falls for a woman (Adria Arjona) in need of his services. The Netflix original made its critically-acclaimed premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September 2023, opened in select theaters on May 24, and began streaming on Netflix June 7. With the romantic comedy/thriller currently sitting at #1 on the platform with a Certified Fresh 97% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, there’s no doubt Powell’s rom-com allure is at an all-time high. That’s why it’s the perfect moment to revisit Set It Up and remember not just how far Powell has come in six years, but how endearing he was in what Decider dubbed one of the all-time greatest rom-coms.

Written by Katie Silberman and directed by Claire Scanlon, Set It Up follows miserable twenty-something assistants Charlie (Powell) and Harper (Zoey Deutch) as they team up to take down — or rather, set up — their overbearing, workaholic bosses (Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu). In the process of playing matchmaker and attempting to manufacture a perfect relationship, Charlie and Harper fall for each other and find a rom-com-worthy love story of their own.

Armed with a tailored suit, a “Southern Swoop,” and some serious acting chops, Powell breaks the stereotypical mold with Charlie, crafting a hardworking, humorous, surprisingly heartfelt character who cycles through a spectrum of emotions over the course of the film. When Harper first meets Charlie he’s a selfish pickle thief with a Chad Radwell-esque ego. By the end of the movie, he’s not only softened, but proven himself capable of being selfless and nailing grand romantic speeches. Powell plays the pushover and the leading man with equal grandeur. His facial journeys alone steal scenes. And he bravely releases his inhibitions in a memorable Set It Up dance scene.

The movie harnesses the electric energy of beloved classic rom-coms, adding a fast-paced modern-day flair that works, primarily, because of Powell and Deutch’s effortless chemistry. The longtime friends manifested themselves as a rom-com couple when they met at rehearsals for Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! and their belief in and love for the genre and each other is crystal clear each second they’re on screen. Their brilliant back-and-forth helps fuel the film, and the famous pizza scene — where the two drunkenly indulge in saucy, cheesy late-night carbs while simultaneously realizing their feelings for each other — belongs in the rom-com Hall of Fame. In the span of three minutes, Powell’s range has the power to make you laugh, swoon, and tear up; the mark of a true rom-com titan.

Powell brings that same magnetic personality and on-screen vulnerability to his performances in Anyone But You and Hit Man, which is why his rom-com career has continued to soar, but Set It Up will always maintain a special status as one of the best modern-day rom-coms that served as the beacon of Powell’s realized potential in the genre.

Set It Up is now streaming on Netflix.