‘Twisters’ Glen Powell Has Everyone Talking About the One Thing a Romantic Lead Really Needs

Romantic leads have to make you believe a woman would fall in love with this man. Many of these leads go above and beyond to prove this to us, and stars like Glen Powell have it down to a science.

I think that when it comes to romance, men think they know what women want while what we actually want is to be seen—no literally, just look at us.

While Powell has a charm that is unmatched (just ask my mother, who is head over heels in love with him currently and … same), one thing he really does is just look at women. I know, revolutionary, but a lot of the time, women are either seen as objects or the “romance” of something is still incredibly male focused. Movies like Anyone But You and Set It Up stand apart in the genre is because Powell does what every man should do: really look at a woman.

Screenwriter, author, and former Mary Sue editor Alanna Bennett has been saying this for a while now:

Now, going off that, there are many different glances that work. There are different kinds of looks that a man can give. There is the longing look, the realization look, and then there is simply just a man looking at a woman because he respects her enough to pay attention to her. All those are what make Powell’s performances so captivating. Even movies like Twisters, which is decidedly about weather, come across as a romantic comedy because of how devoted he is to the female lead!

So, looking at his recent slate of movies, it is very clear that he has an ability to captivate someone with just one glance!

Anyone but You

To be quite honest, Anyone but You (which is loosely based on the William Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing) works because Glen Powell knows how to look at a woman. That’s really it. As much as I love Sydney Sweeney, I think that if she weren’t paired with Powell and his ability to pay attention to what a woman was saying, it wouldn’t work as well.

I was charmed by how Powell played Ben and while yes, him nervous-singing Natasha Bedingfield really worked for me, it was the way he would just look at Beatrice (Sweeney) that made me love him.

Hit Man

Oh boy is Gary Johnson (Powell) a sap in Hit Man. He is what I would define as a wife guy as well as a simp. A man who can change his personality to fit with the person he is trying to catch in a lie, what makes Gary a particularly good informant is that he adapts to the person and their needs. He is also someone who has to, due to his job, pay attention.

Gary’s ability to look at someone is less about a loving gaze and more about learning everything he can about them, but when it comes to Madison (Adria Arjona), he can’t take his eyes off her. He starts as someone who is just trying to get answers, but it ends up being these loving stares makes you think that you too would marry a pretend hit man if given the chance.

Twisters

The looks that Glen Powell’s Tyler Owens gives to Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in Twisters are what I would define as longing. He is constantly just staring at her, and I’m captivated by it. This movie and Tyler Owens has broken me so completely that I cannot stop thinking about it. Everything you think you know about this movie is thrown out the window when this goofy boy can’t even lean on a doorframe properly because he’s too in love with a girl.

Twisters becomes a rom-com because of how Powell plays his dynamic with Edgar-Jones. They could be two people who are enemies, but instead, we get to see as Powell just follows Kate around like a puppy. He doesn’t even get a kiss! But he just takes her suitcase and leads her back to their storm chasing lives, and it works so well because of how Powell can really look at someone.

If you leave Twisters and you don’t want Powell to just gaze at you, you’re a brave soul.