Sunday, February 19, 2012

Movie review: This Means War

Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine in This Means War

Consumed by her job as a product tester, uptight Lauren, played aptly by Reese Witherspoon, decides she needs a man in her life. When her best friend Trish, played by a sassy Chelsea Handler, sets up an online dating profile for Lauren using a photo from Lauren's gymnastic days, it's no wonder there is some immediate interest. Lauren agrees to go out with super-hottie Tuck, played by Tom Hardy, whose lips alone are worth the price of a movie ticket.

That same day, she coincidentally meets FDR, played by a savvy Chris Pine. After a fight over the merits of a lesser-known Hitchcock film, she rebuffs FDR and goes on her way. Refusing to take "no" for an answer however, FDR shows up at one of her focus groups where he manipulates her into going out with him. What she doesn't know is that Tuck and FDR are not only kick-butt CIA agents, they are also best friends.

Okay, so the premise is a bit implausible, but this scalene love triangle makes for good fun, especially when the two testosterone-riddled dudes up the stakes of their "bromance" and declare all is fair in love and war. The fun of this film is encapsulated in the scene where both Tuck and FDR sneak into Lauren's house to set up hidden cameras and search for clues about what makes her tick. Both men are so stealthy, neither knows the other is there all while Lauren makes popcorn and giddily raps "This is How We Do It." There are other great fantasy-fulfilling scenes, like when Tuck takes Lauren to fly on a trapeze -- a lovely metaphor for love. (Sorry, men, you'd better up your game).

While the most exciting chemistry comes from Hardy and Pine, the real comedic gem in this film is Chelsea Handler. Her scathing, sometimes raunchy one-liners had me laughing out loud and wishing she had more screen time. Reese is very likable, giving her all to the comedy. It was very refreshing to see Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as two new male romantic leads -- in the same movie, no less -- giving the two Ryans some well-earned time off. One thing this movie does very well is keep the viewer guessing which hot guy Witherspoon will choose -- a pretty tough choice if you ask me.

Bottom line: If you want to laugh with your man or BFFs, go see This Means War, a fun comedy full of eye-candy that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Source: http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/949181/movie-review-this-means-war

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