A fast-paced story and lots of laughs make “This Means War” an entertaining choice at the box office.
Last night I attended the newly released romantic comedy “This Means War” at Coronado’s Village Theatre. Happily munching fresh, buttered popcorn, I settled in with my fiance to enjoy this much anticipated film. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, and Tom Hardy. In the movie, FDR (Pine) and Tuck (Hardy) play two CIA agents who also happen to be best friends. These two James Bond style secret agents both meet the same woman (Lauren who is played by Witherspoon) at different times and then compete with each other to win Lauren’s affection all the while trying their close-knit friendship. As the tag phrase says: “It’s SPY against SPY!”
This movie is fast-paced, fun, amusing at times, and overall, entertaining. Lauren lives in Los Angeles and works for a product testing company. Her best friend is Trish, played by Chelsea Handler (Comedian and host of late-night TV show, Chelsea Lately). After running into her ex-boyfriend on the street, Lauren is desperate for a new man in her life, and Trish secretly signs her up for an online dating website. Through the website, Lauren meets Tuck. Tuck is British, charming, and a “travel agent,” or so he says. After her first date with Tuck, Lauren meets FDR by chance and catches his eye and another date. A love triangle ensues, but Lauren has no idea that both men wooing her are friends and work colleagues in a very secretive profession. Lucky for the guys, they have all the resources and manpower of the CIA to help them compete against each other in the quest for Lauren’s heart.
Reese Witherspoon is easy to relate to and fall for, as cute, quirky, indecisive Lauren. She plays the “every girl” character that she’s done so well with in many of her previous films, and really draws the audience into her dilemmas and decisions. I must admit,”This Means War” isn’t her best film, but it’s also not her worst. Chris Pine and Tom Hardy also do a good job as the warring secret agents, but at times they tend to make their deadly profession look jokingly easy, and not very realistic.
Since I feel that many romantic comedies are geared more towards women then men, I had to ask my fiance’s overall opinion of the film after the credits began rolling. He said: “I enjoyed this movie because it was a good mix of action and romance, and offered a little bit of something for everyone. I’d recommend it.”
Be aware, this movie does contain some violence, due to the male main character’s jobs with the CIA. Also, there is some foul language and sexuality throughout. At the end of the day, this is a romantic comedy. It’s most likely not going to win any awards for groundbreaking plots, amazing acting, or slick special effects. It’s easy to watch, easy to follow, and a fun date movie to see with a significant other or group of friends.
Length: 98 mins.
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy
Rating: PG-13
Village Theatre movie times available here.
