This Means War

The romantic comedy has long been considered 'chick flick' territory. How Hollywood has worked out a way to make them more appealing to men as well by adding some action.

Most romantic comedies that Hollywood makes are not very daring or different. They take a theme or issue about love and explore it in a comedic way. You know exactly where it is going and what is going to happen. Generally any enjoyment you get out of it is in the journey and not the destination. This film has a little bit of interest as far as destination goes because you wonder which guy Lauren is going to choose. There is a hint in the way it is set up but you don't mind. I found myself enjoying this film a lot more than I expected. Most of it seems pretty implausible but that's OK. I cannot imagine real CIA agents getting away with most of the stuff that Tuck and FDR get up to in this film. Not many love triangles have access to that kind of hardware. So that adds some fun to proceedings. But are the heads of the CIA too busy watching other people to care about what is going on within their own company. The writers though have come up with some really funny situations for the characters to get into.

I think the charm of the cast also has a lot to do with its appeal. Reese Witherspoon has done many romantic comedies before so she knows how to play the character well. She does an excellent job here and gives a really sweet performance. Chris Pine and Tom Hardy make an excellent couple of spies. They have the suaveness of James Bond as well as the everyman quality to make them seem like normal guys. I like how Tom is doing a comedy too. Talk show host Chelsea Handler does an excellent job as the heroine's best friend and advice giver. Quite wisely she is given all the funniest lines in the film and makes it well worth seeing. I also liked how they give her character a bit of back story so she has some dimension.

It would have made a better film, in my opinion, if Tuck and FDR ended up together. I found their relationship to be very homoerotic. But I know that will never happen. Despite that it is a really fun film.