This Means War . . . Actually a Stalemate

February 17, 2012 | by Joseph Brownell

 

This Means War, the latest romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon, has its work cut out for it.  Water for Elephants didn’t fare very well at the box-office despite its best-selling story, How Do You Know bombed harder than the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor and unless you count voicing a character in Monster and Aliens, Witherspoon hasn’t had a box-office hit since Four Christmases. War uses the tired cliché of two guys fighting over one girl and sets it against a CIA-spy backdrop; the strategy of blending a romantic comedy with an action-packed buddy film could’ve led the film to victory but instead the film flounders on both fronts.

On the offensive (action) front, War attempts to entice male audience members with promises of action-packed scenes. The opening of the film features FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) as CIA agents who, despite orders to keep their mission low-key, end up creating a ruckus. Cue Mission Impossible-lite action scenes

On the defensive (romantic comedy) front you meet Lauren (Witherspoon), a consumer product tester, whose single lifestyle is ridiculed by her married, booze-loving, mother-of-one friend, Trish (Chelsea Handler). Trish (the hilarious plot provider) pushes Lauren to be more adventurous goading Miss Play-It-Safe into the potentially explosive decision to date both FDR and Tuck. Despite the barely there pretext of just another rom-com – which hardly even bothers with a pretext anymore, – Witherspoon is always bubbly and effervescent and manages to propel the story forward.

When it comes to the romantic-comedy scenes, both FDR and Tuck possess a certain chemistry with Lauren but it’s never quite believable through the film that Lauren would fall for either of these guys. It certainly would’ve been a more interesting casting decision to have ex-husband Ryan Phillippe battle it out with ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal.

This film isn’t without victories. The always lovable Witherspoon and Chelsea Handler, who really just plays Chelsea Handler, provide many of the film’s best scenes which would’ve been great had this been a Bridesmaids-type film. The win goes to both for carrying a weak and predictable script.

If you’re looking romance and action, I’d suggest taking a cue from one of Tuck and Lauren’s dates and go to a paintball course. While War never quite loses, it definitely isn’t a winner. Your best strategy may be to wait until Redbox.