COLUMN: Witherspoon shines in ‘This Means War’
If I were to sum up “This Means War” in one sentence, I’d say this: Two gorgeous CIA spies literally fighting over Reese Whitherspoon’s affection — it doesn’t get better than that. Did I mention that one of the spies is British? Yum.
“This Means War” starts out like any action-packed story. The top CIA operatives, FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Harding), distract themselves with beautiful women just before they take out the German-speaking scary dude, Heinrich (Til Schweiger).
Of course the agents are just too pretty to get away with it cleanly and exposed what was supposed to be a covert mission. Now they are restricted to office work where they have time to think about the lack of women in their lives. Tuck has a son but is divorced and FDR is just — to say it bluntly — a player.
FDR has no problem picking up the ladies but can’t and won’t settle down until he meets Reese Whitherspoon’s character, Lauren. The problem is Tuck has already gone on a date with her and is falling quickly. The two spies — and best friends — find out they are dating the same woman and lay down some rules with a gentleman’s agreement; “Let the best man win… for her… the best man for Lauren.”
Lauren is a successful and independent woman, content with her life until her best friend posts her profile on an online dating website where she met the beautiful, British Tuck. She likes him — a lot. Then, she accidentally met FDR in a video store, one of his hangouts to find a date for the night. She hates him — a lot. Lauren is put off by FDR’s cocky scent and saw right through him. This only intrigued him.
Each spy plants cameras in Lauren’s apartment and starts investigating what she likes and doesn’t like. Abusing their powers to use top-secret equipment, they eaves drop on conversations and sabotage one other’s dates. That is where the real fun begins.
I don’t know how you can perfectly mesh an action comedy with a romantic comedy, but “This Means War” was exactly that: a perfect combination. I was laughing the entire time. The dialogue and storyline were spectacular. The banter, the chemistry and the quirkiness were incredible. At the same time, I was on the edge of my seat, because I didn’t know whether they were all going to die.
Heinrich, the German-speaking scary dude, was seeking revenge of his brother’s death. Til Schweiger is one of my favorite villains. I don’t know what it is about Germans, but they make great bad guys. My hat is off to the actors and the director, McG. To take an idea like “This Means War” and make something completely entertaining without overdoing it or making it cheesy is impressive.
I haven’t seen Reese Whitherspoon in a while; in fact, I kind of forgot about her, but she was funny and charming as Lauren. Whenever I see her on screen I think about how far she has come. She was merely an extra as a young teenager and the director could not keep his eyes off her and gave her some lines. From there, her career sky-rocketed. She was a nobody and now she is a somebody, a big somebody who gets to kiss two extremely handsome movie stars on one set.
Chris Pine’s career is also doing well since his “Star Trek” debut. He has landed some pretty big roles. I think he is comfortable playing the roles of the arrogant ladies’ man. He is good at it, after all. I would like to see how he is in real life, though. The beautiful British man, Tom Harding, I am less familiar with. The only other flick I saw him in was “Inception.” But with roles like this and the upcoming “Dark Knight Rises,” he should be just fine. How can you say no to that voice anyway?
Mixing Witherspoon, Pine and Harding in “This Means War” was brilliant. And it is a perfect blend of action, comedy and romance — if there is such a thing. However, I would have liked to see more of Til Schweiger kicking butt German-style. There isn’t much negative feedback I could give about “This Means War.” I was entertained. Though, it was predictable until it came down to the choice of who Lauren had to pick. Was it the cocky player with beautiful eyes or the British family man? You will just have to watch it.
There is a little something for everyone in “This Means War.”
– anike.pullens@aggiemail.usu.edu