THIS MEANS WAR
RYAN: I saw this movie on Valentine’s Day and it is the perfect date movie.
CAROLINE: I saw it the week before Valentine’s Day and while I wanted to have high hopes for it, I didn’t bother to after I’d heard all the drama about them switching the release date from V-day to Friday because the movie was tracking so poorly. And wow, is it lame.
RYAN: I couldn’t disagree more. I’m actually surprised to hear you say that. Although I did find it over-the-top at times, it was all in good fun and I actually think it was a cute, complex and fresh approach to the rom com genre.
CAROLINE: The premise was definitely interesting and unique, and I thought it looked cute the first time I saw the trailer. But right from the first scene, I knew exactly what we were getting from this movie, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m all for a willing suspension of disbelief, but this one took it way too far.
RYAN: It’s a love triangle and I really liked how different each relationship was. It’s almost like two rom coms in one. Most films in this genre are just so tired and predictable but I actually didn’t know which of the two I was rooting for till near the end. That was awesome. And then the ending is fully satisfying.
CAROLINE: It’s satisfying in that she does actually pick one dude over the other. But that last action scene was so ridiculous, and such a Speed rip-off, that I was practically rolling my eyes in the theater. The script is pretty ridiculous as a whole.
RYAN: Reese, of course, looks fantastic and plays her role effortlessly. And while I was initially annoyed by the outright ploy to appeal to dudes by mixing in the action elements, I really found they added to the movie’s excitement and comedy.
CAROLINE: Reese does look fab, and I love that she’s almost 36 and still playing the super hot chick role.
RYAN: I will say, however, the action scenes were not edited well. I was surprised that McG directed this since he previously did wonderful action in the Charlie’s Angels movies.
CAROLINE: Totally! He also did a great job with Terminator Salvation, so I expected more from him. One person who did not disappoint though, was Chelsea Handler. Her acting is suspect – have you seen her horrible sitcom? – but she’s absolutely hilar and pitch perfect in this.
RYAN: I totally agree! I was dubious about her casting in a big-screener and LBH, she kinda plays herself. She must have improv’ed a bit. But she was terrif.
CAROLINE: The casting of two lesser-known male actors in the lead roles was interesting to me. Chris Pine has no nose, so I can’t find him that cute. Tom Hardy is kind of sexy in bad British teeth way.
RYAN: I liked both Chris and Tom in this. I think Tom is the better looking one too, but they actually had good chemistry both as friends and with Reese. I bought them in these roles.
CAROLINE: I guess I did, but their jobs were so unrealistic and the way they translated their CIA skills into wooing Reese was just so unforgivably over the top. And what was Angela Bassett doing in the movie for 2 minutes as their boss? Talk about a thankless, useless role.
— BOTTOM LINE —
RYAN: It’s a super fun, funny and fresh romantic comedy. It’s the best definition of a date movie. I was on a date, myself, and with another couple and we all really enjoyed it.
CAROLINE: We’ll have to agree to disagree here. It’s a very poorly written and poorly made movie that happens to star Reese Witherspoon. It’s silly, not funny and unrealistic to the max. Chelsea Handler is awesome but with the exception of her and Reese’s hotness, I was not feeling this movie at all.
— RATING —
