Anything Goes : This Means War (2012) by Ryan Dennison

This Means War (2012) - *** Rated PG-13 for sexual content including references, some action and violence, and for language Runtime: 97 minutes Starring: Reese Witherspoon - Lauren Chris Pine - FDR Foster Tom Hardy - Tuck Til Schweiger - Heinrich Chelsea Handler - Trish Directed by: McG Written by: Timothy Dowling and Simon Kinberg Two CIA operatives, FDR and Tuck (Pine and Hardy) live a dangerous life. They engage in relentless action to find their targets, beat the tar out of whoever gets in their way, and walk away without a scratch on their bodies. Usually, I find these types of films too cliched and not very entertaining, but "This Means War" won me over. I found myself laughing hysterically and engaged in the film very much so. I even went to this film with very low expectations, but I was surprisingly delighted. The film starts with the aforementioned operatives screwing up obtaining their target Heinrich (Schweiger) and getting pushed back to desk duty by their superior (Angela Bassett). They fight their boredom by entertaining each other, for that they are best friends. However, there are slight differences; FDR is a womanizer and Tuck hasn’t been with anyone since his divorce. He has a son, who he spends time with from time to time, and a good relationship with his ex-wife. But she is in the dating world, so that prompts him to do the same thing. With a little help from FDR (a silly first name, I know), Tuck is entered in a dating website, who offers to survey anyone interested in him, but Tuck says that he is okay. Enter Lauren (Witherspoon), a lonely product-testing executive who is trying to get back in the dating world herself, and does the online thing too. Tuck encounters her and arranges for a date. They hit it off very well, but afterwards, Lauren encounters FDR at a nearby video store strike a conversation about movies. Though FDR seems very charming at first, she sees through his tough exterior and is turned off by his womanizing ways. This prompts FDR to further pursue her, which she reluctantly agrees to after FDR embarrasses her at one of her work venues. When FDR and Tuck realize at the same time that they are both dating Lauren, they decide to act like gentlemen and further go out with her, and to let her decide without sabotaging each other’s chances. However, this does not last too long. With their skills and high-tech equipment, they survey Lauren and get clues from her conversations with her friend Trish (played hilariously by Handler). When the men realize that Lauren is no sooner to deciding on what man to pick, this further pits FDR against Tuck on playing it cool and making the best man win. First of all, I can’t call this a great film, but I am recommending it for its hilarious situations and dialogue. McG’s films haven’t worked for me in the past, like the "Charlie’s Angels" films and "Terminator Salvation" (2009), but "This Means War" actually satisfied my expectations. And also, the film kept me guessing as to what will happen in the end. I won’t spoil anything, but I found myself hoping that either man has the best chance of ending up with the girl, or if the girl leaves them both. I didn’t find myself indifferent to the outcome.