This Means War

It seems nothing gets a Hollywood executive more excited than mixing two genres together, which leads to all sorts of dreams of guys being roped in by the action and Reese Witherspoon looking sexier than ever, and the ladies being attracted to the romance parts of the movie and those two hunky dudes . However, the mixture here comes off like combining mustard and chocolate ice cream.

Chris Pine and Tom Hardy star as FDR and Tuck - two buddies and partners in the CIA. When they screw up a big case, the two get put on desk duty, which gives them plenty of time to think about something other than espionage.

Eventually, they each meet Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) and find themselves smitten (and, let's face it, what man wouldn't be?). Of course, they are too competitive to step aside gallantly and let the other one try to woo her, so the battle is on to win Lauren's heart, or are they more concerned with defeating each other?

This Means War has the potential to be a wacky, farcical, smart, romantic comedy, but fails to live up to its potential like a Washington Redskins #1 Draft pick.

You get some giggles as FDR and Tuck abuse their CIA training and resources to engage in a Spy vs. Spy type battle to gain the upper hand in the war for the hand of Lauren, but director McG and the writing team of Timothy Dowling and Simon Kinberg never fill the movie with enough heart and soul to make us believe any of the characters truly care for each other, which is of ultimate importance to the tone.

Who are we supposed to root for, or is it all about the explosions and hunky guys showing off their well groomed eyebrows?

FDR and Tuck supposedly are best friends all too willing to toss aside a life-long bond for some gal they both just met.

Witherspoon's character seems to be relishing the love triangle for the attention it gets her and judging each dude in the most superficial of ways rather than getting to know them.

And, all of us are stuck with Chelsea Handler spouting out as many one-liners and outrageous statements as possible, rather than playing a character with any resemblance to reality.

This Means War gets by on the cuteness of the leading actors and actress, but cute doesn't make up for the predictability, lack of substance and need for more romance and comedy.

This Means War is rated PG-13 for some sexual content.