P.P.M.R- Positively Positive Movie Review- This Means War

**Spoiler alert. This time I can't keep myself from putting in a few things you might not want to know...mainly because they annoyed me. I wouldn't read this unless you have already seen this movie or you don't care about a spoiler.**

This Means War is the new romantic comedy/action film starring Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy and Chris Pine. The premise is simple: two best friends, who are also spies, fall for the same girl and vie for the girl's heart, all while trying to thwart the other one's attempts and catch an international criminal at the same time. Sounds exciting right? It was! There was plenty of humor, lots of great romantic parts and a nice blend of action!

I have to say, I have never found Tom Hardy attractive until this movie. Now, I understand ladies, now I understand. He plays Tuck, the sweet, good guy with the heart of gold who is simply looking for love to balance his ever-chaotic life with the CIA. He is the guy that says the sweet things and means them. He's the nice guy (and the British accent definitely helps him out). He is also a divorced father who is simply adorable with his son. He will make ladies go "awww." 

Chris Pine plays his best friend, FDR, who is almost the exact opposite of Tuck. He's the ladies man who is always on a different conquest. You know, the kind of conquests that end with the girl waking up alone and him walking with a spring in his step into work. He's the bachelor and the bad boy type.

Reese Witherspoon plays Lauren. Lauren is a workaholic, who keeps running into her happily engaged ex who cheated on her. With the encouragement of her friend, the great Chelsea Handler as Trish, she decides to try dating again. Trish signs her up for an online dating site and this is how she meets Tuck. 

So, after a wonderful meeting with Tuck, where they are both relieved that the other isn't an ax murderer from the internet, Lauren heads off and is convinced that online dating isn't so bad. This is when she meets FDR, who has been waiting nearby just in case Tuck was on a date with a psychopath. FDR is cocky and treats her like yet another conquest. She rejects him but he decides to chase her.

This is where we get the love triangle of the movie. The guys find out that they are dating the same girl but she is unaware that they know each other and, with the encouragement of her wacky friend, decides to date them both to see which one works out.

Here's were I am going to sway from my usual movie review. I am trying to be positive, because that's my thing, so hopefully you can read sarcasm. However, as I said above, I will most likely spoil the ending for you. 

Everyone knows that romantic comedies are full of cliches and plot points that throw characters together. That is fine. We are used to this and we have accepted it. In fact, we just love cliches. The point of a romantic comedy is usually watching the journey of how the characters get together, because you know they will. But here we are dealing with a love triangle. In romantic comedies this usually means that there is a clear front-runner and you know they will end up together. Unless there is a tragic twist, cough "My Best Friend's Wedding" cough, you are left happily knowing the two people who belonged together ended up together.

But let's throw in another romantic comedy cliche and we have a problem. Here it is: the story of the ladies man who is against love until he meets the perfect girl and she melts his heart and makes him realize that love is worth a shot. As a girl, we all love watching the bad boy make his miraculous change that makes us believe that we too can change men so that they will suddenly be great, when a day before they met us, they were scum.

Do you see the problem yet? Let me make it clear. Tuck is the good guy that deserves to win. FDR is the player who suddenly finds himself in love for the first time. Now, who wins? I think you can guess by now. However, I have more.

I knew who would win almost instantly. Although both couples shared excellent moments of love and tenderness, it was apparent to me who would win Lauren's heart. I wasn't happy when I realized this and I hoped I was wrong. Nope, I've written too many plot twists to be wrong about this one. With a few chosen added romantic comedy cliches (yup, there are more), the bad choice becomes an option. I think you can figure the rest out from here. 

So, let's move on to what I loved, because I don't think I have stayed true to the positive mood that I meant to have with this review. Eh, you win some, you lose some. I feel this might be more of a rant than a review but it is what it is. I promise to be a good girl next time.

I loved the humor. I loved the action scenes and how they managed to tie them into the romantic comedy without seeming forced. I loved the acting. I loved Chelsea Handler, but I always do. I loved Tom Hardy, especially his bad-ass moments (won't ruin this, go look for them).This movie had a great cast and it kept my interest the entire time. I definitely will purchase this movie. It was that good. Even though I was disappointed with the ending, I will still buy it. Don't worry, both men end up happy, just not in the way I wanted. 

I may have sounded a bit bitter so my rating may surprise you. Remember, no sugar is good and lots of sugar is bad (in case you forgot the rating system since I have not been as positive as intended).

Movie Rating: 1 spoonful. We needed a little sugar coating.