My first impression was that this movie was going to be all looks and no follow through. Actually my first impression was… I hope they take their shirts off! This movie surprised me with more than just pretty faces and a few laughs. It had me laughing and had great action scenes.
Reese Witherspoon unknowingly begins to date two best friends played by Chris Pine and Tom Hardy. The spin is that the best friends are also CIA agents who have recently been sidelined and are clearly bored because of it.Tuck played by Tom Hardy is a sweet British guy that has been divorced and has a son. He puts himself on a dating website and gets matched with Lauren played by Witherspoon. Lauren’s profile gets posted by her quirky friend Trish played by Chelsea Handler. FRD played by Chris Pine meets Lauren shortly after and is intrigued by her insight fulness at his player mentality. What guy actually likes being called a player? So FDR does what any guy would do, he forces Lauren into a date to prove her wrong. FDR comes off pretty shallow in the beginning but gets deeper as the movie gets going.
Clearly out of force of habit both Tuck and FDR begin bugging Lauren’s apartment and doing background checks, you never know what kind of psycho you might meet on the internet. Like these guys couldn’t protect themselves from four foot nothing Witherspoon! Then, they realize that they are dating the same woman. The rest of the movie is a ton of laughs as the two try and sabotage each others dates and learn as much as possible about Lauren to boost their chances.
One of my favorite scenes is when Lauren is in her kitchen making popcorn and listening to an old school rap song; This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan. She was blasting the music and singing along in her sweatshirt completely oblivious to the fact that both men have broken into her apartment to place bugs.
I should also mention the paintball scene because its hilarious! After Tuck listens to girl talk about himself being a little sensitive he decides to man up and show Lauren how tough he is by taking her to play paintball. He proceeds to clean house wiping out everyone on the field with his crazy spy ninja moves in a matter of minutes. No one is safe, including the children hiding in the fort! Lauren was stunned but impressed. One point for Tuck. Then minus one point after she shot him in the junk.
I need to mention Chelsea Handler. I’m a fan. I’ve read all of her books and watched her show on and off for years (it’s on a little late for me) but her acting/character left me shaking my head. Her acting seemed a little forced and to much like she is on her show. Her character was a little ridiculous.
Overall, I thought this movie was the perfect mix. I was kept guessing the entire movie who Lauren was going to end up with. Just when I thought one deserved her more I learned something about the other guy that made me second guess myself. I highly recommend this movie for “date night”. The action, comedy and romance are perfectly intertwined.
Have you seen it?