“This Means War,” hit theaters last Friday, stepping outside the stereotypical CIA action-adventure genre.  The film, directed by McG, offers a clever combination of raunchy yet witty comedy, budding romances and fast-paced and exciting action sequences.

Although the trailer of the film alludes to an action/adventure-filled plot, the bulk of the film veers towards the romantic comedy genre. Although the plot is quite predictable, the humor laced into it keeps the audience engaged and interested.

The story follows two close friends who work as partners in the CIA. These friends, FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy), have a close-knit relationship that resembles that of brothers. It would seem that nothing could come between this inseparable duo – until a woman comes along.

Lauren, played by Reese Witherspoon, is an attractive, confident single girl that is very successful. All of these qualities somehow do not intimidate the suave charm of FDR or the sensitive and down to earth Tuck. However, the attractiveness of the three main characters makes it very unbelievable that any of these individuals could be in a romantic slump, which kick-starts this competition.

What spices up this ultimately textbook romantic comedy is its explosive and outrageous humor. This is displayed mostly by the surprising inclusion of Chelsea Handler’s character, playing Lauren’s best friend, Trish.

Handler’s character truly pushes the envelope and says what most women are thinking but rarely have the guts to say out loud. Her widely “out there” sexuality is masked by her normal life as a stay-at-home mom. Trish acts as the catalyst that pushes Lauren to date two men at once, a task not meant for the faint-hearted. The dialogue is quick and hilarious and elicits such a strong reaction from the audience.

It is a surprise that such comedy is written by Timothy Dowling (“Role Models”) and Simon Kinberg (“Sherlock Holmes”). “Role Models” does indeed possess the same dry humor that is brought forth in “This Means War,” however the targeted audience has switched dramatically from male to female and the raunchiness is kicked into high gear.

Women will greatly appreciate the dirty humor and profane dialogue exchanged between Lauren and Trish. Men will certainly go for the light and playful humor coupled with testosterone-driven fight scenes between supposed “besties” Tuck and FDR.

Both the director and the screenwriters have their fair share of experiences with combination sex and action movies. McG directed both “Charlie’s Angels” films and Kinberg worked on the sceenplay for “X-Men: The Last Stand” along with “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” With this genre, there is always a superficial sense to the film, as the appeal is only skin deep: Hardy’s lips and tattoos and Pine’s chest and electric blue eyes are prominent visuals in the film.

McG clearly does not have a creative look in mind when it comes to shooting the film. Most shots are dead on and the sweeping camera motions and handheld shots do not add much to the scenes, but only display the stereotypical movements of a not-so-special action/adventure romcom.

The lighting is too much at times, flooding behind the characters, illuminating their hair and the dust particles surrounding them. The director of photography makes the clear distinction between work and home – as if audience members couldn’t already do it on their own – by creating a CIA office entirely of different shades of blue and an outside world of hot pinks, teals and yellows.

This film was not meant to surprise or wow anyone. Instead, it was clearly made to satisfy the public’s need for two sexy men vying for one sexy lady’s attention, all the while waiting on the edge of their seats for the inevitable loss of chastity of Witherspoon’s character.

Hannah Friedstein can be reached at [email protected].