Movie Monday: This Means War

I wanted to see This Means War as soon as I saw the trailer.  I think Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, and Chris Pine are all terrific actors.  I like spies and things blowing up, so those seemed liked great elements to liven up a romantic comedy.  The critics hated it, but I can't think of a single critic partial to rom coms.  Thus, I checked This Means War out once my local Redbox had a copy.

Witherspoon is terrific as Lauren, a successful products tester (think Consumer Reports), who gets signed up for a dating website by her married friend.  Her first date is with Tuck (Hardy), a good-looking, charming Englishman.  After her date, she runs into FDR (Pine), and is unimpressed by his womanizing ways, but he wheedles a date out of her anyway.  Of course, the two men aren't a travel agent and boat captain like they claim - they're longtime partners in the CIA and willing to spy on each other and Lauren in order to get the girl.

I thought This Means War was pretty funny, although I wasn't entirely on board with the ending.  It was pretty obvious which guy Lauren would pick, although I thought the other guy was a better choice for her.  (It's obvious because Hollywood has this thing about reuniting divorced couples.  In real life, most divorced people I know prefer to spend as little time as possible with their former partner.) 

Genre-wise, those hoping for a true melding of action movie and rom com will probably be disappointed.  The action is limited to the cold open and the climax.  Unless you count goofy spy antics as action.  I put those under the comedy half of the rom com label.  The couple of action scenes are pretty cool and I liked that Lauren's knowledge from her job was key to saving the day.  (If the men spying on the woman is a little uncomfortable, at least Lauren is never expected to give up her career, friends, or other interests for a relationship.)

This Means War is a perfectly serviceable rom com, though it's no classic of the genre like Witherspoon's career-making Legally Blonde.  The material might be thin but the charismatic and attractive cast is more than game.  While rated PG-13, This Means War falls on the raunchy side.  Mostly verbal jokes, but there are definitely some references parents probably don't want to explain to younger teens.

Books for Africa

Books for Africa aims "to end the book famine in Africa."  Now 24 years old, the organization has provided more than twenty-seven million books to people in 46 African countries.  Each shipment costs about $10,300.

If you donate, you can designate your funds for a specific project.  Volunteers over fourteen are needed in St. Paul, MN and Atlanta, GA.  You can host a fundraiser anywhere.

Books for Africa has a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.

Even My Dog Is In Bed With Books

I keep a husband on the floor of my room for my dog to take naps on.  Patton likes to nest with various objects and his favorite is SMOOTH TALKING STRANGER by Lisa Kleypas.  He's camera shy, but today I finally got proof.

Review: The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life

By Tara Altebrando
Available now from Dutton (Penguin)
Review copy

Oyster Point High School has a tradition.  During senior week, there is an unofficial scavenger hunt.  Parents, cops, and other authority figures try to shut it down.  Naturally, the winning team gets everlasting glory.  (Or, at least glory until a new team wins the Yeti the next year.)

Mary is determined to win since she didn't get into Georgetown and football player Barbone did.  She wants to show someone up for once.  She's got a team of also-rans with her: Winter, her best friend; Patrick, her guy best friend; and Dez, who is obviously gay and takes a lot of crap because of it.  Meanwhile, she'd like to hook up with Carson who is about to break up with Jill, but another girl might have already caught his attention.  And Patrick likes her that way, as she just found out at prom.

The first chapter or so of THE BEST NIGHT OF YOUR (PATHETIC) LIFE is hard to parse.  There are a lot of characters, motivations, and scavenger hunt items to get straight in your head.  But pretty soon it's a fast ride to long-lasting memories, questionable morals, and the definition of first world problems.  I like how Mary's perception of herself changes throughout the story.  She thinks she's invisible at the beginning.  But it turns out she's been leaving an impression all along - and that sometimes it was a bad one.

I did not like that people kept pressuring her to give Patrick a chance, but it was very realistic.  I had the same thing happen to a friend in high school. But Mary manages pretty well, in my opinion.  She may not be the most in tune with herself, but she's got some things figured out.

The characterization is better than your average high school comedy movie.  The jerk jock has his reasons for not liking Mary.  Each of the scavenger hunt members gets a chance to shine and express their point of view.  Even one of the scavenger hunt organizers gets some personality.  It adds depth to the standard plot.

I bring up movies because THE BEST NIGHT OF YOUR (PATHETIC) LIFE reminded me more of a movie version of high school than actual high school.  It works since Tara Altebrando's novel is basically the literary version of a movie.  It's that one crazy night where anything can happen, even the nerds ending up on top.

Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone

By Kat Rosenfield
Available now from Dutton (Penguin)
Review copy

Kat Rosenfield's debut novel AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE is lyrical and haunting.  Small-town girl Rebecca has plans for her last summer before leaving for college, but on graduation night her boyfriend cruelly dumps her and Amelia Anne dies anonymously on the side of the road.  The two events happen less than a mile and an hour apart, although neither girl was aware of the other.

Rosenfield does an excellent job of evoking the small-town atmosphere.  In Bridgeton, everybody knows everybody and anyone who is an outsider is regarded with some degree of suspicion.  The murder of a girl who no one can identify rocks the town.  It's a violation of the gossip mill that nobody knows anything about what happened.  Any possible information spreads fast and viciously, the people eager to avenge this disruption of their peace.

And, in that shocking morning after, Becca's boyfriend calls her for support.  I loved her reaction.  "I don't understand why you're calling me (18, ARC)."  He betrayed her trust and hurt he in a very intimate manner, and she's not going to forget or forgive that easily.  But they tentatively continue their relationship, the day Becca leaves for college looming over their heads.  James has no intention of leaving Bridgeton, no matter how much he loves Becca.  The inevitable doom of the relationship is a familiar thing that many readers can empathize with.

Every few chapters there is a scene from Amelia Anne's point of view, recounting the events of her final day.  She left home with her boyfriend Luke, eager with her own post-graduation future.  She's bold, apologetically sexual, and unwilling to compromise her dreams for her boyfriend's.  It's heartbreaking to read those scenes when you know she isn't going to make it home alive.

AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE reminded me somewhat of Ian McEwan's ATONEMENT.  Like Briony, Becca is a smart girl making assumptions based on what she sees and hears, but she's hampered by her own expectations.  And I'll stop my comparison there before it gets too revealing.

Rosenfield's debut exhibits an assured voice and style, although there are some flaws.  It's sometimes difficult to follow the timeline.  An older Becca tells the story of what happened in those months after Amelia Anne's death, but she sometimes flashes back to before Amelia Anne's death without warning.  But I enjoyed AMELIA ANNE IS DEAD AND GONE in all its brutality.