THIS MEANS WAR (Rated PG-13)

Is Reese Witherspoon the poster girl for America’s cinematic sweetheart? If so, that’s as good a reason as any for her to be at the center of an odd love triangle.

You can’t miss the imagery in the large posters for “This Means War,” where the perky blonde beauty stands between two hunky guys who appear poised for what the title implies.

The film’s concept is right out of Mad magazine, with the Spy vs. Spy theme taken to its logical conclusion when two CIA agents employ their secret agent skills to a purpose other than national security.

That’s right, expensive surveillance equipment and the skills acquired from dangerous missions in the field are put to the service of helping two lustful secret agents to pursue the same woman.

The competition starts innocently enough, which is more than one can say for the film’s opening scene, a wild shootout at a nightclub perched on top of a Hong Kong skyscraper.

Agents Tuck (Tom Hardy) and FDR (Chris Pine), dressed like the Blues Brothers, botch a mission to take down Eurotrash terrorist Heinrich (Til Schweiger), instead killing his brother and a slew of henchmen.

The violent encounter, where Tuck and FDR get carried away, results in some bad press and reassignment to desk jobs for the duo at the Los Angeles field office.

Bored with menial tasks, FDR and Tuck, who happen to be best buddies, decide it might be a good time to deal with their love lives.

That’s not a problem for the charismatic ladies man FDR, but divorced dad Tuck is a bit rusty and unsure of himself. He decides to give online dating a try.

Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon’s Lauren is fully committed to her job promoting consumer products and has stopped dating since being dumped.

Lauren’s best friend Trish (Chelsea Handler, in full loudmouth mode), who’s married, wants to live vicariously by signing up Lauren for online dating.

Not surprisingly, Tuck and Lauren find each other in cyberspace and arrange to go on a dinner date. Then, Lauren and FDR find each other in a video store, of all places.

The sparks don’t fly at first between Lauren and FDR. His oily charm is too eager. She parries and spurns his casual banter with spunky retorts. Immediately, FDR is hooked and stalks her at a product-testing focus group.

One day Lauren is lonely, and the next she finds herself the object of attention from two handsome suitors, each with his own special appeal.

Thus the fierce romantic competition begins, because Tuck and FDR soon discover they are after the same woman, even though Lauren is blissfully unaware of their relationship.

It’s at this point that the two CIA agents violate all agency protocols by engaging in high-tech surveillance of Lauren’s every move, tapping her cell phone and planting bugs in her apartment.

To make matters worse, Tuck and FDR enlist underlings in the “covert” mission, having everyone believe that the pretty blonde is a threat to national security. Where’s profiling when you need it?

Though the rivalry between two best pals is supposed to be friendly, it takes a more heated turn in a battle of extreme one-upmanship, going so far as having the two of them destroy a restaurant during one altercation.

Back on the job front, Heinrich and his goons are looking for retribution against FDR and Tuck for the Hong Kong fiasco.

“This Means War” reaches a ridiculous climax with a wild car chase and shootout between the agents and Heinrich on an unfinished freeway overpass.

There’s a lot of funny stuff in this mish-mash film that awkwardly merges romantic comedy with high-octane action. Still, the film may not be the great turn-on for many.

Director McG (“Charlie’s Angels”) is not known for subtlety, and so it is not surprising that he had to spice up the romantic comedy with guns blazing and things blowing up.

HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM EXHIBIT

In case you are visiting Hollywood any time before the end of April, you could do better than taking a bus ride to see the homes of Hollywood stars.

The Hollywood Museum, located only blocks from the famous Graumann’s Chinese Theater, has a special exhibit called “And The Winner Is ...”

Celebrating the award season, this exhibit showcases the largest selection of costumes and props from over twenty films and televisions shows nominated for awards.

You can see great authentic stuff from nominated films like “The Artist,” “The Descendants,” and “Midnight in Paris,” to name only a few.

Pee-Wee Herman memorabilia is also on display, including his famous red bike from his “Big Adventure” film. I don’t think it was nominated for any category.

The best of all, at least to my thinking, was the Rat Pack display, celebrating the original “Ocean’s 11,” and heavily invested in Frank Sinatra memorabilia.

The Hollywood Museum is located in the historic Max Factor Building on the corner of Hollywood and Highland.

Max Factor, the legend of movie makeup, worked his magic on motion picture stars starting in 1935. Displays give a peek into that fairytale world.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.