        In NYC....      Sunday, February 19, 2012  This Means
War....Between Me & All Those Snobs Who Dissed It!  My wife and
I were looking for some light comic relief today, and decided to
go see This Means War (the new action/romcom hybrid starring
Reese Witherspoon, the young Captain Kirk, and an English actor
largely unknown in the US, Tom Hardy), despite our both having
seen some REALLY strongly negative reviews. Something about the
concept of the film drew us, and we went in without overly high
expectations.  I am so glad we did, because it turned out to be
exactly what Reese Witherspoon said it was in an interview I
heard-----a witty, fast-paced, cleverly constructed hybrid that
winks at the audience at every single step, inviting discerning
filmgoers to let their hair down and enjoy a well constructed
and (most important) unpretentious romp.  Which is why I am
diverging from my usual Austenian fare to vent my spleen at the
herd of top critics who have all apparently scared each other
into conformity,