Late night host Chelsea Handler will play Reese Witherspoon's best friend in 20th Century Fox's action comedy "This Means War," her publicist has confirmed to TheWrap.
Chris Pine and Tom Hardy ("Inception") star as best buds who both work for the CIA. When the covert agents realize they've fallen for the same woman (Witherspoon), they wage an escalating war for her affection.
McG is directing "This Means War," while Will Smith and his Overbrook partner James Lassiter are producing with Simon Kinberg and Robert Simonds.
I don't watch much of Handler's "Chelsea Lately," but when I do catch the show, it doesn't take long for her infectious personality to win me over, as she has a just-one-of-the-guys quality that contrasts with her alluring looks.
I can see her making the perfect big screen sidekick, and I expect her to have solid chemistry with Witherspoon, as I can actually see the two of them hanging out in real life, which isn't always the case with the leads in studio comedies.
Handler is a true multi-talent, and the big screen is just the latest medium she has set out to conquer, having recently wrapped a role in Universal/Illumination's CG/live-action film "Hop," which finds Russell Brand voicing the Easter Bunny. The reigning Queen of Late Night just published a third best-selling book and her stand-up comedy tour has sold out in 80 cities.
Here's hoping her movie career fares better than those of her fellow talk show hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, Craig Ferguson, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon, the latter of whom somehow took the joy out of watching the Red Sox win the World Series in "Fever Pitch" for this Boston sports fan.
Handler is represented by CAA, and her casting was first reported by Deadline.
