If you've left things to the last minute, good luck trying to eat at a restaurant that's high enough up the culinary food chain to require a reservation.  A quick check of the reservation aggregator OpenTable (opentable.com) shows that it's slim pickings in Sacramento unless you want to go for the early bird special at about 4pm.

But all is not lost as there's a special, sneak preview of the new film "This Means War" tonight at 7pm at the Century Stadium.  And if you pick up tickets in advance, you can even make it look like you planned ahead.

It's a funny film with an inherently funny premise: Two high level CIA operatives (Chris Pine, Tom Hardy) realize they're dating the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). She's a researcher at a "Consumer Reports" type of company who's very prone towards in depth comparisons of alternative choices.  They're best friends of the "we won't let a woman come between us" kind - but that doesn't last as they bring their assorted and prodigious agency assets into play to undermine each others' chances (think drone surveillance of your buddy's date). 

Meanwhile, Witherspoon's character is taking relationship advice from her best friend (Chelsea Handler) who comes from the school of no boundaries in terms of what she's inclined to suggest.  Handler steals the scenes she's in and may be the best female best friend since assorted performances by Joan Cusack.  Only raunchier - and this isn't a child-friendly production.

It's a marketing win in terms of its potential appeal as a date movie, whether tonight or after it opens in wide release on Friday.  Essentially it blends the elements of a romantic comedy with those of an action comedy, for an effective romantic action comedy - and it strikes a happy balance in that respect.  It starts a little slowly but picks up the pace and stays frenetic for most of it's length. 

Not a bad last minute solution.