Editing Reese Witherspoon (section)

===2007–2012: Career setbacks and romantic comedy films===
[[File:Reese Witherspoon, 2009.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Witherspoon at the premiere of ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens]]'' in 2009]]

Witherspoon admits to spending several years "kind of floundering career-wise". Reflecting on this period of time in a December 2014 interview, Witherspoon attributed it to the split from her first husband in October 2006 and their subsequent divorce, stating that she spent "a few years just trying to feel better. You know, you can't really be very creative when you feel like your brain is scrambled eggs." She claims that she "wasn't making things I was passionate about. I was just kind of working, you know. And it was really clear that audiences weren't responding to anything I was putting out there."<ref>{{cite news|first=Charlie |last=Rose |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reese-witherspoon-ready-for-a-change/ |title=Reese Witherspoon: Ready for a Change|work=CBS News |date=December 21, 2014 |access-date=December 31, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229042618/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/reese-witherspoon-ready-for-a-change/ |archive-date=December 29, 2014}}</ref>

Witherspoon appeared in the thriller ''[[Rendition (film)|Rendition]],'' in which she played Isabella El-Ibrahim, the pregnant wife of a bombing suspect. The film was released in October 2007 and it was her first film appearance since the 2005's ''Walk the Line''.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Germain|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101601378.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/entertainmentnews|title=Witherspoon Gives a Dramatic 'Rendition'|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 16, 2007|access-date=November 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110192520/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101601378.html?nav=rss_artsandliving%2Fentertainmentnews|archive-date=November 10, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received mostly mixed reviews and was deemed a major disappointment at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Jack|last=Mathews|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2007/10/19/2007-10-19_rendition_is_story_of_torture.html |title='Rendition' is story of torture  |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=October 19, 2007 |access-date=December 12, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222114101/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2007/10/19/2007-10-19_rendition_is_story_of_torture.html |archive-date=December 22, 2007}}</ref> Witherspoon's performance was also criticized; writing for ''[[USA Today]]'', Claudia Puig wrote "Reese Witherspoon is surprisingly lifeless [...] She customarily injects energy and spirit into her parts, but here, her performance feels tamped down."<ref>{{cite news|first=Claudia|last=Puig|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2007-10-18-rendition_N.htm|title='Rendition' fails to turn over interest|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=October 18, 2007|access-date=December 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021061032/http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2007-10-18-rendition_N.htm|archive-date=October 21, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, Witherspoon starred with [[Vince Vaughn]] in the comedy ''[[Four Christmases]]'', a story about a couple who must spend their Christmas Day trying to visit all four of their divorced parents.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Dave |last=McNary |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/features/vaughn-witherspoon-set-for-comedy-2-1117969202/ |title=Vaughn, Witherspoon set for comedy |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=July 26, 2007 |access-date=February 29, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012004547/http://variety.com/article/VR1117969202.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |archive-date=October 12, 2007 }}</ref> Despite negative reviews from critics, the film was a box office success, earning more than $120 million domestically and $157 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/fourchristmases |title=Four Christmases (2008):Reviews |website=Metacritic |access-date=November 30, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205082540/http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/fourchristmases |archive-date=December 5, 2008 }}</ref> In 2009, Witherspoon voiced Susan Murphy, the lead character in the [[DreamWorks Animation]] ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens]]'', released in March, which grossed $381 million worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Monsters vs. Aliens|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl224757249/|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 23, 2020|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428191727/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=monstersvsaliens.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Susan|last=Wloszczyna|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-03-10-monsters-aliens_N.htm|title=First look: 'Monsters vs. Aliens' is the ultimate; a 3-D 'first'|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=March 11, 2008|access-date=April 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625093637/http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-03-10-monsters-aliens_N.htm|archive-date=June 25, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> She also co-produced the ''Legally Blonde'' spin-off ''[[Legally Blondes]]'', starring [[Camilla and Rebecca Rosso|Milly and Becky Rosso]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/457937/Legally-Blondes/details |title=Legally Blondes (2008) |access-date=February 14, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214203637/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/457937/Legally-Blondes/details |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2015 |archive-date=February 14, 2015}}</ref> However, Witherspoon did not appear in a live-action film for two years after ''Four Christmases''. She told ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' that the "break" was unplanned, stating that, "I just didn't read anything I liked... There are a lot of really, really, really big movies about robots and things—and there's not a part for a 34-year-old woman in a robot movie."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2010/12/09/this-weeks-cover-reese-witherspoon/ |title=This Week's Cover: The return of Reese Witherspoon |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=February 29, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101233929/http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/12/09/this-weeks-cover-reese-witherspoon/ |archive-date=January 1, 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Reese Witherspoon May 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|Witherspoon at the premiere of ''[[Water for Elephants (film)|Water for Elephants]]'' in 2011]]

Witherspoon returned with three romances released in 2010, 2011 and 2012, all starring her as a woman caught in a [[love triangle]] between two men. In the first, she was cast in [[James L. Brooks]]' ''[[How Do You Know]],''<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Cieply|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/movies/23brooks.html |title=Star-Heavy Big-Budget Love Story Bucks Trend |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 22, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330102910/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/movies/23brooks.html |archive-date=March 30, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Gordon and the Whale |publisher=Gordon and the Whale |date=June 9, 2010 |url=http://gordonandthewhale.com/james-l-brooks-comedy-now-titled-everything-youve-got/ |access-date=June 21, 2010 |first=Joshua |last=Brunsting |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613160856/http://gordonandthewhale.com/james-l-brooks-comedy-now-titled-everything-youve-got/ |archive-date=June 13, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Film trailer: Witherspoon, Rudd, Wilson and Nicholson in 'How Do You Know' |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=August 14, 2010 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/film-trailer-witherspoon-rudd-wilson-and-nicholson-in-lsquohow-do-you-knowrsquo-2052468.html |access-date=August 14, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108191322/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/film-trailer-witherspoon-rudd-wilson-and-nicholson-in-lsquohow-do-you-knowrsquo-2052468.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012}}</ref> in which she played a former national softball player who struggles to choose between a baseball-star boyfriend ([[Owen Wilson]]) and a business executive being investigated for [[white-collar crime]] ([[Paul Rudd]]). Filming took place in [[Philadelphia]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] during the summer and fall of 2009<ref>{{cite magazine | first = Tatiana | last = Siegel | url = https://variety.com/2009/film/news/rudd-wilson-in-talks-for-brooks-film-1118000256/ | title = Rudd, Wilson in talks for Brooks film | magazine = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date = February 17, 2009 | access-date = February 29, 2020 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120917172407/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000256.html?categoryid=13&cs=1= | url-status = live | archive-date = September 17, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Reese Witherspoon: Filming in Philly |publisher=GossipCenter Network |date=October 1, 2009 |url=http://celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/reese-witherspoon-filming-in-philly-219333 |access-date=April 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723023718/http://celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/reese-witherspoon-filming-in-philly-219333 |archive-date=July 23, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson Movie Coming to D.C. |newspaper=Washington City Paper |date=June 4, 2009 |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/04/reese-witherspoon-owen-wilson-movie-coming-to-dc/ |access-date=March 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618060638/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/04/reese-witherspoon-owen-wilson-movie-coming-to-dc/ |archive-date=June 18, 2009 }}</ref> and it was released on December 17, 2010. The film was critically and commercially unsuccessful; with a budget of more than $100 million, the film only earned $48.7 million worldwide, leading the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' to call it "one of the year's biggest flops".<ref>{{cite news|title=Box office: 'How Do You Know' flops; 'Tron' doesn't; and like the bear himself, 'Yogi' is soft [Updated] |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 19, 2010 |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/12/box-office-tron-good-but-not-great-how-do-you-know-flops-yogi-bear-soft.html |access-date=December 28, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222170312/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/12/box-office-tron-good-but-not-great-how-do-you-know-flops-yogi-bear-soft.html |archive-date=December 22, 2010}}</ref> The film received mainly unfavorable reviews, with an approval rating of 35% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 111 reviews as of December 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rotten Tomatoes: How Do You Know |website=Rotten Tomatoes |date=December 17, 2010 |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everything_youve_got/ |access-date=December 28, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223051030/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/everything_youve_got/ |archive-date=December 23, 2010 }}</ref>

Witherspoon's second love-triangle film was the drama ''[[Water for Elephants (film)|Water for Elephants]],'' an adaptation of [[Sara Gruen]]'s [[Water for Elephants|novel of the same name]]. She began [[List of circus skills|circus]] training in March 2010 for her role as Marlena, a glamorous performer stuck in a marriage to a volatile husband ([[Christoph Waltz]]) but intrigued by the circus' new veterinarian ([[Robert Pattinson]]).<ref>{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Frazier|title=Reese Witherspoon Goes to Washington |work=[[Entertainment Tonight]] |date=March 10, 2010 |url=http://www.etonline.com/news/84864_Reese_Witherspoon_Goes_to_Washington/ |access-date=February 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403192149/http://www.etonline.com/news/84864_Reese_Witherspoon_Goes_to_Washington/ |archive-date=April 3, 2012 }}</ref> [[Principal photography]] began between May and early August 2010<ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Pattinson begins shooting for "Water for Elephants |publisher=Hollywood News |date=May 20, 2010 |url=http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/05/20/robert-pattinson-begins-shooting-for-%E2%80%9Cwater-for-elephants%E2%80%9D/ |access-date=May 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104111216/http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/05/20/robert-pattinson-begins-shooting-for-%E2%80%9Cwater-for-elephants%E2%80%9D/ |archive-date=January 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |first=Francis |last=Lawrence|title= That's a wrap on WFE!!!!!! |date=August 5, 2012|user=Hibbits|number=20362637500 |access-date=February 29, 2020|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100809032505/http://twitter.com/Hibbits/status/20362637500 |archive-date=August 9, 2010}}</ref> in various locations in [[Tennessee]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and California. It was released on April 22, 2011, and received mixed critical reviews.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fox Pushes Rio, Water for Elephants Releases |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=December 23, 2010 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-pushes-rio-water-elephants-65332 |access-date=December 28, 2010 |first=Pamela |last=McClintock |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227041725/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-pushes-rio-water-elephants-65332 |archive-date=December 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rotten Tomatoes: Water for Elephants |website=Rotten Tomatoes |date=April 22, 2011 |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/water_for_elephants/ |access-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627145827/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/water_for_elephants/ |archive-date=June 27, 2011 }}</ref> Her last love-triangle film began production in [[Vancouver]] in September 2010. Directed by [[McG]] and released by [[20th Century Fox]], ''[[This Means War (film)|This Means War]]'', saw Witherspoon's character at the center of a battle between best friends (played by [[Chris Pine]] and [[Tom Hardy]]), who are both in love with her. The film had a "sneak-peek" release on [[Valentine's Day]], before fully opening on February 17, 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=This Means War to start filming |work=Vancouver Sun |date=September 3, 2010 |url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/This+Means+start+filming/3477453/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100907072205/http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/This%2BMeans%2Bstart%2Bfilming/3477453/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2010 |access-date=September 19, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=This Means War Gets Romantic Release Date |work=Movieline |date=April 12, 2011 |url=http://www.movieline.com/2011/04/this-means-war-gets-romantic-release-date.php |access-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415094826/http://www.movieline.com/2011/04/this-means-war-gets-romantic-release-date.php |archive-date=April 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Fox to Release McG's 'This Means War' on Valentine's Day |work=Reuters |date=January 8, 2012 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS332453756520120118 |access-date=January 22, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726091508/https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/18/idUS332453756520120118 |archive-date=July 26, 2012}}</ref> The film was panned by critics, with a 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes,<ref>{{cite web |title=This Means War – Rotten Tomatoes |website=Rotten Tomatoes |date=February 17, 2012 |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/this_means_war/ |access-date=February 20, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221112952/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/this_means_war/ |archive-date=February 21, 2012 }}</ref> and fared poorly at the box office, taking fifth place on its opening weekend with sales of $17.6 million. ''[[The New York Times]]'' remarked that this "extended the box office cold streak for the Oscar-winning Ms. Witherspoon".<ref>{{cite news|first=Brooks|last=Barnes| url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/this-means-box-office-dud/ |title=This Means Box Office Dud |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 19, 2012 |access-date=February 20, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221012047/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/this-means-box-office-dud/ |archive-date=February 21, 2012 }}</ref> In a 2012 interview with [[MTV]], Witherspoon jokingly referred that 2010–12 was her "love triangle period".<ref>{{cite web|first=Amy|last=Wilkinson|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2557078/reese-witherspoon-love-triangles-this-means-war/|title='This Means War' Star Reese Witherspoon is in her 'Love Triangle Period'|publisher=[[MTV]]|date=February 1, 2012|access-date=February 29, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510095149/http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2012/02/01/reese-witherspoon-love-triangles-this-means-war/|archive-date=May 10, 2012}}</ref>