Release Date: February 11, 2005
Starring: Will Smith, Kevin James, Eva Mendes, Amber Valletta, Kevin Sussman
Directed by: Andy Tennant
Written by: Kevin Bisch
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (language, sexual references)
Hitch is a good movie in disguise. Taken at face value, there’s nothing about it you haven’t seen before: marquee stars (Will Smith and Eva Mendes), an unlikely romantic coupling or two, plenty of predictable hijinks and misunderstandings, and a director who has done other genre movies like It Takes Two and Sweet Home Alabama (there’s even a dog and a gay friend, two gimmicks romantic comedies can’t live without these days). By all accounts, this film belongs on the list of romantic comedies that everyone forgets about in two years. But Hitch has real chemistry, real humor, and real romance.
Will Smith plays the title character, and his job is something neither the movies nor the real world has ever heard of -- he’s a date doctor. He’s hired by lonely, average men trying to woo women that would otherwise be way out of their leagues. Hitch teaches the men how to act and what to say, arranges “chance” encounters, and is basically there every step of the way to make sure his clients end up with the women they want.
In one clever opening scene, he helps a shy guy (played by the perfectly cast Kevin Sussman) stage a fake dog rescue in order to capture the attention of a beautiful neighbor. It involves the strategic placement of a second dog and a bribed cab driver, and needless to say, it works.
Smith brings the perfect amount of charm into the role, but the most refreshing thing about his character -- aside from it being perfect material for the actor to work with -- is that he isn’t in the story to learn a lesson. He’s not a shallow creep who must change for the better over the course of the story. He’s a decent guy who has been hurt badly in the past, and he’s now made it his mission to help other decent, down-on-their-luck guys.
Albert (Kevin James) is one of those guys. He’s overweight, clumsy, and gets an asthma attack every time he talks to pretty women. He hires Hitch to teach him how to make a gorgeous celebrity named Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta) fall for him. Even though Hitch knows it will be probably be his hardest job to date, he promises to help. And sure enough, it starts to work.
When Sara (Eva Mendes), an attractive and proudly single tabloid reporter, comes into the picture, then things get complicated. She starts falling for Hitch, not surprisingly, but at the same time she’s focused on her tabloid work: a story about Allegra Cole and her new, unheard-of boyfriend Albert. From here on, the movie sticks closer to the genre’s usual boundaries.
Thankfully it isn’t all unoriginal fluff, which is easy to find in an unfortunately large number of romantic comedies. It’s especially entertaining watching the buddy chemistry between Will Smith and Kevin James, as one is smooth as silk and the other can’t dance or eat without making a fool of himself. They play off each other well, and as another pleasant surprise they stick to straight humor and never play the race card or force any other equally trite jokes on us.
The movie achieves another rare feat: We’re actually able to believe the romance. Albert and Allegra are an unlikely couple, but there isn’t a second where we don’t believe the spark between their characters. And Hitch and Sara are equally natural and likeable in their well-written relationship. Their dialogue in particular is fun to listen to, so extra kudos go to freshman screenwriter Kevin Bisch.
For the men out there who may be dreading this movie, take comfort in the fact that it’s the women (not the men!) who screw things up the most in the story. That alone should be enough to appeal to most cynics, even though it’s still bound by the generic romantic comedy formula in other respects. Along with the talented stars and solid writing, odds are you'll be glad you looked past the surface and gave it a chance.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)