Posted: 02/12/2005

Hitch

(2005)

by Clint Fletcher

Romance is in the air, my friends. The flowers are blooming, the boyfriends are screaming, and last week approximately 2 million people actually went to see a movie starring Debra Messing. Why- because the movie had the word “wedding” in the title. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and there can’t be a Valentine’s weekend without a chick flick. This year we have Will Smith in Hitch.

Surprisingly enough, Hitch is a hilarious look into the world of cliché romantic comedies. I don’t think I’ve seen so much promotion for one movie in my entire life. Specific scenes are sure to be imbedded into your brains by now, such as the moment where Will Smith tries to teach a very white Kevin James how to dance. Before we get into the details of this movie, I must point out that I wasn’t really satisfied with this film’s trailer. Virtually nothing from it was funny, and it looked like everything in it that had potential had been done before numerous times. But it was the TV spots of scenes between Smith and James that sold me. I don’t watch King of Queens on a regular basis, but I have seen enough episodes (and his stand-up routine) to know that Kevin James is one funny SOB. With that in mind, what made this movie worthwhile was the chemistry between Smith and James… not Smith and Eva Mendes.

Smith stars as Hitch, “the date doctor” who has made a career out of helping nervous men build up enough confidence to woo the women of their dreams. After years of experience with freaks and geeks, the doctor has finally met his match in the epitome of Kevin James, who has fallen head-over-heels in love with a famous business woman. While helping the disastrous James obtain the unobtainable, Smith starts to fall for someone of his own: the luscious Eva Mendes.

Hitch starts off well, with a hilarious opening involving a staged plan where a guy saves a little puppy of the woman he vows attention from. After this, we are introduced to James’ character and the movie kicks into high gear. As I mentioned before, the scenes with Smith and James are just downright funny. Sure, they may not be very original, but they were executed so well by the actors that you just can’t help but laugh. I even chuckled at the scenes from the trailer, which were handled much more efficiently in the actual theatrical version. And then you have Smith and Eva Mendes. Don’t get me wrong, I like Eva Mendes. And despite her being incredibly gorgeous I actually think that she has some talent. I also like Will Smith. The guy was born with charisma and far be it for me to deny that, but the story line between these two love birds was incredibly lacking. Its not that they don’t have any chemistry at all or that the events that take place between them are COMPLETELY boring, but it seems that the bar is set so low after we’ve already witnessed the much better scenes between Smith and James. So whenever the movie goes off into La La Land with the two leads, I was yearning to get back to the Kevin James plot line. But have no fear, for nothing in this movie (not even Smith and Mendes’ relationship) will make you cringe.

Is the screenplay cliché? You bet. Does it follow the classic rules for a Hollywood romantic comedy? Of course. But you don’t really notice because you’re having so much fun with its refreshing cast. Kudos to the filmmakers for casting Will Smith (first romantic comedy ever) and Eva Mendes (first romantic comedy ever) and double-kudos to the casting of Kevin James (first movie ever). All of you guys should make more comedies, especially Smith who can’t seem to break away from the action genre these days. Hitch certainly won’t be winning any Oscars, but it sure is a great way to spend the Valentine’s weekend: laughing your ass off.

Clint Fletcher is a writer and filmmaker currently living in Chicago.

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