Hitch (2005)

Will Smith stars as Hitch, a counselor for men who are having trouble making that first move toward a relationship. One of his main focuses during the movie is an accountant played by a thinner Kevin James (compared to the first couple of seasons in King of Queens). Kevin's character is attracted to a beautiful heiress played by Cameron Diaz-wannabe Amber Valetta.

Enter sub-plot #2: Eva Mendes portrays a gossip columnist headstrong in the belief that, sooner or later, every guy with lie to you, cheat on you, or both. Hitch tries to convince her otherwise while convincing himself that not all women are eventually evil either.

The movie's greatest feature is being able to show just about every aspect or viewpoint one would have about starting a relationship, from the lovesick to the downright sick of love individuals.

The writing and acting are very well done, mostly because they keep Amber's lines to a minimum.

The reason for my ALMOST perfect title to this is because, toward the end, the movie gets WAY too Hallmark card-ish. If you see the movie, you'll know where it starts. This plus the Ellis Island scene could have had some of the documentary part trimmed a bit.

I would highly recommend this movie for a date, especially a first date. I would not advise bringing the kids to this one due to all of the sexual innuendo.

Warnings: profanity, sexual innuendo, people doing the 'robot' dance, and pigheadedness from both sexes. Like I said, it's a great date movie. :)

Final note of the movie: if your movie is being sponsored by, let's say, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, it's probably not a good idea to represent them as a source for suicide inducing and heart failure.

Until the final ten minutes of HITCH, this was one of the best romantic comedies I had seen in a long time. The premise was fairly original, though in a way an inversion of the Cyrano de Bergerac theme. The difference here is that instead of an ugly man capable of great love who gives voice to a less deserving, but handsome surrogate, Will Smith's Hitch is a man who is afraid of love enabling somewhat unattractive men who are capable of a great love, an opportunity to express it. Hitch is a date doctor, someone who corrects the errors in a person's dating style that prevents his meeting the woman of his dreams. The film revolves around two poles: Hitch's efforts to help the hapless Albert--an overweight, clumsy accountant with bad taste and music and a hopeless dance style--woo the woman of his dreams, the socialite and heiress Allegra Cole on the one hand, and Hitch's own attempts to get to know (but not to love) Sara, a gossip columnist. I like the way the two story lines intersect and complicate one another, so that at the end of the film Hitch ends up with not one but two disasters to correct. Like in so many romantic comedies, the way to true happiness is paved with misunderstandings, and this is no exception. My only problem with the movie is the way Hitch takes care of his own problems at the end of the film. The person I saw this with hated the ending even more than I did, and she was quite upset that Sara had not taken what she considered to be the minimal steps that should have been expected for Hitch to be able to forgive her before trying to win her back. I didn't hate the ending as much as she did, but I do agree that the final ten minutes of the film are much, much weaker than the rest of it. On an intellectual level I understand why the decided to portray Hitch as temporarily bumbling and inarticulate, but I just couldn't buy the particular way that they pulled it off.

How nice to see Will Smith in a romantic role! And how refreshing to see Hollywood present an interracial relationship! Granted, Eva Mendes is a dark complexioned Hispanic of Cuban descent, but it is one of the very few times we've ever seen a romance between an African American and a person of European descent. Interracial relationships are common today, so it is nice to see Hollywood stop pretending that they don't occur. Smith has never been funnier than in this one, and the scene in which he suffers an allergic reaction to shellfish is about as funny as I have seen in a while (the make up is exceptional in that scene). Eva Mendes I had only scene previously in a film I absolutely detest, TRAINING DAY (as Denzel Washington's wife) and in the mess that was ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO. She is much better served in this film, and she acquits herself admirably. She has a feistiness and projects a confidence that I really like. Kevin James is a stitch as Albert, and reveals himself to be one of the more physically graceful large actors to appear in some time. Model Amber Valletta is fine as Allegra, the object of Albert's affections, but since she is quite attractive in an arm-trophy sort of way, she was perfect for the role. Special mention must be made of Jerry Donovan, who is excellent as the reptilian Vance, who wants to hire Hitch to help him "bang" a girl he had met (Sara's best friend) so that he could forget about her and move on.

I will confess that my own personal favorite type of film from the birth of the sound film to the present is the romantic comedy. I wish as much effort was expended in the making of romantic comedies as in the production of movies based on comic book heroes or remakes of classics or TV shows. That day may never come, but in the meantime I will be happy to see the occasional excellent representative of the genre such as HITCH.

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I cannot believe that Will Smith had never done a romantic comedy before "Hitch". He has so much charisma that it would seem that he would have done about 10 of these type of movies by now. But as it turns out, his first one "Hitch" is not bad and Will gets a little help from his co-star Kevin James.

"Hitch" is a man named Alex Hitchins (Will Smith). He is a "date doctor," meaning he helps pathetic guys to get really hot chicks that they would normally would not be able to get. He has helped many men, and then comes Albert (Kevin James). Albert is basically the type of guy that spills everything, says the wrong thing every time or does not have the nerve to say anything at all. Albert wants to be able to get the movie star Allegra Coles. So Hitch helps him and along the way he meets Sara Meles (Eva Mendes). He falls for this girl and forgets everything that he teaches all of his clients by making a complete fool of himself. Obviously thats where the humor comes in and then the dramtic climax of whether Hitch gets the girl or not.

Will Smith does a great job as this character. As mentioned earlier, his on-screen charisma makes him the perfect choice for this character. The person that steals this movie from him is Kevin James. Being a big "King of Queens" fan, he is the reason that I saw this movie and he did not disappoint. Most of the movie's big laughs came from his antics. I didn't really like Eva Mende's character. She was too much of a pain in the neck (to put it nicely).

This movie would be definately worth the watch, especially if you have a significant other to view it with. It is funny and romantic, but I wouldn't say that its a chick flick. So there you go guys, this one is okay to watch.

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Will Smith is a cute, funny, and charismatic actor who has charm to spare. It is, therefore, surprising that Hollywood has never before cast him as the lead in a romantic comedy. I doubt that this oversight will occur again, as Mr. Smith takes to the genre like a duck takes to water and makes it his own. His seemingly effortless, laidback style of acting strikes pay dirt as the romantic lead in this film. I am sure that Hollywood has now taken notice that Will Smith has what it takes to be the lead in a romantic comedy.

Will Smith is cast in the role of Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, a young, suave, successful, sophisticated, smooth talker who has devised a career out of his ability to show even the most clumsy and shy, geeky guy how to get hitched to the woman of his dreams. He takes on clients whom he then coaches in the mysteries of finding one's way into the heart of a beloved, but seemingly unattainable, woman.

Our erstwhile dating consultant is hired by Albert (Kevin James), a chubby, earnest, tongue-tied accountant, who has fallen for one of his firm's own clients, socialite-heiress Allegra Cole (Amber Valleta). She is a trophy type of woman who, one would think, would not even given Albert a second look. Under Hitch's careful coaching, however, even our unlikely, lovesick accountant seems to be on the road to true love.

Of course, them that can, do, while them that can't, coach, and Hitch is no exception. While he can successfully coach his clients to attain the love of their lives, Hitch runs into a whole host of problems in his life when dealing with his own romance. It appears that he has fallen for the gorgeous Sara (Eva Mendes), a local gossip columnist. Despite his ability to ensure that the path of true love runs smoothly for others, he himself runs into many roadblocks and bumps in the road.

Will Smith is simply terrific in the role of "Hitch", playing the role with insouciant charm. His likeability quotient can't get much higher, and he certainly infuses the role with his effortless charm and humor. Hollywood would be remiss in not casting Will Smith in other romantic comedies, as he is such an ingratiating performer that the viewer cannot help but fall in love with him. As his love interest, Eva Mendes is certainly a gorgeous leading lady, although her character is not always likable. Still, she makes the most of her role as the feisty Sara, and I look forward to seeing her in more films.

I totally enjoyed seeing Kevin James in the film. He is the star of the long-running, hit television series, "The King of Queens", a show that I love and wish would run forever. I was not disappointed by his transition to the big screen, as I really enjoyed his performance. He is simply a big, cuddly, teddy bear sort of guy that you can't help but love, which helps make his on-screen pairing with Amber Valleta believable. They are simply adorable together. Amber Valleta successfully infuses her character, Allegra Cole, with a certain vulnerability that makes her very likable.

Kudos also go to director, Andy Tennant, whose deft direction contributes to the success of this film. This is a well-written, well-acted romantic comedy that is highly enjoyable. Co-stars Will Smith and Kevin James have great chemistry in the film and are excellent foils for each other. I would love to see them paired together in a buddy movie, as I think that they would be sensational. Fans of romantic comedies, however, would be well-advised to see this film. They will be glad that they did.

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Okay I'm a guy who likes Will Smith in comedies and action films. I love to share a good romantic comedy with the Mrs. but unfortunately WAY too many romantic comedies are not good. I saw the ads for "Hitch" back when it came into the theatres and what I saw didn't make me want to see it.

The Mrs. rented it last night, and we're both glad! Will Smith plays the title character, a high-priced consultant who turns romantic, but unskilled men into objects of desire. An opening montage shows hapless klutzes scoring with babes and we buy that "Hitch" must be good at his job. Eva Mendez is the saucy Sara, a gossip columnist who is so busy and successful at her job that she hasn't thought about romance for years. Kevin James meets Smith's comic chops every step along the way as the chubby bumbling accountant Albert who secretly pines for his high-profile client, zillionaire heiress Allegra Cole.

For a movie like this to work, there has to be a generous and believable dose of "heart" and "Hitch" has it. The central conflict in the movie comes from the perception about the mysterious "Date Doctor" Hitch. The actual character has professional morals and ethics. He doesn't train his clients to deceive their objets d'amour, he just "gives them opportunity". We meet a jerk early in the film who hires Hitch to get tricks to bed women. How Hitch sidesteps the guy is the right mixture of heart and machismo. Wouldn't you know that "Mr. Wrong" later goes out with the best friend of Hitch's romance Sara? Certainly it makes sense that Sara the gossip columnist would be tracking every move made by Paris Hilton surrogate Allegra. It even makes sense to question why beautiful Allegra is being seen about town with dumpy Albert.

The movie is not perfect. But there were some honest belly laughs, and more thought than usual into the wittier than usual script. The Mrs. and I give 2 thumbs up!

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