Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews
Movie Resources
Concert Reviews
Book Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

Ignore the commercials! You know, the ads for Hitch that make it look like every other idiotic romantic comedy? The ones where Will Smith is trying to teach a fat, white guy how to dance, and you're thinking to yourself, "I don't want to see two hours of that." Yes, ignore those commercials. You also need to ignore Hitch's trailer, which prominently features Will accidentally kicking his leading lady Eva Mendes in the head and later getting some sort of facial allergy. I know it makes the film look like some sort of moronic cesspool, so you need to block that from your mind. For the fact of the matter is that Hitch is a smart, funny (even hilarious) film that's clearly one of the best romantic comedies of the last year.

Will Smith stars as Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, a date doctor. He takes dweeby men with no confidence or experience around the opposite sex and teaches them how to win the heart of their dream woman. As Hitch tells the audience in the opening voiceover, "No matter what, no matter when, no matter who, any man can sweep any woman off her feet. He just needs the right broom."

The man in question is the awkward, overweight accountant Albert Brennaman (Kevin James). The woman in question is the stylish heiress Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta). Now when we say awkward, we're not talking about a guy who only gets tongue-tied around women; we're talking about a man who spills stuff on himself at every opportunity and who walks out of a public restroom without his pants. And when we say stylish heiress, we're not talking Paris Hilton-like; we're talking about a woman who has grace, taste, and compassion as well as beauty and wealth. If ever a match was going to put Hitch's theory to the test, this is it. But enjoying a challenge, Hitch signs on to Albert's case.

I sometimes joke with friends that I need a romantic-comedy best friend in my life, the kind of selfless person who exists merely to support the main character and give him or her advice on how to deal with the opposite sex. It's the sort of role Joan Cusack gets stuck with all the time, and it's a standard trope in romantic comedies. The amusing thing about Hitch is that it makes this motif explicit. But of course, Will Smith is not just the best friend. He's got a love life of his own, as we see in an early scene when he tries to put the moves on Sara Melas (Eva Mendes).

One of the many great things about Hitch is its fantastic dialogue, courtesy of first-time screenwriter Kevin Bisch. I'll be honest--I didn't write much of it down because I was usually laughing too hard. But it's not only funny, it's sharp and witty. It captures the way people would like to talk to each other. In that opening encounter between Hitch and Sara, their verbal sparring is both sexy and graceful. At a number of points, I could hear the men in the audience murmuring in admiration at Hitch's responses. And when Hitch's moves don't go according to plan (like when he kicks Sara in the head), the contrast is much funnier than it normally would be. It's not just a moment of slapstick, it's a genuine, hilarious surprise.

The film is helped enormously by its quartet of actors. Will Smith's charisma has been evident ever since his first music video, "Parents Just Don't Understand," but in his last few movies his ego seems to have gotten the better of him. He not only was charismatic, he needed to dominate everyone around him. Here he pulls that back. He steps aside to let his co-stars have some of the best jokes. He plays a straight man to Kevin James's buffoonery. It helps that Eva Mendes (Out of Time) is such a strong actress that she can hold her own against Smith. She has charisma to burn, and burn up the screen she does. Their scenes together are simply great, and we can only hope that Hollywood producers notice this as well and match them in another film soon.

Amber Valletta is much better known as a model than as an actress, but she's more than fine here. She has a sweet personality that makes you fall in love with her, and her scenes with Kevin James exhibit real chemistry. James made his mark on the television show "King of Queens," but that always seemed like a one-trick performance. Here, his mastery of slapstick and the pregnant pause is brilliant. There's a phone call between him and Allegra that's side-splitting, and his scene with Smith in which they "practice" the first kiss is much funnier than it is in the commercial.

Usually, it's the other way around. The best lines from the movie show up in the commercial, while the rest of the movie stinks. The difference with Hitch is that the jokes and plot are so woven together, so organic that it's hard to take ten seconds out. Kudos have to go to director Andy Tennant (Sweet Home Alabama, The King and I). He balances the romance with the comedy, rarely letting the tone veer too far in one direction. It's rare that a date movie released around Valentine's Day actually lives up to the promise, but Hitch is that rare romantic comedy that will satisfy both the men and women in the audience. It's the year's first pleasant surprise. 

J. Robert Parks   2/6/2005