Another Romantic Comedy That Comes Off Without a "Hitch"

Love hurts.

The Story:

Hitch (Will Smith) is a "date doctor".  What's that  you ask?  He gives guys advice on how to present themselves to the ladies to woo them.  It's honest, it's sincere, and it works.  It gets the guy to calm down and provides them a chance they might otherwise screw up on their own.  His latest client, Albert (Kevin James) an accountant who is smitten by the lovely Allegra (Amber Valletta), a socialite who likely would never give him the light of day.  Meanwhile, Sara (Eva Mendes) a gossip columnist begins an investigation into the urban legend of the Date Doctor.  Things are about to get ugly.

Back to back Andy Tennant movies?!  Looking over his feature films, I think I've seen almost all of them, and I like all that I've seen, and own almost all of them.  Talk about under the radar!

This is a fun romantic comedy, thanks in no small part to the entire cast who are easily believable in their parts, and play to their strengths.

Hitch is Will Smith, or at least he seems to basically be playing himself.  The same charisma and assurance that made him a star on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air oozes off the screen in this outing as the self-assured consultant who wants to make sure nobody ever gets hurt the way he was.

Sadly, this was the last "fun" Will Smith movie he has done over the last decade.  Minus anything that was a sequel, it was also his last good movie to boot.

Kevin James makes the perfect project for him.  His first feature as a co-star, he easily holds his own in every scene with Smith, and carries the film in his segments without him.  He is instantly charming, just simply nervous. 


Since that time, he's gone on to make many movies which meet with mixed critical and box office reviews, but keep finding a happy home with us.  Two stars going in different directions on their movie career path.  Hopefully James continues on his path, and Will Smith can regain that spark that's been disappearing over the last decade.

There's a few messages underlying this otherwise breezy comedy.  They don't hit you over the head with them, but they raise good points.

Would a supermodel ever notice, let alone fall for a chubby nerd, without him doing something that demanded attention?

Shouldn't reporters, even gossip columnists, put forth a  little more journalistic endeavors into their work?

I'm just saying...

Either way, love the film and enjoy it every time I see it.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Own it. Watch it. Love it. : )