Saturday Night Premiere: Hitch

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Hitch is probably one of the best romantic comedies I have seen this year. Will Smith has appeared many times on this blog over the last few months with his films, and yet another one of his movies was the premiere tonight on Starz. Out of the three films of his I have reviewed as part of my Saturday Night Premiere series, Hitch is my favorite. All three movies are different however. Shark Tale, a cartoon, and I, Robot was a futuristic action adventure film. Hitch is a complete comedy with a basic love story underlying it.

Will Smith is Alex Hitchens, a date doctor that is content bringing couples together, but scared to allow himself go past a certain point and allow love to find him as well. In the beginning of this film, we see Hitch at work, being successful in getting the guy the girl he wants. He then meets Albert who wants Allegra Cole, a rich and well-known woman in NYC society. Albert is probably the last man that will catch her eye, but Hitch is able to help Albert get his foot in the door.

Once he does, Albert takes over and wins her over with his dorky charms, but Albert still thinks he needs Hitch. The romance between Allegra and Albert plays throughout the movie as a secondary plot line. However, I enjoyed this story line as much as I loved the main focus of this film. The first kiss scene was probably the cutest scene I'd seen in a movie in a long time. It just worked, and Kevin James was really amazing in this role.

The main focus of this film is Hitch and the woman he tries to woo played here by Eva Mendes. She is Sara Melas, a gossip columnist for one of the NYC tabloids. She has pretty much sworn off men, and she has enough armor around her to make it impossible for anyone to break through. Hitch hears about her from the bartender of the bar he frequents, and he pursues her. He slowly works his way in, and he wins a first date. One that ends horribly, but so horribly that it endears him to Sara, and she goes out with him for a second time. The second date goes just as badly, but it wins her over.

The rest of the film isn't about their relationship, but how things go so horribly wrong when Sara discovers he is the date doctor. She exposes him to the city at large, and this hurts him. As it ends up turning out, it was one big misunderstanding, and she apologizes. At this point, you think we have our happily ever after. That would be too easy. We have some minor road bumps, but in the end it is smooth sailing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It had me laughing at all the right moments, and the romances played out realistically. You wanted both these couples to find their happily ever after. We knew they would. It was the journey to get there that made this film. Will Smith started off as a comedian, and that is where he truly shines as well. He was ideal for this role. I'd definitely recommend picking up this movie for a viewing. The DVD itself has some bonus features including deleted scenes, a blooper reel and some featurettes that take you further into the film.

To pick up this movie for your own you can visit Amazon or J & R.

My rating: 4 out of 4