I like Will Smith. He's a funny guy and a good dramatic actor to boot. This film was not his finest moment.
Hitch
Release Date:
February 11th, 2005
Director: Andy
Tennant
Starring: Will Smith, Kevin James, and Eva Mendes
Romantic
Comedies have followed the same strict, safe formula for the last twenty years;
Take a woman who has sworn off relationships, introduce the shady-but-lovable
guy who will LEARN HIS LESSON by the closing credits, add a few cartoony
sidekicks, and just add water for instant Box Office Gold.
Will
Smith's latest opus is no different. We're introduced to Sara (Eva Mendes), a
gossip columnist who has, yes, sworn off relationships. She has a chance
encounter with Alex Hitchens (Will Smith), a cupid-of-sorts who makes his living
conning women into dating guys they normally would dismiss.
Let's stop right there. I realize this is light comedy fare, but does anyone else find this premise vaguely sexist?
Sure, Hitch has his redemption at the end of
the film where he LEARNS HIS LESSON, but for an hour and a half we're buying
into this concept that every woman is a prize to be won, and all it takes is
the right pick up line.
Which is what exactly what downtrodden accountant Albert (Kevin James) is counting on when he hires Hitch to play Cyrano to help him win the celebrity of his dreams, one Allegra Cole (SuperDuperModel Amber Valetta).
Kevin James turns in the same performance we've seen every week on his TV show King of Queens which is to say he plays the lovable fat guy. (What, they couldn't get Horatio Sanz?)
Valetta, however, winningly plays Cole with bundles of
charm, and it may be worth the price of admission just to see her bust loose
with "The Robot" during a dance sequence at the end.
If you can check your feminism at the door (and the mostly female audience I saw this with seemed to do just that) then this is actually a pretty amusing flick.
If you'd rather see a romantic film that doesn't talk down to its audience, may
I suggest you rent Gwyneth Paltrow's Sliding Doors instead of getting Hitched.
Tomorrow: Edge of Darkness
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