If Alex Hitchens were a green thumb, he'd probably be called Alex Gardner. If he were a cook, he'd probably be Alex O'Spatchula...But that's how romantic comedies work.
Hitch (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:176
Fresh:120
Rotten:56
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Despite Hitch's predictability, Will Smith and Kevin James win praise for their solid, warmhearted performances.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Romance
US Box Office: $177,575,142
Synopsis: In Andy Tennant's (SWEET HOME ALABAMA, ANNA AND THE KING) delightful romantic comedy HITCH, Will Smith stars as Alex Hitchens, an urban "date doctor" who helps the common man woo the woman of his... In Andy Tennant's (SWEET HOME ALABAMA, ANNA AND THE KING) delightful romantic comedy HITCH, Will Smith stars as Alex Hitchens, an urban "date doctor" who helps the common man woo the woman of his dreams. Hitch will use any means necessary--dance lessons, back waxing--to instill romantic confidence in his clientele. Why? He was once a lonely wallflower himself, who learned about love and heartbreak the hard way. His latest project, Albert Brennaman (Kevin James), may be his most difficult. Brennaman, a junior accountant prone to clumsiness, has fallen head-over-heels for one of his clients, Allegra Cole (Amber Valleta), a well-known celebrity. To complicate things further, Hitch's dating dogma is shaken when he meets and falls for a beautiful gossip columnist, Sara Melas (Eva Mendes), whose sharp wit easily pierces his cool façade. Conflict arises when Melas uncovers Hitch's true profession and blames him for her best friend being dumped. HITCH is set in affluent hot spots around New York City, making for some splendid visuals. Tennant gets charming performances from all of his leads, especially James, who makes an amazing transition from television's KING OF QUEENS and nearly steals the spotlight from Smith with his talent for physical comedy. Nevertheless, James and Smith have excellent onscreen chemistry. Kevin Bisch's first script is full of clever, contemporary dialogue, alternately pointing out the silliness and the poignancy of love and dating. [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta
Starring: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Adam Arkin, Michael Rapaport
Director: Andy Tennant
Director: Andy Tennant
Screenwriter: Kevin Bisch
Producer: James Lassiter, Teddy Zee, Michael Tadross
Composer: George Fenton
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Hitch
It's just too bad that Smith wanted to play it so safe and so easy when Hitch could've benefited from a stronger vision and much bigger laughs.
A standard-issue rom-com in almost every respect, but the irresistible charm of its lead pushes it over the top.
Screenwriter Kevin Bisch emphasizes tired jokes and stock situations over anything resembling reality, something that's exacerbated by a seriously overlong running time.
Knows its formula well enough to run its finger along the grooves quick and smooth.
Director Andy Tennant is actor-friendly throughout, giving his performers (including a sweet turn by Julie Ann Emery as Mendes' best friend) a chance to breathe in their roles.
Smith carries it off with his effortless charm and confidence, whether he's chatting up a woman, conspiring with the audience, or instructing a client, and director Andy Tennant gives it a light gloss and an easy lilt.
The film moves in fits and starts, and is way too long, but it may prove memorable, if only for the sweet, marvelously inventive performance of Kevin James.
Smith is a gifted comic actor, and seeing him in a lighthearted comedy, his first romantic lead, is a pure pleasure.
How reassuring to realize that happy surprises are still possible. Hitch is one of the happiest.
Not so much movie as antidote -- to the cynicism that's rampant in most Hollywood romantic comedies.
Too many false endings and time issues aside, Hitch is difficult to discount when it handles the rom-com formula better than most of its insufferably dumbed-down ilk.
An average romantic comedy, starring Will Smith and Eva Mendes, that is as soft and sweet as a marshmallow, and about as interesting.
You know what's being fed to you and yet you slurp it down just the same.
Smith and sexy Mendes spar nicely, but they don't spark. In movies, that's the kiss of death.
The sour subplot, in which Sara's dark side mistakes Hitch for a cad, staggers to a gummy resolution, throwing a wet-blanket reminder that romantic comedy -- indeed, romance itself -- isn't what it used to be.
For women, it purveys the dream that men really, really care about what they think. For men, it holds out the fantasy that babes are attracted to geeky men who really, really care about what they think. What's not to like?
Hitch suffers from a good-joke deficit that even Smith's charm has trouble balancing.
Andy Tennant, Will Smith and Kevin James have managed to deliver a decent comedy out of a one-note idea.
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