Hitch

Planned Romance
Will Smith Woos Valentine's Day Movie Daters
By Cole Smithey

In a movie where the film's trailer has spoiled all its best scenes, and the onscreen chemistry between our primary lovebirds is a failed experiment, it's refreshing that "Hitch" still provides that rare buoyant romantic lift that the genre promises. Will Smith relaxes from carrying around his leftover Ali persona like a Boy Scout badge to groove as a Manhattan "date doctor" who specializes in consulting insecure guys through the intricacies of their all-important first three dates with the women of their dreams. But Hitch's own insecurities are tested when he falls for a lovely-but-guarded tabloid gossip columnist named Sara (Eva Mendes - "Out Of Time"). Director Andy Tennant's terrific use of Manhattan locations and appropriate pop music (Sam Cooke, Jimmy Cliff, Stevie Wonder, etc.) go a long way toward making "Hitch" a pleasant and romantically spirited movie.

Debut screenwriter Kevin Bisch is careful to spell out how Hitch arrived at his prosperous self-made occupation after ruining his romantic chances with the girl of his dreams while he was in college by misusing the "L" word. Hitch employs his cupid-inspired job as a form of self-therapy to recover from the damage he caused himself in the area of love even if he doesn't consciously admit it. When a smarmy Wall Street type solicits Hitch's help in bedding a girl for the mere sake of the sexual conquest, Hitch shuts down the conversation and forcefully explains his code of ethics that he's only interested in assisting guys with noble intentions.

Hitch finds his ideal subject in the guise of Albert Brennaman (Kevin James) a shy overweight corporate accountant desperately in love with an impossibly rich and beautiful heiress named Allegra Cole (an ideally cast Amber Valletta - "What Lies Beneath"). Kevin James (CBS "The King Of Queens") is a comic revelation with his soft good looks and a knack for physical comedy that readily ups the stakes on Will Smith's well established game. James comes across the big screen like a more emotionally and physically limber version of Tom Arnold. He has instantly recognizable qualities that endear him to an audience in subliminal ways. A comic centerpiece of the movie comes when Albert insists on showing off his well-practiced dance moves to Hitch while verbally explaining them. Albert's "Q-Tip" maneuver is especially hilarious.
   
Nevertheless, "Hitch" is a romantic comedy that's one part comedy and three parts romance. So it's puzzling that the movie should drag whenever Hitch and Sara are together for more than a minute. Sara's character is so much the tough-as-nails urban career woman that she hardly seems a good match for Hitch who, for his part, seems to be making a similar mistake with Sara to the one he's still living down from college. While Hitch is effortlessly comfortable around women and men, Sara seems to be mainly herself when she's talking to her best female friend. Sara makes the fatal flaw of exhibiting a mean streak on a couple of occasions that should send off "deal-breaker" alarms to Hitch's romantically studied mind.   

As the story unfolds, it's the budding romance between Albert and Allegra that resonates as the film's backbone. The moment when Albert wins his first kiss with Allegra is a classic love scene that states the film's entire theme in a nutshell. Even after preparing with Hitch for the inevitable opportunity at a first kiss, Albert is unable to overcome his shyness until he can size up Allegra's attraction for him from a distance and take a running start at it. Here again it's Kevin James comic timing that taunts the audience into endorsing the romantic air of the movie. As mid February rolls around, "Hitch" is the first competent romantic comedy of the year.

Rated PG-13. 117 mins. (B) (Three Stars)