Hitch, Conselheiro Amoroso

Will Smith is Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, a long-time bachelor who has become known as the New York City "date doctor" who charges to help men get the women of their dreams. Although he helps all these other men, he somehow is not able to have nearly as much success with Sara (Eva Mendes), the woman he himself loves.

Hitch is a safe yet funny and entertaining romantic comedy. The premise sounds pretty good and the execution is also pretty good. Yes, it is very predictable and kind of cheesy. However, that doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. I think Hitch is better than most romantic comedies that have come out in the past year because the characters are likable and Smith & Mendes have enough chemistry together to make the film work. Will Smith is very charming as Hitch. He plays the role well and he never gets annoying. It's also nice to see him in a film that doesn't involve a bunch of things blowing up. Eva Mendes also gives a pretty good performance and she is also very pretty.

Surprisingly, the best thing about Hitch is Kevin James. His performance is funny and also pretty realistic. The only problem is that most of his scenes appear in the trailer and this lessens the effect. I never really liked him before but now I hope he makes more movie appearances. Out of the four main actors, Amber Valletta is the weakest. She gives an average performance and she just doesn't fit well with the other three. The rest of the supporting actors are also pretty funny, especially the customers that ask Hitch for help.

The only problem I really have with Hitch is that it plays it too safe. If it was a little more edgier than the film could have been really good but it still stands an enjoyable romantic comedy. It's not really surprising that the film is safe since Andy Tennant is the director. He directed It Takes Two and Sweet Home Alabama. He's like the king of harmless, fluff films and Hitch is his best work to date. Another thing that bothered me was the running time. 118 minutes is too long for a predictable story and it does take a toll on the audience. I think it's bad since the story is by-the-numbers and the film takes awhile to reach obvious places. If it was a little shorter, than it would have been fine. In the end, Hitch is an enjoyable romantic comedy and one of the funniest films I have seen this year. Rating 8/10

"Hitch" starts off well, with some genuinely good advice for men and their relationships and introduces to us the interesting characters. Basically the story is about Hitch (Will Smith), a man who knows all of the ropes when it comes to dating women, taking Albert (Kevin James) under his wing. Normally the guy would have as much chance of getting together with the apple of his eye (Amber Valletta as Allegra) as a skyscraper has of surviving a Godzilla attack, but Hitch is a real pro, so love might just be in the air.

I never thought I'd say this… but Kevin James is actually good in this movie. Will Smith is charming as usual, but the both of them really work together. There's chemistry between the actors and there are ample touching, funny and even romantic moments (well, not between James and Smith). When the two male leads are doing their comedic parts, the film is enjoyable and when it's being truthful, it feels genuine. What really hurts the movie is the last third of the running time. The story was deliberately avoiding the usual tropes that romantic comedies always have to labor through… and then it flat-out turns into a generic romance plot. Why was it necessary to include the big misunderstanding, the chase, the earth shattering revelations and the dramatic resolution, all because no one can just sit down, talk and explain themselves to the other people? This is a movie that contains one of my all-time pet peeves because just like in every bad horror movie where the dumb teenagers get themselves killed because either they've never seen a horror movie in their entire lives, or horror movies just don't exist in this film, the people of "Hitch" suddenly all lose their brains and make the same dumb mistakes we've seen over and over. For its good parts "Hitch" is worth seeing but unfortunately it fumbles the ball right before the end and falls just short of being a truly great, original romantic comedy. (On DVD, October 30, 2012)

This film was not about stereotypes, nor dance moves, nor pickup lines, really. This film was about the vulnerability of peoples' hearts. It was hard to believe that Kevin James could play in a convincing role, that Will Smith could satisfy without action, and that such a hackneyed genre of film could succeed in such a way. I don't intend to sound overly endeared with this film - it wasn't "groundbreaking" in any sort of way - but it was a film worth seeing. Was it believable? No. New York couldn't be so simple and there has been no human being in the history of mankind that has the "hutzpah" of Hitch. Sure, there are bar-studs, but not ones that can get any chick, at any time - excluding those raking in seven figures, of course. The thing that worked best for this film was its true focus on the dramatic side of things, not just on the comedy. It was a funny two hours, no doubt. But it was also two hours that made you sit in your seat, become immersed in the characters, and smile.

I saw this movie screened last night, and you know what? I liked it. For the most part, it's a by the numbers 'chick flick', but makes no pretensions to be more than that, and in fact, is very good for what it is.

The easy thing to do would be to take potshots at this film; throw out things like 'Fresh Prince', 'getting jiggy with it', and even throw around the whole 'black dude making a white dude cool' angle; but that's too easy isn't it? Like shooting fish in a barrel.

No, this isn't a Wes Anderson film. The humor is rather broad, though much it very funny. Of course you won't see it up for an Oscar (what a tired joke that is); nor does it contain Quientin Tarantion-esquire dialogue or groundbreaking visuals.

But taken for what it is, a romantic comedy, it really is very good. Great chemistry between all the leads. Eve Mendes is gorgeous. And Kevin James steals nearly every scene he's in. It gets a bit sappy towards the end (don't all mainstream romantic comedies though?), but if you're looking for a above average date movie with more than a few belly laughs, this is your film.

A solid B+.

This was a movie that, at the end, I thought "Now that was an enjoyable 2 hours!" I hate spending around $20 (not including baby-sitting $$) for my husband and myself to have that "It was OK" feeling.

I think I like Will Smith better as a comedic actor than an action hero. He was well cast in this. His character was very likable, as was Kevin James'.

There were several laugh out loud scenes. It's also a romantic movie, so guys, if you want to impress the lady in your life, take her to this. Women will like it as much as any chick-flick, but I wouldn't categorize this as one. There is plenty of guy humor in it for men to enjoy. I think that's one of the reasons why this movie is so perfect as a date movie. It has romance AND slapstick. I don't usually like slapstick that much, but it wasn't overdone and I can't think of any those scenes that didn't deliver laughs.

I definitely recommend this movie. The first thing my husband said to me after it was over was "I want to see it again!"