Adds nothing new to the genre

Rating: 5/10 (1 July 2005)

In "Hitch," a predictable script and some surprisingly uninspired acting bog down an interesting concept.
For starters, this film runs way too long for a romantic comedy. It overstays its welcome around the 95-minute mark, but then continues on for another 20 minutes or so. And those 20 minutes aren't anything spectacular; in fact, they're rather mundane.
Romantic comedies, by their very nature, are utterly predictable. Occasionally, you find one that goes against the norm, that tosses in unexpected twists and ends unconventionally. But those tend to be independent films; Hollywood surely won't risk making something as daring as an original idea.
This is another film that attempts to get by on its stars' charisma. And Will Smith and Eva Mendes have enough screen presence to pique our interest. But together, they fall flat. Smith's trying way too hard to be funny and you know this film's in trouble when Kevin James' overacting gives us the funniest moments.
Of course, I didn't watch this movie expecting Hepburn and Tracy or even Allen and Keaton. But apparently everything that's even mildly amusing already was in the trailer. The rest of the film just sort of ambles along at a leisurely pace, occasionally making us smile. There aren't any huge laughs, any unexpected moments, anything even remotely original.
Smith and Mendes surely deserve better material than this.
Hollywood keeps lamenting that box-office receipts are down this year. There's a reason for that. The movies Hollywood studios are churning out don't make me want to rush out and seem them. If studios put out better product, maybe we will be keener on seeing those movies.