so-so comedy

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2008)

In "Hitch," Will Smith plays a modern-day Henry Higgins, who, for a tidy fee, will teach lessons of love to a bunch of lovelorn Eliza Doolittles - only, in this case, the Elizas are grown men who desperately need instruction on how to win the hearts and affections of the women of their dreams. Of course, the irony is that Hitch doesn't adhere to his own formula, being a confirmed bachelor with no interest in entering into a serious relationship with anyone himself. Until, that is, he meets the woman of his own dreams, Sara, a New York City gossip columnist who has no idea what it is Hitch does for a living. It occurs to me that, when it comes to certain movie genres - action movies and romantic comedies in particular - it would be helpful if we could inflict some kind of temporary amnesia on ourselves so that we could at least think we were watching something new and fresh and not something we've already seen a hundred times before. Even the best romantic comedies can't entirely avoid paying homage to "the formula," and "Hitch" is clearly no exception. As such, the film has some mildly amusing moments, some endearingly sweet scenes, and some cute little plot complications amidst all the sentimental clichés, lowbrow slapstick and tired stereotypes we generally find in these films. (I mean, do we really need yet another romantic comedy in which one of the heroine's co-worker sidekicks is a light-in-the-loafers, preposterously effeminate gay man?). It seems like every time "Hitch" is about to win us over, it short circuits itself and loses us by going for the obvious. Smith makes for a smooth romantic lead, but Eva Mendes doesn't always seem up to the challenge of her role, particularly when she is called upon to convey dramatic intensity. Actually, of the performers, it is Kevin James ("King of Queens"), as an overweight klutz who has hired Hitch's services to help him woo a beautiful blond heiress, who walks off with the film. Even though he's only a supporting player, it doesn't take him long to assume center stage in the film, essentially relegating the leads to second banana status.