Moderately entertaining comedy--a bit unsatisfying

Rating: 6/10 (12 April 2005)

This is a classic, very clean American rom-com, full of all the fairytale trappings of the genre, but also missing the anarchic undercurrent that makes for the best films in that tradition. It's a fairly amusing hour and a half, but not much else.
Part of the problem stems from Will Smith's status as producer on this film. He seems completely unwilling to get his feet wet. Until the last ten minutes, you'll see none of the zany-sexy energy that made his work in Fresh Prince show compelling. Instead, you get the cloying, metro sexual, sleazy-charming Will Smith.
This could have been funny if the film had given more opportunities for the Hitch character to trip in a pile of his own BS. But 90% of the film treats his womanizing posturings with complete sincerity, undermining the comic possibilities. The erotic tension, battles for sexual dominance, and love-hate fireworks that make for the best rom-com pairings are startlingly absent between Smith and Eva Mendes. It's as if Smith the producer tried too hard to reign in Smith the comedian, and undermined countless laughs because of it.
Kevin James fares much better in the role of a schlubby accountant trying to win the heart of his heiress client. Surprisingly, his impeccable timing translates even better to the big screen than the small. It's telling that his Smith's chemistry with James is much stronger than with Mendes--he seems to be the only scene partner where Smith wants to let loose.
For some reason, all the wackiness that was lacking for almost all of this film seems awkwardly crammed into the last ten minutes. The result is an embarrassingly executed finale. Smith's desperate attempt to win Mendes' heart, which is supposed to be Hitch's most heartfelt moment, feels utterly insincere after the romantic iceberg of the past 90 minutes.