Hitch (PG-13)

Since “ The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” actor Will Smith has had such an impressive career it’s hard to look back on his comic-laurels with anything but nostalgia. Few actors are able to shed early comedic work so completely, but a slew serious dramas, such as “I Am Legend,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” ” and “Ali” – where Smith portrayed renowned boxing legend Muhammad Ali – set him apart as a serious actor capable of dynamic roles. It’s with curiosity that Smith then appeared in the 2005 romantic comedy “Hitch,” playing a man who, for a price, helps New York’s loveless losers find true love. However, while the movie is chock full of usual Hollywood clichés, in Smith’s hands – as well as the directing of Andy Tenant – we are presented with a warmer and less offensive film than the genre is often used to producing.

Smith plays the titular character, Alex “Hitch” Hitchens with charm and charisma. Having had a number of early dating disasters, Hitch feels his life calling is to show clueless men ‘the way’ to a woman’s heart.  However, we quickly learn that Hitch isn’t a con artist, just good at what he does, namely creating ‘opportunities’ – a chance meeting, knowing the right thing to say, etc – for his clients to have the women of their dreams notice them. However, things are complicated when Hitch takes on a stubborn and hopeless man Albert as a client (Kevin James), and when he himself falls for a beautiful woman Sarah he meets at a nightclub (Eva Mendes).

While transparent at times, “Hitch’s” major strength is that it has sympathy for its characters and works to understand their motivations, not using them as one-sided stereotypes to fill in a plot. As smooth and organized as Hitch is, he doesn’t use his skills to take advantage of his clients or the women they are smitten with, but just helps them to get going. We see this particularly well with his work with Albert, and when he refuses to work with a womanizing Wall Street banker (Jeffery Donovan), calling him out on his ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ behaviors. “My clients actually like women,” he narrates.

The script here doesn’t give Smith a lot to work with, but he does a good job at being a professional dating coach while still struggling to build a relationship for himself. It’s also nice that the movie actually tried to build some back-story to Hitch and not have him be an end in himself as a weaker film might have done. Some scenes are comical, such as when he attempts to teach Albert how not to embarrass himself with women, while others are downright hysterical, as when he himself does everything wrong on a date with Sarah and can’t understand why she wants to see him again.

As Albert, Kevin James brings a great deal of heart to the movie, and it was likewise nice to see that James is capable of avoiding full on slapstick comedy, as was often the case in the TV sitcom “King of Queens.” And finally, while a lesser screen presence, as Sarah Eva Mendes manages to build a soft character who, while partly jaded still tries to be supportive of her best friend Casey (Julie Ann Emery) as she goes through the throes of being single in New York.

“Hitch” is not, however, without fault. One of the bigger problems with the film lies in the amount of attention the film gives James’ Albert over Hitch, who is supposed to be the main character. Albert’s attempts to date the woman of his dreams –Amber Valetta, playing a rich heiress Allegra Cole – take such precedence over Hitch’s own love life that his scenes seem rushed and half thought. The movie’s ending, clearly an attempt to have Hitch come full circle, fails to garner the appropriate amount of emotion simply because the film spent so much time building up Allegra and Albert’s relationship that Hitch’s own romance falls short. The ending feels tacked on and forced, as though the filmmakers suddenly realized Hitch needed a happy ending but weren’t quite sure how to go about it.

The film’s also fairly predictable, but somehow this doesn’t really damage it. “Hitch” borrows a lot from other movies of its ilk, but manages to stand out in the right places to garner support for its characters instead of creating distance. And while we’re fairly confident that there is a message hiding on the underbelly about being yourself in relationships, the movie accomplishes this without forcing it down your throat – or, as many rom coms like to try their hand in, without dragging its characters (and unwitting audiences) down ultra depressing paths before they come to their senses.