'Hitch': a perfect match for Valentine's

Event with its predictability, 'Hitch' has enough laughs, love for everyone

By NATHAN HATHAWAY / The Collegian

Just in time for Valentine’s Day weekend comes one of the best romantic comedies in recent memory.

“Hitch,” starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes and Kevin James, is the story of Alex Hitchens, a New York-based “date doctor” who has more success than Chuck Woolery at making love connections.

Hitch, as everyone calls him, has all the right moves and is miraculously able to take the dorkiest of the dorky and turn them into Don Juans in a matter of three dates.

It all works fine until Hitch himself finds the right girl and begins to fall in love. When the budding relationship with big-name gossip columnist Sara Melas (Mendes) takes a turn for the worse, Hitch becomes a bumbling fool unable to schmooze his way out of a wet paper bag.

All the while, Hitch is trying to steer socially challenged accountant Albert Brennaman (James) in his conquest of famous socialite Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta).

Perhaps the thing that makes “Hitch” stand heart and shoulders above other romantic comedies is that it is just as much comedy as it is romance.

Smith, in his first true comedic role on the big screen, recalls some of the flair of his “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” days, coaxing genuine laughs out of the audience.

Smith blends clever one-liners with just enough physical comedy to keep the audience smiling.

As a romantic comedy, “Hitch” is predictable, but the predictability is part of what makes the story endearing and enjoyable.

Smith and Mendes have wonderful on-screen chemistry, playing the coy, calculating flirts who inevitably hit it off.

James, in his major motion picture debut, plays the awkward geek to near perfection. James’ funniest moments come when his character thinks he has everything under control and begins to be himself.

When Hitch tries to teach Albert to dance, Albert takes a “back off and let me work my magic” attitude and proceeds to gyrate without abandon, putting the audience in hysterics.

“Hitch” is charming, clean fun and enough to make movie-going a viable Valentine’s Day options.