In this romantic comedy with a twist, Will Smith hits the summer home DVD screens.  He plays the role of Alex Hitchens, alias "Hitch," who advertises himself as a date doctor.  The twist here is that Hitch is a sensitive, down to earth guy who understands women and likes them.  Hitch hires out his "talent" to guys who are insensitive, shy, bumbling dating losers.  This tells us enough already to predict the comedy.  The romance starts up when he encounters Sara who wants no contact with men. 

            I believe we connect with this improbable match because of our peculiar human penchant for selecting the unattainable as our goal.  It's almost like we choose the impossible task to limit the chances of success.  What makes this peculiar is the fact that there is usually a different acceptable and achievable goal in front of us.

            Regardless, the romantic story arc here is predictable, a fact that makes this a feel good film.  The storyline skips over dramatic motivation, like why is Sara antagonistic toward men and holes, like why is Hitch a bachelor loner if he's so darn good with women.  But this is not a drama with any depth, and the plot stays on the light side of human experience to keep us laughing.

            Will Smith, alias The Fresh Prince, a moniker from his days as a rap vocalist, is comfortable in the role of a charming guy, because that's who he is.  Being Will Smith has worked in most of his successful films, although in his first big break, Independence Day (1996) he modeled himself after Harrison Ford's Hans Solo from the original Star Wars (1977).

            Eva Mendes plays Sara, the most consistently serious role in the film.  She's good at this mode as she was in the two films where she played Denzel Washington's wife, Training Day (2001) and Out of Time (2003).

            The actor to watch in the future is Kevin James III who plays Albert, the film's quintessential bumbler.  He's a college football fullback turned standup comedian and this is only his third film.  Ala Steve Martin, James really seems to enjoy being a "wild and crazy guy."

            Reviewed July 29, 2005                            Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee

            MPAA: Rated PG-13 for language and some strong sexual references.