All my sources said that Hitch was a perfect date movie.
Will Smith plays Alex Hitchins, or Hitch, a date consultant, whose job is to help men get over themselves and approach the women of their dreams.
He guides these men through their approach and the first three dates, by which time the guys are on their own, but on solid ground.
He tends toward the pithy saying, "Ninety percent of what you're saying isn't coming out of your mouth," but also says things that ring of truth and maturity.
"She wants to see the real you, just not all at once," and "My clients actually like women.
" He takes on a client named Albert Brennaman, an overweight, dorky accountant, played by Kevin James.
Albert is in love with one of his clients, a rich, jet-setting glamour girl with whom he has absolutely no chance.
This glamour girl, Allegra Cole, played with sweetness and depth by model Amber Valetta, is the current project of tabloid gossip columnist Sara Meles, with whom Hitch finds himself falling in love.
It's complicated.
A bit too complicated.
But my sources were right, this is a lovely date movie.
The eye-candy factor was high and very inclusive.
There were good-looking people of every race and couples of every racial combination.
I could look at Will Smith all day, and Eva Mendes, Amber Valetta, and even the cute Southern best friend, played by Julie Ann Emery, gave my sweetie something to watch in every scene.
It was just sexy enough to merit the PG-13 rating, but it didn't depend on nudity or cheap innuendo to carry it.
It was a good movie from a film-student's point of view, too.
There was a lot to appreciate, and enough to criticize to make for good driving home conversation.
This movie rested on the shoulders of its actors.
Led by Smith, the cast offered humor, angst, charm, warmth, and more character development than they should have been able to, considering the script they were given to work with.
There is real chemistry between all the couples.
The direction by Andy Tennant was fine, but unremarkable.
It relied too heavily on the ethos of New York City and too little on the fleshing out of a compelling story.
But if Tennant was too light-handed, at least he had the sense to get out of the way and let the actors do their jobs.
They saved his movie for him.
The script was probably the weakest part of this film.
The plot hinged on a very slight misunderstanding, so slight it could not carry the weight of the events that supposedly came from it.
Inner conflicts that were supposed to create the tension between Smith and Mendes were introduced late in the story.
The writer, Kevin Bisch, set up better conflicts early in the film than he used when it was time for the "boy-loses-girl" piece of the story.
Is it a coincidence, for example, that the illustrious date doctor only guides his clients through three dates, and that he has himself never been on a fourth date? What happens when he meets the woman who makes him want to ask for a fourth date, and then some? But that intriguing piece was dropped in favor of a lame convention that made parts of the film seem longer than they were.
Excellent performances aren't enough to make an excellent film, but the very strong acting of the films' stars was enough to make this film worth seeing.
Perhaps next time Tennant and Bisch could take some advice from their own characters and hire a script doctor.