Hitch

It is no secret that it is hard to ask a girl out. No amount of planning and rehearsing and making up scenarios will make anyone truly prepared to put their heart on the line. But what if there were someone who could make it all easier? In his 2005 movie “Hitch,” Will Smith is just that person. Alex Hitchens, or “Hitch,” works as an anonymous “dating doctor” coaching men in the art of wooing women. Hitch knows it all: when to call, when to send flowers, even when to go in for that ever-important first kiss. Hitch is happy and enjoying his booming business in New York when he meets possibly his hardest client ever: Albert Brennaman. Albert is a typical nerdy, nervous, slightly overweight employee at an investment firm. There is not much unique about him except one thing: he is absolutely infatuated with a client of his firm, celebrity Allegra Cole. Hitch will take on one of his hardest challenges yet, getting this quiet, awkward, klutzy man noticed by the bleach blonde A-Lister of his dreams.

But Hitch and Albert are not the only ones interested in Allegra’s personal life. Sara is a gossip columnist in love with only her work. After a few relationships gone sour, Sara has given up on men and love and has committed herself to following Allegra’s life instead. Just like Hitch, Sara thinks she knows everything about men and their scummy ways. And so by a series of coincidences, a girl who has forsaken love will find herself face to face with a proclaimed “love doctor” who thinks he knows all the moves. Together they will both change and grow as they realize that maybe they were both wrong about what women and men are like.

Though extremely predictable, “Hitch” is a hilarious feel-good romantic comedy that will leave audiences wondering: why is Will Smith not killing aliens in this scene? But seriously, why are there not any explosions in this movie? Instead of his usual fighting role, Will Smith plays a smooth, mature, non-gun toting man, and he actually does so very convincingly. Reminiscent of his days on “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” Smith channels his inner charmer to act as the “date doctor” of New York. Kevin James hits a home run as Albert. His character is funny, unpredictable, down to earth, and relatable. Everyone has fallen for someone out of his or her league at least once before, right?

Audiences will sympathize and laugh along with Albert and Hitch as they watch a guy who supposedly knows everything about women and a guy who supposedly knows nothing about women both struggle to maybe understand anything about women. For once, audiences will see a man trying to woo a girl and realistically not succeeding. Even though the storyline is pretty predictable, viewers will cheer and mourn as they watch both the guys and girls in the story learn not only about the opposite sex, but also about themselves. Overall, “Hitch” is a funny, entertaining, great feel-good movie. Plus, it is on Netflix.