message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

                   
Hitch      Rated PG-13
Directed by Andy Tennant. Starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes

Photo © Columbia Pictures
Alex “Hitch” Hitchens (Smith) is a full-time “date doctor” who gives advice to men in need of the finer skills of how to attract a woman – or at least how to get her to that magical “third date” in which anything is possible.  Since “Hitch” has never published a book or appeared on major TV talk shows, it is simple world-of-mouth that seems to build his client base.  It is more than a little misogynistic to think that women could be so easily conned, and it is to the script’s credit that it is unwilling to accept this basic premise at face value, either.  There is a tabloid investigative reporter named Sara (Mendes) who will prove to be a real challenge to Hitch’s charms, and a client named Albert, in love with a wealthy celebrity, who will teach Hitch a few things about true love.  Hitch is not particularly sophisticated, but it well directed and acted, with characters to care about and some very funny physical comedy.  From what initially seems like a sleazy premise, Hitch turns into a sweet and hopeful film about the insecurity and risk of real relationship and how, in spite of the ways in which love is misunderstood and exploited, love is still worth it all. For it is only when people stop playing games (and stop using “date doctors”) that we are really able to see one another face to face. 

Pitchfork Rating: Three halos. (A genuinely funny and ultimately sweet comedy about the value of honest relationships.)  One pitchfork. (Some mildly crude sexual comments; one use of the big bad word.)

 

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