In the 17 years since (and the 10 or so before) the release of “Hitch,” websites and apps, which were geared to those looking for love or something like it, make what takes place throughout this film appear quaint, arcane, and more than a bit dated. What used to be done by professional matchmakers and buttinsky relatives can now be handled online in private in record time. The era of the third-party “set-up” is dead.
Had the movie been set in the late ‘80s or early ’90s it would have felt far more authentic and of its time. Regardless, it does have an original premise, is highly engaging, and is buoyed by a crack ensemble cast.
A guy who was once shy, awkward, clueless, and desperate when it came to interacting with and winning over women, Alex “Hitch” Hitchens (Will Smith) has grown into a man that is now smoother than glass, sharp as a razor, disarmingly charming, and totally at ease within his own skin. Hitch recognizes there are thousands of men in New York who are like his old self; petrified of the opposite sex without a clue of what works, Hitch has built a small cottage industry as the incognito “date doctor.”Dating Scene
Taking on only referral clients, Hitch meets with lovelorn men, sizes them up, determines their strengths and weaknesses, and sets them off in the right direction. He is quite clear from the onset that he’s not in the business of prepping clients to “conquer” women for the purpose of fleeting hook-ups but rather for cultivating permanent, loving, long-term relationships.Hitch’s newest client is Albert Brenneman (Kevin James), an accountant with a large, old-school firm, which manages the financial affairs of Allegra Cole (Amber Valetta, “The Family Man”), an heiress and socialite whose model-level beauty and outward detached air makes her unattainable in most men’s minds. Not exactly what most people would consider an “Adonis,” Albert—at least when he lets his guard down and says little—makes his large frame a non-factor.
