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Hitch
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment


7.2

based on 36 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 63 votes
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FILM:

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

Starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Julie Ann Emery, Robinne Lee, Adam Arkin, and Michael Rapaport

In this sophisticated romantic comedy, Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Smith) is a legendary - and deliberately anonymous - New York City "date doctor" who, for a fee, has helped countless men woo the women of their dreams. While coaching Albert (James), a meek accountant who is smitten with a glamorous celebrity (Valletta), Hitch finally meets his match in the person of the gorgeous, whip-smart Sara (Mendes), a gossip columnist who is on to him. (Sony)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	Kevin Bisch
DIRECTED BY:	Andy Tennant
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 14, 2005 Video: June 14, 2005 Theatrical: February 11, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	115 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Immensely likable, and allows Mr. Smith to fulfill his manifest destiny -- as an urbane comedian who is also, shades of Cary Grant, a romantic hero.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Hitch is 2005's lone legitimate contender for a Valentine's Day movie date.

USA Today Mike Clark

For much of its length, the premise seems less wilted than you'd guess. This is because, for one thing, Mendes gives as good as she gets.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Smith turns it on with co-star Eva Mendes in a manner that will have George Clooney taking notes.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Smith is an endearing, driving comedic force, one who makes the buoyant Hitch more enjoyable than it has any reason to be.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

The less in control Smith and his co- stars Eva Mendes and Kevin James appear, the better Hitch becomes, until it's rather delightful.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Like most great comedies, Hitch confects a sweetly appealing fantasy.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Romantic comedies have become so cannibalistic lately that Hitch stands out for what seem like major innovations by comparison.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Sometimes big-time studio entertainment is done so well, you simply have to salute its corporate effectiveness.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

A slick new meta-romantic comedy selling a transparent yet strangely irresistible fantasy of upscale romance among the beautiful but guarded.

Village Voice Mark Holcomb

While far from perfect, Hitch is a rare studio product that earns the goodwill it smugly demands.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

But with all due respect to Smith, the movie--a performance piece with an unbelievable bare-bones plot--belongs to Kevin James.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Smith deserves a better romantic comedy than Hitch, but at least he somehow manages to improve the material around him.

Washington Post Sean Daly

Hitch works best when it's a buddy comedy, with Smith and James having a blast as smooth Yoda and jiggly Jedi.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A date film with a hook for men.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Multiple lobotomies. That's the only way to explain what happens in the middle of Hitch, whose first hour sets up one of the brightest romantic comedies in months and whose second hour tears it down.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

James has the forward drive of a trash-compacted Ralph Kramden with some of Ed Norton's random gentility and, here at least, he has a knack for fine-tuned physical comedy that gets you laughing even when the script's not there.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The premise is intriguing, and for a time it seems that the Date Doctor may indeed know things about women that most men in the movies are not allowed to know, but the third act goes on autopilot just when the Doctor should be in.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The movie's last two minutes, in which they all do goofy dances and have no dialogue or script to get in their way, is easily the highlight. It's the previous 113 minutes of plot that cause problems.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

The movie slides into slapstick at times, but it never overpowers the story.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

But when it's funny, it's truly funny and the featured couples all have an easy and believable chemistry.

Newsweek David Ansen

Andy Tennant's flimsy but generally likeable comedy is tailor-made for Smith's cheerfully suave comic style, and the movie goes out of its way to avoid any hint of sleaziness.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

An average romantic comedy put together with enough professionalism to keep your cynicism momentarily at bay, featuring good-looking actors who also, in this case, seem like pretty nice people.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

For all its flaws, Hitch largely comes off as a light romp.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

As the phrase turns, it's better when things come off WITHOUT a hitch.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Yet [Smith] can't keep the movie from stopping cold with another hour left to go.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

To enjoy this film, it helps to check your brain at the box office.

Variety Brian Lowry

Considerably heavier on romance than comedy, Hitch stitches together relatively few laughs but generates enough goodwill and energy.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Will Smith, taking a break from summer sci-fi smashfests, certainly shows a gift for modulation. Far from coasting, he plays a world expert at romance by ratcheting his charm up and down in supple, exacting degrees.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Will Smith has an easy charm, and this labored romantic farce works it hard. Too hard.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Buried somewhere in here, about 6 feet deep, is an intriguing premise.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

The film moves in fits and starts, and is way too long, but it may prove memorable, if only for the sweet, marvelously inventive performance of Kevin James.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

The movie, like Hitch, tries to be cool, funny and sweet but falls on its face without generating any real sympathy, smarts or humor.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Along with its try-anything-for-a-yuk screenplay, the worst thing about Hitch is its running time of almost two hours. Did the studio forget to edit this flimsy thing down?

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

An unwieldy, excessively talky affair, unintentionally exhibiting all the clunky stops and starts and self-conscious ramblings of a particularly awkward first date.

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

In the end, while both of these performers look great together, they really don't seem to belong together. And that's the biggest hitch in Hitch.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 63 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jared C. gave it a7:
Hitch is an amiable if rote romantic comedy that maximizes the charms of its quartet of leads. Unfortunately, the film mines most of its narrative ore from the tiresome notion that modern-day males are complete idiots, as mystified by the female gender as a coyote is by the moon. Will Smith did a marvelous job as the “Date Doctor,” and Kevin James had a fit presentation as well. The film kind of started out a little uncomfortable but enlarged its principles of thrust into a hysterically humorous romance tale. The last two minutes was a little off and beyond, but still Hitch was an exceptional depiction. The film never quit, the actors stood on board the whole shebang, and the humor just never gave up. I rate Hitch a 7 for two reasons, one fact that made this film a descent is because of its discomforting moments that seemed a little self-conscious, but the basis why I enjoyed it is because of the unpredictability. So uncommon in movies, that’s why Hitch I recommend. I expected less, but turns out that Hitch is one of my preferred and second-rate romantic comedies of the decade. Absolutely worth a try, prepared to be obsessed.

Jared B. gave it a10:
First of all, I'll just say that, except for the truly awful "Wild, Wild West," I have absolutely loved everything Will Smith has been in. "Hitch" was no exception. This was a refreshing, funny and sweet film. Will was perfectly cast as the "Date Doctor." Watching Kevin James totally screw everything up with Allegra was absolutely gut-bustingly funny. Eva Mendes is delightful as the woman who finally tames Hitch. Altogether a terrific movie.

Aly E. gave it a5:
I think the concept was excellent, but the screenplay is horrible. Kudos to Will Smith for doing the best he could with the weak script and co-star he had to work with. Eva is one of the worst actresses I've ever seen. She has zero depth and personality. It seemed unrealistic that Hitch would be even remotely interested in her, and that's where the story goes wrong for me. There's absolutely no chemistry between these two at all. I'm still trying to figure out what/how/why they fall in love... or was it just Hitch who falls in love ('cause we got no sense that the feeling was mutual for Sara, Eva's character). What really irked me was how the writers tried to give us some insight into why Sara was such a tight-a$$ in the relationship arena... something about her sister almost dying! Not because she'd been hurt in relatuonships before... Not because someone she loved actually died, but because he sister ALMOST died when they were kids! Can you believe that??? Then there's the boss in the beginning who's insisting that she needs to take a break because works too much one minute, but demanding that she get some crappy gossip article written ASAP the next. But, even that I could deal with more than Hitch's plea for forgiveness at the end and Sara's resistance. It should have been the other way around completely! I did not want to see these two together, which makes it a horrible romantic comedy. Albert and Allergra's love affair saved the movie.

jonathan gave it a10:
It was amizing i love will smith i wish i was like him peace out.

Luis V. gave it a2:
It has not even finished and it's already a 2 at the most, pure garbage.

Pat H gave it a10:
Hillarious, really good, and, oh yeah, hilarious!!!

Lyd gave it a7:
Will smith really makes an ordinary film into one that jus has to be noticed!

Hitch Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Hitch
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment