One of the main things that I look for in a movie is the development of the characters. Next to the story, character development is what really makes a movie.
In Spiderman you really cared for Peter Parker because of the development of his character. How would a viewer feel if one of the characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was a dull, plain, uninteresting character?
It may damage the viewer’s viewpoint of the movie; every time the character showed up on screen the viewer might run for the hills. Character development is even more crucial in a romantic comedy. Hitch has no problem in story or character development.
Will Smith stars as Alexander “Hitch” Hitchens in the new romantic comedy, Hitch. Hitch is a myth known as the Date Doctor who advises certain men in the ways of dating. Helping his clients get to their ultimate goal – which is to get the girl the client couldn’t get under normal circumstances.
However it is in Albert, TV’s King of Queens, Kevin James, where Hitch sees something: a man out of his mind. Albert is a junior financial advisor and is trying to catch the eye of one of the celebrities he works for.
At the same time Hitch meets Sara, Eve Mendes from 2 Fast 2 Furious. Being with Sara has caused Hitch to … well, not act like himself. Hitch tries to win the heart of Sara and at the same time help Albert not be himself and win the heart of Allegra, played by Amber Valletta.
The intertwining of main story and secondary story is done with such grace. It is done so perfectly that it seems both storylines are indeed the main story. What makes this possible is the excellent execution of character development.
There was a reason this movie came out Valentine’s weekend. Part of it has to do with it being a romantic comedy. The other part is having the viewer actually get into the minds of the characters and feeling what they feel; going through the emotions with the characters. The viewer is mad when the character is mad and happy when the character is happy. The actors also make this development possible.
James is a real bright spot in the movie and does a wonderful job playing a man who really has no clue as to how the dating scene works.
His absentmindedness and ability to learn from Hitch provide the viewer with very comical scenes. There is not a moment that James is on screen when the viewer isn’t laughing.
Valletta also does a fine job playing a celebrity who’s otherwise completely tired of the glamour light. These two characters make the viewer believe what is happening and therefore allow the viewer to also believe in the main characters.
Smith plays the cool, suave, relatively calm character. He is almost too perfect to play Hitch; as he, of course, plays Hitch to the typical cool style of Will Smith.
It is also in his bad side and serious side that we see Smith play outside of the typical cool Smith style.
Mendes also does a great job of playing a gossip writer who is down on love. Her style of being both lovable and an almost downright man-hater is simply talented.
Few movies take the time to put the principles of a movie first. Instead they focus on star power and CGI.
Hitch takes the time to tell a well thought-out story, tie the main and secondary stories together, and have a deep character development. With these two values in place, the viewer feels as the characters on-screen feel.
These values also make Hitch a very good date movie.

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