Hitch

Everyday realities make relationships a bit more difficult and complicated.  Working different hours or different days can make it hard for two people to spend the quality of time they need to keep their relationship together.  Add in misunderstandings, arguments about money, kids and pets, and the happily-ever-after stories you read during your childhood become laughable.  This is why we need movies like Hitch, a movie that works because it pulls you from your own cynicism about love and romance, allowing you to just enjoy a story about living happily ever after.

            Hitch has a basic romantic formula:  boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy and girl live happily ever after.  What surprised me was how much I liked this movie, even though I knew exactly what to expect.  Alex “Hitch” Hitchins (Will Smith) is a New York City “date doctor”, helping men have opportunities with women who wouldn’t normally give them a second look.  His clients follow a specific script he lays out for them to grab the woman’s interest and get a date.  He meets Sara, a gossip columnist and pessimist who has given up on love, and discovers that all his tricks won’t work on her.  When Sara begins writing a story centered on the “date doctor” and finds out it’s him, their relationship hits a road block, and forces them both to reevaluate themselves, and let their guards down.

            Three-fourths of this movie surprised me, drawing me into its simplistic plot.  Smith’s character says things that women, not men, are more likely to say, like “60% of all human communication is nonverbal, body language; 30% is your tone, so that means 90% of what you're saying ain't coming out of your mouth.”  It was unique, hearing a man giving advice to other men about the “truths” about women, things that I actually found to be true.  I was intrigued that writer Bisch knew what women are thinking, and wondered if he’d learned it on his own, or if a woman had told him.

            I know women that have told men that they just need space right now, and they were lying.  I can’t remember if it was because they wanted them to get away from them or wanted them to try harder, but either way, hearing Hitch explain it made me think that it was most likely one of the two reasons.  Women like it when a man tries, even if they fail miserably.

Hitch tells one of his clients that they need to ask questions, listen and respond to what she says.  This is great advice when you think about how often you hear women say “He never listens to me.”  I loved it when Hitch told one of his clients to focus on her best friend, because they have to give their approval first.  If a woman really likes a man, she’ll do what she wants, but it definitely helps to get the best friend stamp of approval.

When a woman stands outside her front door with you on a date and jiggles her keys, it’s obvious that she wants you to kiss her.  According to Hitch, eight out of ten women think the first kiss will tell them what the relationship will be like.  This statement has got to make guys nervous as hell, but relax, just because the first kiss isn’t the best they’ve ever had doesn’t mean they won’t give you a chance to make it up to them.

The ending of Hitch is predictable and cliché, but as a happily-ever-after story, it is everything you expect.  The filmmaker’s desire to wrap up all the loose ends makes the ending seem rushed and sloppy, but it doesn’t take away from the warm, fuzzy feeling, or what you’ve learned so far.  But remember, the most important piece of information you can learn from Hitch, is be careful when you Google your date, because it could have disastrous results.