Hitch (stylized as HitcH) is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and starring Will Smith in the title role, along with Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valletta. The film, which was written by Kevin Bisch, features Smith as Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, a professional "date doctor" who makes a living teaching men how to woo women. Unfortunately, while helping his latest client woo the woman of his dreams, he finds out that his game doesn't quite work on the gossip columnist with whom he's smitten. Columbia Pictures released Hitch on February 11, 2005, and was a box office hit, grossing $371.6 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Hitch | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Andy Tennant |
Written by | Kevin Bisch |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Andrew Dunn |
Edited by |
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Music by | George Fenton |
Production companies | Columbia Pictures Overbrook Entertainment |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $55-70 million[1][2] |
Box office | $371.6 million[2] |
Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Will Smith) is a professional "date doctor" who coaches other men in the art of wooing women, with the main focus of having genuine long-term relationships. He is very successful at what he does.
While coaching one of his clients, Albert Brennaman (Kevin James)—who is smitten with a client of his investment firm, celebrity Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta)—Hitch finds himself falling for Sara Melas (Eva Mendes), a gossip columnist and cynical workaholic. While Albert and Allegra's relationship progresses, Hitch has difficulty connecting with Sara, none of his romantic methods work on her. Throughout the entire process, he keeps his career secret, claiming to be a generic "consultant".
Hitch meets with Vance Munson (Jeffrey Donovan), a shallow misogynist attempting to get Hitch to help him land a one-night stand with Casey Sedgewick (Julie Ann Emery), Sara's coworker and best friend. Although Hitch refuses to help, Vance smugly misleads her into believing that he has used Hitch's services. After finding out Hitch's true identity, Sara publishes an exposé, causing Albert to vandalize a newsstand in rage and get arrested, Allegra breaking up with Albert, and Hitch's reputation to suffer.
At a speed dating event that Hitch sneaks into, Sara and Casey confront him and cite Vance as their source. Hitch explains that not only did he refuse to work with him but also the extent to which women must protect themselves from men like Vance unintentionally makes establishing genuine relationships with good men difficult enough to create a demand for Hitch's services.
After receiving some criticism from Albert about treating love as a job instead of an actually legitimate feeling, Hitch then tries to salvage Albert and Allegra's relationship by confronting her. When she mentions how Albert's quirks won her over, Hitch realizes he does not really do anything significant besides giving his clients confidence and allowing them to get the attention of the women they love. And most of his customers, particularly Albert, really were successful by just being themselves. After Albert mistakenly thinking that Hitch is taking Allegra from him, Allegra reconciles with Albert, and Hitch and Sara repair their relationship.
Albert and Allegra get married, and Hitch helps introduce Casey to a man after she gives the Heimlich maneuver to an elderly woman who was choking on a grape. A dance party then begins with Albert, Allegra, Sara, and Hitch, which ends with Albert accidentally ripping his pants open to do the splits.
The production budget was $55–70 million.[1][3][2] Smith has said that actress Eva Mendes, a Latina, was offered the female lead because the producers were worried about the public's reaction if the part was played by a white actress, creating a studio fear of a potential interracial taboo, or a black actress, creating a studio fear that two black leads would alienate the white audiences. It was believed that a Latina and a black lead would sidestep the issue.[3] Cameron Diaz was originally considered for the role of Sara Melas.[4][better source needed] Robinne Lee's character (Cressida) was originally offered to Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, who could not take the role to scheduling conflicts.[5] Patton Oswalt was considered for the role of Albert Brennaman.[6] The working title of the film was The Last First Kiss, referring to a line that Hitch delivers to Albert, "This could be her last first kiss." Parts of the film were filmed in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, at Columbia University, at Ellis Island, in the Fulton Fish Market, at the Wall Street Bull and the North Cove Marina.
The film was released on June 14, 2005 on VHS and DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[1] It was one of the first films to employ Sony's ARccOS Protection copy protection.[citation needed] The film was also available on UMD (Universal Media Disc) for the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable).[citation needed]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 69% based on 188 reviews, and an average review of 6.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite Hitch's predictability, Will Smith and Kevin James win praise for their solid, warmhearted performances."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[9]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "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."[10] Brian Lowry of Variety wrote: "Considerably heavier on romance than comedy, Hitch stitches together relatively few laughs but generates enough goodwill and energy."[11]
Hitch Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | September 20, 2005 (2005-09-20) |
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Genre | R&B, funk, soul |
Length | 49:10 |
Label | Columbia Records |
Hitch: The Soundtrack was released on September 20, 2005, by Columbia Records.[12] The album reached No. 5 on the Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart and No. 35 on the Billboard 200 chart.[13][14]
The soundtrack features artists such as Amerie, Kelly Rowland, Sleepy Brown, Big Boi, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Omarion, The O Jays, John Legend, The Temptations, Jimmy Cliff and Kevin Lyttle.[12]
No. | Title | Performer | Length |
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1. | "1 Thing" | Amerie | 4:02 |
2. | "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" | John Legend | 4:46 |
3. | "This Is How I Feel" | Sleepy Brown, Big Boi, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kelly Rowland | 4:13 |
4. | "Ooh Wee" | Mark Ronson | 3:30 |
5. | "Now That We've Found Love" | Heavy D and the Boyz | 4:19 |
6. | "Happy" | Joe Smith | 3:54 |
7. | "Love Train" | The O'Jays | 2:59 |
8. | "I Can't Get Next to You" | The Temptations | 2:45 |
9. | "You Can Get It If You Really Want" | Jimmy Cliff | 2:40 |
10. | "It's Easy to Fall in Love With a Guy Like You" | Martha Reeves and the Vandellas | 2:18 |
11. | "Reasons" | Earth, Wind & Fire | 5:01 |
12. | "Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)" | Omarion | 3:37 |
13. | "Turn Me On" | Kevin Lyttle | 5:06 |
Total length: | 49:10 |
Rob Theakston of Allmusic gave the album a three out of five star rating noting that it "features a brilliant survey of soul and R&B over the past three decades." He also proclaimed "while the new tracks are impressive and enjoyable, it's this combination that makes Hitch an enjoyable listen, with something for everyone -- regardless of age -- to enjoy."[15]
On October 22, 2014, Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television began working on a television series adaptation inspired by the film for Fox.[16][needs update]
it was feared that a black couple would have put off worldwide audiences whereas a white/African American combo would have offended viewers in the U.S.
Films directed by Andy Tennant | |
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