Hitch

Will Smith is the best thing about this routine and pedestrian romantic comedy that never quite manages to match a script to its leading man's brash but rather likable persona. Smith plays our title character, Alexander 'Hitch' Hitchens, a man about New York who runs the city's most exclusive meeting and dating organisation. Working by referrals only, Hitch has established a serious reputation as a 'date doctor' - a man who can help other blokes get precisely who or what they want, despite their own physical limitations. However, it seems that Hitch may have taken on more than he can handle when he agrees to help shy'n'chunky tax consultant Albert Brennaman (Kevin James) to woo gorgeous socialite Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta). To make matters worse, the publicity shy Hitch finds that his talents are being challenged by feisty gossip columnist Sara Melas (Eva Mendes), whose publication requires her to keep close tabs on Cole.

A model film (all surface and no depth, natch), Hitch works off a script which is about as broad as a mountain range. Rarely troubling the concept of humour for any extended period of time, the film ambles half-heartedly along, pausing only to fire off the most predictable and banal missives imaginable. The characters don't fare out much better - lacking any real definition or edge, ensuring that Smith's natural charisma is the only plus from this non-descript excursion.