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Hitch (film)

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Hitch
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndy Tennant
Written byKevin Bisch
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Dunn
Edited by
  • Troy Takaki
  • Tracey Wadmore-Smoth
Music by
Production
company
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • February 11, 2005 (2005-02-11) (United States)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55-70 million[1][2]
Box office$371.6 million[2]

Hitch is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and starring Will Smith, 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.

Plot

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 continues to progress, Hitch finds it difficult to initiate a dialogue with Sara, finding that 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 enlist 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 misleads Sara into believing that he has used Hitch's services. After finding out Hitch's true identity, Sara publishes an exposé, causing Allegra and Albert to break up and Hitch's reputation to suffer.

At a speed dating cafe that Hitch sneaks into, Sara and Casey confront Hitch and cite Vance as their source. Hitch explains that not only did he refuse to work with him – men like Vance are the reason why women heavily protect themselves – but that same protection also unintentionally makes establishing genuine relationships with good men difficult enough to create a demand for Hitch's services.

Hitch then tries to salvage Albert and Allegra's relationship and decides to confront Allegra. When she mentions how Albert's quirks won her over, Hitch realizes that 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 that most of his customers, particularly Albert, really were successful by just being themselves. Allegra reconciles with Albert, and Hitch and Sara repair their relationship.

The film ends with Albert and Allegra getting married and Hitch helping Casey find a good man.

Cast

Production

The production budget was $70,000,000. 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] Robinne Lee's character (Cressida) was originally offered to Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, who could not take the role to scheduling conflicts.[4] 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.

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, and was one of the first films to employ Sony's ARccOS Protection copy protection. The film is also available on UMD (Universal Media Disc) for the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable).

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 68% based on 184 reviews, and an average review of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Despite Hitch's predictability, Will Smith and Kevin James win praise for their solid, warmhearted performances."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[6] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[7]

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."[8] Brian Lowry of Variety wrote: "Considerably heavier on romance than comedy, Hitch stitches together relatively few laughs but generates enough goodwill and energy."[9]

Soundtrack

Hitch Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2005 (2005-02-08)
Studio
  • Larrabee North Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA
  • Luminous Sound, Dallas, TX
  • Magnet Vision Studios, Santa Monica, CA
  • Morning View Studios, Malibu, CA
  • Sony Music Studios, New York, NY
  • Stewchia, Los Feliz, CA
  • The Dungeon, Dungeon East Recording Studios, Atlanta, GA
GenreR&B, funk, soul
Length49:10
LabelColumbia Records

Hitch: The Soundtrack was released on September 20, 2005, by Columbia Records.[10] The album reached No. 5 on the Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart and No. 35 on the Billboard 200 chart.[11][12]

Critical reception

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."[13]

Overview

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.[10]

No.TitlePerformerLength
1."1 Thing"Amerie4:02
2."Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"John Legend4:46
3."This Is How I Feel"Sleepy Brown, Big Boi, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kelly Rowland4:13
4."Ooh Wee"Mark Ronson3:30
5."Now That We've Found Love"Heavy D and the Boyz4:19
6."Happy"Joe Smith3:54
7."Love Train"The O'Jays2:59
8."I Can't Get Next To You"The Temptations2:45
9."You Can Get It If You Really Want"Jimmy Cliff2:40
10."It's Easy to Fall in Love With a Guy Like You"Martha Reeves and the Vandellas2:18
11."Reasons"Earth, Wind & Fire5:01
12."Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)"Omarion3:37
13."Turn Me On"Kevin Lyttle5:06
Total length:49:10

[10]

TV show

On October 22, 2014, Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television began working on a television series adaptation inspired by the film for Fox.[14][needs update]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hitch (2005) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  2. ^ a b "Hitch (2005)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  3. ^ "Was race an issue in Hitch casting?". Today.com. 2005-02-23. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  4. ^ "Aishwarya was almost in Hitch: director". IndiaGlitz.com. 2005-04-16. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  5. ^ "Hitch". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  6. ^ "Hitch reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  7. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  8. ^ Ebert, Roger (February 10, 2005). "Hitch Movie Review & Film Summary (2005)". www.rogerebert.com.
  9. ^ Lowry, Brian (February 4, 2005). "Hitch". Variety.
  10. ^ a b c Various Artists: Hitch Soundtrack. Columbia Records. February 2005.
  11. ^ "Hitch: The Soundtrack (Soundtrack Albums)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  12. ^ "Hitch (Billboard 200)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  13. ^ Theakston, Rob. "Hitch: Original Soundtrack". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "'Hitch' Comedy Series In Works At Fox". Deadline.com. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Exploits of a date doc". The Hindu. April 15, 2005. Archived from the original on April 20, 2005. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  16. ^ "Partner may face $30 mn Hitch". The Economic Times. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
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