Hitch

—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

At first glance, Hitch may look like a silly movie about a “date doctor� teaching geeks how to wine, dine and bed good looking women. In fact, it’s a whole lot more. We find that the aspirations of Alex “Hitch� Hitchens (Will Smith) are far greater than wining, dining and bedding (as shown in a scene where a high powered Wall Street hot shot unsuccessfully tries to force Hitch to take him as a client). In his world, even shy firemen, quiet doormen, and in the main focus of this filma portly, four-eyed financial advisor with dorky dance moves deserve the chance to sweep the beautiful women of their dreams off their feet.

Hitch may be a love doctor, but we eventually find out that this doctor doesn’t subscribe to his own medicine. He abandoned the prospect of love in his own life because his heart was broken while he was in college. This explains why his “lessons� are completed once his clients achieve the ever-elusive First Kiss.

While Hitch is running away from love, Sara (Eva Mendes) has flat out abandoned it. She believes the old philosophy that states that men are only after the proverbial “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am� experience. She has wrapped herself in her work as a gossip columnist. Sara’s main job description is to get the latest scoop on the comings and goings of Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta), a rich heiress who is (thankfully) not the Paris Hilton type. Instead of throwing her money away living the glamorous life, Allegra Cole relies on her financial advisors to help her make sound decisions. When the senior members of her financial team advise her against making a major investment in a friend’s art business, Albertthe aforementioned portly, four-eyed guy (Kevin James) who is also part of Allegra’s financial team makes a bold declaration that she is free to invest her money however she pleases. He (unintentionally) quits his job over this declaration but his big consolation prize: he scores a date with Allegra… with the help of our man Hitch.

Hitch and Sara eventually meet at a nightclub and begin dating. Neither one is aware of the other’s connection (both direct and indirect) to Albert & Allegra’s budding romance. As Hitch and Sara grow closer together, the truth about their lives becomes threatened in the process. Sara doesn’t know that Hitch is the “date doctor� that the city has been buzzing about. Nor does she know that Hitch has been giving Albert tips on scoring with Allegra. Hitch himself doesn’t know that Sara is being pressured by her editor to get the scoop on Albert.

Will our heroes make it to the promised land of true love, or are they headed for another sleepless night at Heartbreak Hotel?

Sony/Columbia is gonna have a major hit on their hands this Valentine’s Day weekend. Both funny and touching, Hitch is the first great date movie of the year. Will Smith is charming and Eva Mendes adds the right touch of sugar to her character’s spice. But who really make the film shine are Kevin James and Amber Valletta. While we, the audience, are rooting for Hitch and Sara’s romance, we find ourselves rooting much more for Albert and Allegra’s romance. You’ll find yourself compelled to burst forth with applause once Albert’s dream is finally manifested on screen.

On a deeper level, it’s very interesting how Hitch was dedicated to help others find love but was equally dedicated to hiding from love himself. Because he’d loved and lost, he managed to reduce the journey of love to a mere series of “basic principles.� As anyone who’s ever been in love knows, love is illogical. It’s impossible to understand love from your head. Love is first and foremost connected with the heart. (Begin Spoiler) As Hitch himself comes to grips with his own desire for Sara’s love, he finds himself at a loss for words. The logic he’s trained himself upon fails him. He’s put into a situation where that which he wishes to share cannot be expressed without connecting to his own heart. (End Spoiler) That struggle exists for many in the dating world. Many of us have reduced love to similar logic based principles to cover up the fear that exists in our hearts. We put on masks to hide our true selves. We settle for empty relationships based on lust and attraction (like in the film Closer). Some of us in the Christian world have even spiritualized our fear by using God/Jesus as our mask that covers up our hearts. We’ve used statements like “The Lord told me to tell you that you’re gonna be my wife� to try to force the woman of our dreams into our lives. Others have used statements like “God is leading me to stay single right now� to either avoid the inevitable struggle that happens in relationships, or to simply brush off the guys they’re just not that into.

But, as Hitch and Sara take off their masks and share what is in their hearts and souls, they form the building blocks of love (culminating in a tender and passionate kiss). Taking off our masks and revealing the truth about us is indeed risky. But, just as Jesus scorned the shame of dying on the cross for the glory which was to come (Hebrews 12:2), we must scorn the shame of revealing our ugly parts for the glory of seeing a true and beautiful love enter our lives.

As the end credits began to roll at the conclusion of this film, I became slightly jealous. I felt that, had this film been made ten years earlier, I would not have had bad luck pursuing the opposite sex in my younger days! I wished that I had a guy like Hitch in my life who could bring out the inner strength and confidence that was buried inside of me. Then again, I did eventually find a guy who brought that out of me. That guy is Jesus Christ. That may seem “out of left field� to some, but that’s the truth of who Jesus is. He did more than just die for our sins. His words and His life give us the confidence and power to pursue our dreams... as well as the hearts of those whom we love. Six years ago, because of Him, I gained the confidence to successfully pursue the heart of the woman who would become my wife. For many of us married folks, understanding the words of Christ and Scripture as a whole help to continuously shape us into confident, faithful and loving spouses.

In the end, the assistance that Hitch gave his clients is a metaphor for Christ's work in our own lives. In Christ’s world, even those who are seemingly left out of the dating game can access the power of His awesome love, apply it to their own lives, and eventually sweep the beautiful (inside and outside) off their feet.

—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections