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Most romantic comedies proceed as if on autopilot, mechanically following the routine, providing predictable plot twists and unremarkable humor until the leads finally overcome implausible obstacles and live happily ever after. But even more troubling is the genre's tendency to focus on sex rather than love, infatuation rather than relationship.

According to some Christian press film critics, Hitch—which follows the slapstick-happy capers of a professional dating consultant—is an exception to the rule. While they admit it does follow the formula, they praise Will Smith for his charm and comic timing. They're also happy to see director Andy Tennant's film is focused on issues of character and virtue instead of just sex.

Russ Breimeier (Christianity Today Movies) says, "Romantic comedies can be tricky for Christian audiences these days, too often relying on crude humor and irresponsible sexual behavior to carry the story. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to discover that Hitch is an old-fashioned love story that (mostly) has its heart in the right place." He says it's "both sweet and funny—a predictable but amusing descendant of the kind of movie that Cary Grant or more recently Tom Hanks were famous for."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) agrees, calling it "a light romance of the kind they don't make much anymore. Indeed, Hitch is an entertaining, if flawed, old-fashioned comedy."

Barbara Nicolosi, screenwriting guru for Act One: Writing for Hollywood, praises it in her blog, Church of the Masses: "Hitch continues and expands the Gen-X friendly theme that sex is easy but relationship is really hard—and it's the relationship that we should all want. [It] indicates that romance is not a series of techniques to get what you want, but is a dying to self to bring gifts to another. Lovely. Except for some unfortunate choices in language, Hitch is a lot of fun and popularizes goodness. If you like romantic comedies, go see it."

J. Robert Parks (Looking Closer) raves, "It's rare that a date movie released around Valentine's Day actually lives up to the promise, but Hitch is that rare romantic comedy that will satisfy both the men and women in the audience. One of the many great things about Hitch is its fantastic dialogue, courtesy of first-time screenwriter Kevin Bisch. I'll be honest—I didn't write much of it down because I was usually laughing too hard. But it's not only funny, it's sharp and witty."

But Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) isn't pleased. "I'm being gracious when I call Hitch standard romantic comedy fare. When looking solely at the script and storylines, it's actually a bit sub-par. The film's saving grace is the easy-going charm of Will Smith. Unfortunately, the flaws in the material becoming alarmingly noticeable whenever he's not in a scene."

Marcus Yoars (Plugged In) is similarly dissatisfied. "The film does have its moments. But a plodding pace and predictable story severely undermine the effort. Hitch may be smooth, but his movie isn't."

Jonathan Rodriguez (Christian Spotlight) says the film starts strong and declines. "The first two-thirds of the film is a light, enjoyable comedy that knows it is dabbling slightly into conventional romantic material and doesn't care. But, the last third of the film gets so dreadfully conventional, concocting scenes that never happen in anyone's reality, except that of bad romantic comedy writers. It doesn't ruin the fun we have had through the first part of the movie, but does a decent job of trying."

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February (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49