Perhaps I should be suspicious of the many people in my life who have recommended that I watch Hitch (2005).  Actually, “suspicious” is probably the wrong word.  We say such things for comedic effect, or when we misinterpret the intentions of others.  Given that the majority of my closest friends are practicing Catholics like myself, I should be more charitable.  The thing is that they have seen everything in me that you will see in this movie, but we will get more into that in a moment.  I mean the film, by the way, not my dating history.  If you read the synopsis, you can draw your own conclusions on the matter, to which I will neither confirm or deny.  When Catholics talk about finding that one person, what we mean is vocation.  Over the years, I have stated that my desire was to be married.  I am no longer sure that is to be my outcome, but my friends have done their best to help me along the way.  Even though nothing has worked to this point, I am grateful to God for bringing me people in my life who care enough to try.  That is a blessing, and you will find parallels in today’s example.

The opening montage says everything you need to know about Alex “Hitch” Hitchens (Will Smith).  As we see him work with a number of men who lack the confidence to approach the women of their dreams, we learn that he is what is sometimes referred to as a “dating consultant.”  He helps them to get through three perfect dates, after which his clients are on their own.  He was not always the debonair man who firmly believes that any man can attract any woman.  When he was in college, he was the awkward and clumsy, bookish sort whose shyness was the default for most interactions with the opposite sex.  There is always that one person, in his words, that changes everything.  For Hitch, it was Cressida Baylor (Robinne Lee), his first love who ultimately broke his heart.  From that point on, he took a different approach, essentially helping others to avoid the same mistakes that he made, which was primarily being what some would call too “clingy.”  This is getting a little out of order, but it should be mentioned at this point that he does have some rules for his customers.  The biggest one is that he is there to give them a shot at love, not a one-night stand.  We see this when he meets with Vance Munson (Jeffrey Donovan).  Vance wants to know simply how to sleep with Casey Sedgwick (Julie Ann Emery), a female who eluded his advances once.  As soon as Hitch figures out Vance’s ill intentions, not to mention having a bad impression of the investment banker, Hitch ends their discussion before it begins.  Instead, Hitch is more into assisting people like Albert Brennaman (Kevin James).  Albert is a certified public accountant (CPA) who is head-over-heels for Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta), a celebrity and philanthropist.  He is ill at easy and overweight while she is the complete opposite.  Thus, when Hitch is asked to intervene, he tells Albert that it will take some doing.  Luckily, Albert’s accounting firm is employed by Allegra to keep track of her finances.  With some considerable coaching from Hitch, Albert is able to impress Allegra at her next meeting with her financial team.  It costs Albert his job, but he is able to get her to agree to go out with him.  As Albert and Allegra’s relationship begins to blossom, Hitch meets Sara Melas (Eva Mendes).  By this point, we have gotten to know this society editor for the local newspaper, seeing her more interested in her writing than in finding a guy.  This attitude is carried over one evening while at a bar and her firm but polite rejection of a potential suitor’s advances.  When he cannot take the hint, Hitch intervenes, pretending to be her boyfriend.  From there, the typically reclusive Hitch clearly develops a liking for Sara, despite her having no intentions of having a boyfriend.  Undeterred, he manages to convince her to an outing on the Hudson River that, despite being kicked in the face by him and showing her the record of an Ellis Island ancestor she would rather forget, goes well.  A second date has equally promising beginnings until he ingests some shell fish only to find out he has an allergy.  She cares for him, giving him Benadryl and allowing him to pass out on her couch.  From that point on, it is clear that they have a connection.  Remember Casey and Vance?  Well, Casey finally gives into Vance’s predations, and it goes as horribly as one might expect.  Because Casey is Sara’s best friend, the reporter hears about Vance’s awful behavior, including the offhand comment about the so-called “date doctor.”  Because Hitch has been vague about his consulting business, Sara does not know that he is said legend.  Sensing a story, though, she arranges to have one of her co-workers meet Hitch and is shocked to learn his identity.  She confronts him later that evening, but without being specific about what she has heard.  Instead, she writes a piece for the paper about him, which directly references how he set up Albert and Allegra.  Hitch tracks Sara down at a speed-dating event and he gets more accusations.  He defends himself well, particularly when he finds out that Vance had been her source.  The article also causes problems for Albert and Allegra, which Hitch fixes by explaining everything to Allegra.  Their conversation is interrupted by Albert, and seeing them together convinces Hitch that he should give things another chance with Sara.  Going to her place, Hitch is not his usual smooth self, which is compounded when he sees another man with her.  This turns out to a friend, and we end with Hitch and Sara going to Albert and Allegra’s wedding.

When I watch a movie like Hitch, I always worry that it will show a non-Christian approach to dating as normal.  To be more specific, I do not like it when sex before marriage is presented as natural instead of being something best left to sacramentally wedded couples.  I am sorry if that sounds too old-fashioned or rigid, but I am following Catholic teaching.  Having said that, like Hitch, I am the result of my experiences.  What my past has taught me is that intercourse is too big of a responsibility to be played at without, to put a truly Christian spin on this, God’s stamp of approval.  That should not suggest that once you do it, you are eternally damned.  Reconciliation is real, but one must be contrite for it to make a true difference.  God knows my heart in this regard.  While it may appear that I am getting off topic, this does relate back to the movie.  In counseling Albert, Hitch says an important thing to remember in regards to our interactions with God.  The consultant tells his client that Albert as a person as a “fluid concept.”  Later on, this idea is rejected because Hitch discovers through Albert that the key to a lasting relationship is being unafraid to be yourself.  There is some spiritual wisdom in that because, and not be cliché, God did make each of us differently.  At the same time, we cannot allow ourself to think that who we are at one moment will be the same forever.  As the Book of Ecclesiastes repeats throughout its chapters, there is a season and a time for everything under the sun.  Hitch is a nerd at one moment, but polished later in life, but throughout he is the kind person God made him to be.  In one moment, we may be a sinner, willing to give ourselves over to our lust for the sake of fulfilling our itinerant passions.  Does that define who we are?  God sees the sin, knows we are sinners, and forgives us still.  This should not give us a blasé attitude about our behavior.  Rather, we should be thankful for the undeserved mercy He gives us and strive to do better.  Though Hitch is not thinking about this in spiritual terms by the end, he does realize that he messed up (especially after Sara apologizes), and earnestly makes amends.  God desires this from us with Him.

If you have problems with Will Smith because of his slapping of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, then perhaps you will not see Hitch.  Or you have probably watched it already and have no wish to revisit it.  Yet, remember God has mercy for actors, too.  I find it is a solid piece of cinema that I wish I had seen sooner.  I give it a thumbs up.