Writer: Chan Sue Ching

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This is a feel-good, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that is just a month too late in release - it could have been a cute Valentine's flick. Unfortunately, we only get to view it a few weeks later than its US release. However, this exceedingly hilarious movie that pokes fun at the dilemmas of dating while dealing with real insecurities is great for laughs all year round.

When you've got a pairing as jolly as Will Smith and Kevin James (from the TV series "King of Queens") as the leads, you've got a sure-fire comedy. Set in bustling New York with a lot of good-looking extras walking down the streets in designer labels, one gets the feeling that all the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes live here.

One of these eligible bachelors is Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Smith) who's got it all exceptionally well together. He knows ladies inside out so well that he has made a career of giving advice to less informed men, men like Albert Brennaman (James), a clumsy, slightly tubby accountant who works for the celebrity Allegra Cole and harbours an unnoticed love for her.

This is a matchmaking project right up Alex's alley, goofy guy falling hopelessly in love with beautiful elusive woman and wanting to woo her. Having a successful track record grooming guys to win the woman of their dreams, Alex works at fine-tuning Albert's 'free spirit'. But really, it's Albert's free spirit that provides a large number of the laughs in this comedy. In fact, this tub of goofball clownery sometimes makes Smith's suaveness pale in comparison!

The other laughs come in the form of the dating dilemmas that surround the leads.

Dating dilemma 1 - Albert is virtually invisible to Allegra, he's just another blacksuit advisor to her. How can he make her notice him?

Dating dilemma 2 - Alex is smitten by gossip columnist Sara Melas (Eva Mendes), but she's got the hostile you're-just-like-all-the-other-guys-who-disappoint look on her face. How does he get around being labelled 'just-another-guy'?

Smith and James approach their beautifully flawed characters with great humour. Although this movie is mostly an opportunity for the former Fresh Prince of Bel Air to strut his charismatic style, there's one hilarious flashback of his character back in his college days. Alex is pictured as the clumsy geek, looking rather like America's favourite nerd, Steve Urkel from "Family Matters". This 'Steve Urkel-ness', possessing an innate quality of bad timing, manifests itself later again when he's all out trying to impress Sara, providing one of the most hilarious date scenes.

Meanwhile, James is struggling with all the dating etiquette Alex has taught him, how to dance, how to touch, how to kiss. In the end, both guys win over the ladies simply by being themselves. There were certain principles that Alex tried to instil in Albert and his other clients, but at the end of the day, as Albert observes, it's Alex who is the "coward," too afraid to love, be hurt, and love again. And its Albert who gives the final dating tip, that it's okay to be yourself, even if you are a goofball. This story will win you over with its heart and a lot of humour.

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008