Kent’s Recommended Watch:
Andy Tennant:
Hitch
Didn’t I proclaim loudy, at one point, that I would never go on a blind date again?…
Well, fortunately, I didn’t stick do it. My
The movie was Hitch, which most of you have probably seen already. If you haven’t, Will Smith plays a “date doctor” who shows men how not to make jibbering shmucks out of themselves when pursuing the ladies they’re attracted to. The ads make the movie look stupider than it actually is. Its plot is actually quite thin, but it’s still amusing. Smith needs to do more comedies.
The sad part was how many guys were taking mental notes after seeing this picture. Seriously. The dating advice was all commonsense stuff—listen to your date, find out what she likes, don’t crowd her, the usual. Most guys are too busy thinking about the persona they’re projecting to pay attention to the person they’re with.
That’s a lot of the problem with dating. It has nothing to do with the stuff in the movie. It comes from the dishonesty in the relationship from the beginning. People try to be something they aren’t in order to impress other people. Then they discover—to their surprise, when it really isn’t surpising at all once you think about it—that they either have to come clean, or they have to keep up this act forever, if they want to continue their relationship. If they come clean, the relationship may end. If they don’t, it may erode. Either way, you wind up with two messed-up people.
Honesty was the problem in Hitch that was discussed only briefly, and quickly justified, and then ignored. Honesty was the reason why the messed-up characters in the movie were as messed up as they were. But the screenwriters decided not to deal with that. Too heavy for a comedy.
I know, I overanalyze movies. It’s still a funny movie; watch it for that reason. But don’t start gleaning dating tips from it.