The prescription's for laughs, love

Just what the date doctor ordered!An irresistible comedy starring Will Smith, Hitch is a kindred spirit of the makeover mavens from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the difference being that here the title figure applies a gentle shove to the straight schlub.

Smith stars as Alex Hitchens, the dating strategist who can turn any dweeb into a Don Juan - witness his transformation of teddy-bearish Albert Brennaman (Kevin James) into a sharp-dressed suitor.

But Hitch loses his cool, and his mojo, when he's around the heart-stopping tabloid reporter Sara (Eva Mendes). Complicating the crush is that she's on the trail of the anonymous date doc who turned nondescript Albert into the suave swain of heiress Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta).

Like most great comedies, Hitch confects a sweetly appealing fantasy. This date doc accepts stayers, not players. He won't give advice to the "hit-and-quit" guys looking for conquest and sex. He accepts only clients looking for kisses and commitment, otherwise-tongue-tied guys who wax poetic about the woman. Hitch orchestrates their first three dates, gives advice on how to dress and how to kiss, and takes credit for hitch-ups rather than hookups.

Hitch's basic advice (which come to think of it is the same as Wesley Snipes' advice to Woody Harrelson in White Men Can't Jump) is: "Listen to the woman." Though he also advocates the principle of "Be yourself," he would probably amend that to "Be your best self" and isn't above a little cunning. His credo is: "No guile, no game, no girl."

Directed by Andy Tennant, who made the lovely Ever After, Hitch owes much to the frothy performances of Smith and James. (Insert your own Fresh Prince-meets-King of Queens joke here.)

What makes Smith unique as a comedian is his combination of superconfidence and insecurity, embodied in the seesaw of his shoulders.

Easily equaling Smith's charm - and that is saying something - is James, as gifted at physical comedy as he is with the spoken kind.

Because this is a romantic comedy told from the guy's perspective, Mendes and Valletta don't get the same kind of opportunities to shine. But both are lovely; Mendes is like Cindy Crawford with acting chops, while supermodel Valletta comes off as a soft-spoken Cameron Diaz.

For the "I Love NY" crowd, it purveys a dream Manhattan, glittering like a Cartier brooch, where everyone has a hip loft, a hipper job, and a berth to park his yacht or Jet-Ski. For women, it purveys the dream that men really, really care about what they think. For men, it holds out the fantasy that babes are attracted to geeky men who really, really care about what they think. What's not to like?

Contact movie critic Carrie Rickey

at 215-854-5402 or crickey@phillynews.com.

Read her recent work at http://go.philly.com/carrierickey.

Hitch

*** (out of four stars)

Produced by James Lassiter, Will Smith and Teddy Zee, directed by Andy Tennant, written by Kevin Bisch, photography by Andrew Dunn, music by George Fenton, distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Running time: 1 hour, 54 mins.

Alex Hitchens. . . Will Smith

Sara Melas. . . Eva Mendes

Albert Brennaman. . . Kevin James

Allegra Cole. . . Amber Valletta

Max Trundle. . . Adam Arkin

Parent's guide: PG-13 (mild profanity, sexual references)

Playing at: area theaters