Leading Ladies: February 11, 2005

Heading to the movies this weekend? Find out what's worth your time according to the top women film critics at the nation's best publications. Every Friday morning we'll give you the female perspective on what to expect when the curtain rises.

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Hitch
Stars: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James
Director: Andy Tennant
Rating: PG-13

Will Smith's debut as a romantic-comedy leading man gets unanimous approval from the female critics this week. The Leading Ladies like his turn as Manhattan "dating doctor" Alex Hitchens so much, in fact, that they feel he single-handedly propels a clichéd romantic comedy into a good Valentine's Day weekend date flick.

The Miami Herald's Connie Ogle says Smith is an "endearing, driving comedic force, one who makes the buoyant Hitch more enjoyable than it has any reason to be." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Eleanor Ringel Gillespie says Smith's "to-the-camera monologues are every bit as good as Jude Law's in Alfie." And Salon's Stephanie Zacharek also falls under Smith's comedic charms, saying, "Few contemporary actors tease an audience onto his wavelength the way Smith does."

The critics also gave high praise to King of Queens sitcom star Kevin James as Albert, the nerdy accountant who seeks Hitch's counsel in winning over a beautiful socialite. "Easily equaling Smith's charm ‑- and that is saying something ‑- is James, as gifted at physical comedy as he is with the spoken kind," says the Philadelphia Inquirer's Carrie Rickey. And the Los Angeles Times's Carina Chocano says, "James is enormously likable and fresh in what must have looked like a fairly rote character on the page."

Female consensus: Will Smith as a comely Cupid is right on target