Monday, July 4, 2005

"Hitch" and convincing heroines

Those of you that frequent this blog probably remember that I lust after Will Smith because of his gorgeous pectorals... ahem. That is, I very much admire Will Smith's acting;-). Last night DH and I watched "Hitch" (am I the only person who finds it confusing that the man starred in a movie called "Hitch" and now has a song out called "Switch"? Well, I've always been easily confused). Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.

"Hitch" was pretty funny, so I thought it was successful as a comedy. As a romance, well, it didn't work so well. I loved the romantic subplot-- I found both of the minor characters compelling and liked their story-- but the major romance just didn't work for me. Why? I just couldn't see what the hero saw in the heroine. At one point, DH said in disgust, "Oh, no, he's not going back to that b*tch, is he?" But of course, this being a romance, he did.

I don't have anything against b*tch heroines... I've written more than one. But a b*tch heroine (or a b*st*rd hero, for that matter) needs to grow, so that by the end of the story we understand why the character behaved that way, and are convinced that she's going to change her ways. It's also very important that the reader (or viewer, in the case of a movie) understands what the characters see in each other. In "Hitch," the hero made a speech toward the end of the movie basically saying he didn't understand why he'd fallen for the heroine. That's not good. If the writers can't figure it out, the audience isn't going to be able to, either.

My problem with "Two Weeks Notice" was that I didn't buy the transformation of the hero. My problem with "Hitch" was that there wasn't a transformation of the heroine. She started out abrasive, and she wound up abrasive. I disliked her and couldn't begin to guess what the hero saw in her. I want to see convincing character development, and I didn't find it here.

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1 comment:

  1. What did Hitch see in her? Good question. She basically lashed out at Hitch and would realistically have destroyed his clients life. She had no moral fabric, and aside from being totally gorgeous, has nothing to offer in a long term relationship. The movie was funny, but she went way over the line and should have paid the price of being alone at the end.

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