Will Smith‘s the go-to guy when studios want to celebrate Independence Day–or any other weekend in July–with a loud bang.
But during the remaining months of the year, Smith‘s yet to experience the same Big Willie-style triumphs.
That could all change with Hitch, Smith‘s Valentine’s Day gift to lovey-dovey couples everywhere. The romantic comedy represents Smith‘s first attempt to make hearts flutter since 1993’s Made in America.
Smith‘s always employed his cocky sense of humor to defuse tense situations in his action extravaganzas. But perhaps he’s waited so long to do take a role strictly for laughs as a means to distance himself from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The easygoing PG-rated rapper was so identified with the squeaky-clean sitcom in the early 1990s that his persuasive turn as a gay social-climbing sociopath in 1993’s Six Degrees of Separation generated gushing profiles galore.
Not that Smith built upon the promise he showed in Six Degrees of Separation. Instead, Smith sought to show off his macho side by teaming with another unlikely would-be action hero, Martin Lawrence, for Bad Boys. Turned out everyone loves a bad boy–two, in this case. The Miami-set shoot-’em-up–released in April 1995–made potential movies stars out of its sitcom staples, and put down-on-their-luck über-producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson back on every Hollywood executive’s speed dial.
Most important, Bad Boys paved the way for Smith to save mankind in Independence Day.
ID4‘s global domination of the box office in 1996–$819.1 million total–owed little to Smith‘s E.T.-bashing fly boy. All the glory goes to a brash trailer punctuated by the indelible sight of an alien spacecraft obliterating the White House. But Smith reaped the benefits, and ID4 lead to another tussle with unfriendly visitors from outer space, 1997’s Men in Black.
Like ID4, Men in Black arrived in theaters on the eve of July 4th. Smith suddenly owned that long holiday weekend.
The third time wasn’t quite the charm for Smith. Warner Bros. opened Wild Wild West in late June days before the July 4th, 1999, weekend. The goofy western tallied a respectable opening, but one much weaker than either ID4 or Men in Black. To no one’s surprise, director Barry Sonnenfeld’s bloated take on the old TV series quickly sank under its own weight, but not before Smith‘s scored his fourth consecutive film to crack $100 million.
Smith sandwiched Enemy of the State between Men in Black and Wild Wild West. The conspiracy thriller opened in time for Thanksgiving 1998, and by grossing a terrific $111.5 million, created the perception that Smith could be a superstar of all seasons.
Wrong.
After the debacle that was Wild Wild West, Smith abandoned special effects-driven spectacles to showcase his acting range in two sports-themed dramas.
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Robert Redford‘s flighty golf fantasy The Legend of Bagger Vance never made the cut despite a cast that included Matt Damon. Ali hit theaters with a punch on Christmas Day 2001–taking in a still-record $10.2 million–but failed to go the distance after Smith received lukewarm reviews for his portrayal of the boxing great.
Smith earned an Oscar nomination for his troubles, but the back-to-back end-of-year flops had him against the ropes. So he came out swinging with two sequels set for release in-you guessed it–July.
He re-teamed with Tommy Lee Jones for 2002’s Men in Black II, which enjoyed as strong an opening over the July 4th holiday weekend as its predecessor and ID4. The sequel ultimately failed to prove as popular as either Men in Black or ID4, but it confirmed Smith to be as much a July 4th fixture as apple pie and fireworks.
The bloodbath that was Bad Boys II was Smith‘s first July offering to open after Independence Day. The R-rating hurt Bad Boys II‘s ability to draw preteens who adored Men in Black, but the sequel to Smith‘s first hit solidified his standing as July’s sure thing.
Smith enjoyed the biggest opening of his career when I, Robot marched into theaters with $52.1 million in mid-July 2004.
Hitch isn’t likely to top that career-high opening, or match the $47 million that Shark Tale–the computer-animated fish fight featuring Smith‘s voice–swam off with in October 2004. (Not that Shark Tale stands as a true test of Smith‘s appeal: the underwater yarn came with a built-in audience of kids obsessed with Finding Nemo.)
But like Shark Tale, Hitch offers a side to Smith that moviegoers should find undeniably appealing. Even though he’s upstaged by the riotous Kevin James, Smith is at ease as a born romantic eager to play Cupid for men unlucky in love. He and Eva Mendes also make a charming couple, and that should have women dragging their sweethearts to see Hitch this Valentine’s Day weekend.
Also in Smith‘s favor: the past two Valentine’s Day weekends have produced the romantic runaway hits How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003; $105.8 million) and 50 First Dates (2004; $120.9 million).
The Bottom Line:
Smith will feel the love this Valentine’s Day when women swoon over Hitch, guaranteeing him his first non-July live-action smash since 1998’s Enemy of the State. July will always belong to Smith, but thanks to Hitch, the rest of the year should start to treat him as kindly.
