WILL Smith stars as Hitch - matchmaker extraordinaire.

He believes he can take any man and make him totally desirable to the woman of his dreams.

Not an easy task when you consider many of the men seeking his help are obese and lacking in all self confidence or slimy and downright arrogant when it comes to the opposite sex.

Although this is supposed to be a moral story about how love is blind to weight, looks or status, this idea simply doesn't work.

Hitch tells his clients that women want their guys to just be themselves and yet then proceeds to tell them how to act, what to say and what to do at all times.

The matchmaker's biggest challenge is to fix up Albert Brennaman (Kevin James), an overweight, clumsy, shy guy, with stunning society heiress Allegra.

This being a comedy, there are inevitably lots of stupid misunderstandings, made worse by the fact Hitch is dating a gossip columnist who is determined to know more about Allegra's new man.

Sadly, Hitch is just not a particularly amusing film.

It's harmless and won't offend anyone but the slapstick comedy which appears every few minutes becomes utterly tedious after a while.

HC