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Will Smith has a list of memorable performances, whether it’s fighting aliens in the Men in Black films, his Oscar-winning role as Venus and Serena Williams’ dad in the cast of King Richard, or a down-on-his-luck salesman in The Pursuit of Happyness. But we can’t forget about the time he played a “date doctor” in one of the top box office films of 2005, Hitch. As the rom-com just hit its 20th anniversary, there’s a fascinating story behind one scene of the movie Smith had to be “begged” to film.
Hitch is truly an example of a laugh-out-loud comedy with so many hilarious scenes. Ones that come to mind include when Hitch is trying to teach his client, Albert, how to kiss, and when Albert is showing Hitch his not-so-smooth dance moves. However, one of my favorite scenes from the New York-set rom-com was when Hitch goes on his first date with Sara Melas to Ellis Island and it goes horribly wrong. If you can believe it, Business Insider’s interview with Hitch director Andy Tennant revealed Will Smith was “begged” to shoot this one iconic scene, and here’s why:
My writing partner Rick Parks and I wrote the Ellis Island scene because friends of mine who live in New York had never been out to Ellis Island. So we did the date at Ellis Island, the Jet Ski, the whole thing. Will didn’t want to do it because he said Black people didn’t come through Ellis Island. I begged him to come out to Ellis Island so I could at least pitch it. It was me, Will, some of the production people, and Will’s producing partner, James Lassiter, who is his best friend. So I’m trying to save the sequence, and lo and behold, we find out that James’ family came through Ellis Island. So that’s why that scene is in the movie.
It looks like Will Smith learned a little something about history through his experiences filming Hitch. While it’s a widely held belief that Black Americans did not pass through Ellis Island or play a role in the immigration waves of the 20th century, African-American filmmaker James Lassiter proves that’s a historical misunderstanding if his own family came through Ellis Island.
You could argue an Ellis Island first date is an original idea for Hitch attempting to give Sara an emotional and personal experience specifically about her family’s origins. Andy Tennant admits that what was originally written as a sweet date scene actually got reworked into the comedy fiasco we saw in the final cut:
The way Rick and I wrote it was as a romantic scene. But Susannah Grant [who was hired on the movie as a script doctor] was in town on a day we were talking about the scene, and she was the one who said it should go horribly wrong. We started riffing on Hitch kicking Sara in the head and the Butcher of Cádiz, that all came from a fun afternoon lunch riff of what else we could do with that scene. The other thing everyone was worried about was that Will can’t swim, so they didn’t want to put a $20 million movie star in the water. And Will was like, ‘No, just give me the life vest.’
That’s actually brilliant to have Hitch and Sara’s first date be a disaster since the overly-confident “date doctor” seems to think he has enough game to charm women. Giving Sara a head injury when accidentally kicking her off her jet ski, and then making her re-live a tragic family legacy with “The Butcher of Cádiz” was classic! All of these elements definitely helped make the Ellis Island scene more memorable compared to a typical romantic date.
My favorite part of the Ellis Island scene was the twist of Eva Mendes exploding into angry tears after Hitch points out her grandfather as one of the listed immigrants who came through, only to find out from her he was a murderer. As for Andy Tennant, he has his own favorite part that he’s watched “a thousand times:”
My favorite bit about that whole thing is it’s almost like Eva pauses midair after Will kicks her before she hits the water. I have watched that scene a thousand times. I don’t understand how she was able to pause before going into the water.
Eva Mendes really did show excellent comedic timing in that scene. Her pausing mid-air definitely helped convey the unexpected shock and surprise of literally getting kicked off of her jet ski by Hitch. I wonder if that pause was written in the script like that. It’s a good thing there were those life vests.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Hitch tickets were selling fast on Valentine’s Day mid-week. Talk about feeling old here! Will Smith made sure to commemorate the occasion on his Instagram post filled with your favorite scenes from the movie, behind-the-scenes videos and photos from the premiere:
It’s a good thing that the creative team behind Hitch “begged” Will Smith to shoot the Ellis Island scene or we would have missed out on one of the funniest moments of the movie. With Andy Tennant revealing the Oscar-winning actor is developing a sequel, I’m curious what other romantic hijinks the smooth-talking consultant will take on. Until then, you can watch Hitch with your Peacock subscription.