The Big Itch of "One Small Hitch"

Perhaps I am a romantic with romantic films....not in the sense of getting overwhelmed by the climactic love scenes  but in my belief of their potential to portray human relationships the way the really are: sour at times as well as sweet, often one-sided but with a genuine push to restore them to their mutual sanctity, and fearful as well as fearless.  Some romance films do indeed, believe it or not, present the challenges, the tribulations, the disappointments and the simple pleasures of romance quite vividly and accurately.  Others fall dramatically short of expectations

On the outside, One Small Hitch shares a lot in common with The Proposal (the last film I reviewed).  In both films, the guy and gal protagonists pretend to be engaged and have to do awkward things to demonstrate their "faux amour" toward one another.  For The Proposal, the goal is to deceive immigration officials and for One Small Hitch, the goal is to provide the would-be groom's terminally ill father an ounce of happiness in the final chapter of his life.

The big difference is that the deception in One Small Hitch is more than just the "sham engagement" itself...it runs deep within the relationship.  The guy character Josh (played by Shane McRae) notifies his parents of his "engagement" to the girl character Molly (played by Aubrey Dollar), an old family friend, without her even agreeing first.  And he does this after meeting her at the airport, where she has just ended an engagement of her own after being cheated on.  Granted, Molly does agree after the fact, but it's only after he guilts her into doing it and while on a plane, where she can't really physically escape anywhere.

Message #1 to guys (from the film): snatch a girl quickly while she's on her rebound, and you just might be able to get her to do anything.

If that were the only issue with the film's deception, it may have had the potential to redeem itself, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.  Several times Molly wants to call off the scam but is egged on to just suck it up and get on with it...first by circumstance (her mother is getting married and she doesn't want to ruin her wedding with news of the deception), then by her social standing ("wow!  he gave you that beautiful ring of his grandmother's!  he must really love you!"), and ultimately by her own deception to herself that she can't do better than him anyway, which leads us to...

Message #2 to guys (from the film): if you can't compel a woman to do something that is advantageous to you, other forces (society, her friends even) will.

As far as how much the sham engagement inconveniences Josh, there is but one example.  He meets another lady friend from his past, starts to catch up with her, but is pulled away by a relative who informs this lady of the news that he's already taken.  But not to worry for Josh, he ends up "reconnecting" with her anyway and it's incidentally right as Molly is starting to fall from him (if she hadn't already started to from moment one of the film).

Yes he does eventually call off his relationship with the other girl as he falls in love with Molly, but the other girl (Gieselle) is the one who plays the role of "close confidant"...the one that urges him to forgo his playboy ways and go get the girl! (as if she never had any investment in her relationship with him and was simply there to satisfy his desires).

He even brings Giselle along in his quest to "go get the girl" Molly at the hospital, where his father has just been admitted.  At the sight, Molly decks him right in the nose  but then immediately forgives him and accepts his [real] proposal for marriage

Message #3 to guys (from the film): you can be an asshole and not lose....as long as you're willing to get punched in the face.

So I have to make decorations for this
sham marriage of yours too?

Interestingly, the worst part of the film isn't even the messages the film sends but rather a filler scene after Molly gives up trying to find someone other than Josh.  She and her friend go shopping and try on all these ridiculous looking outfits, and I'm not sure if they even had a reason to purchase clothes.  And speaking of deception, the fact that Capital Cities' incredibly bouncy tune Safe and Sound plays during this ordeal deceives the viewer into thinking that this scene plays a real role in the narrative.  While it doesn't appear to be product placement for any particular brand of clothes, it clearly (like so many other films of the genre) portrays shopping as the cure-all for any sort of emotional irresolution.

The only redeeming factor of this movie is the acting of Aubrey Dollar who portrays Molly's awkwardness, frustration, and strong-willed nature quite effectively, but you would think that the writer of this film could have given her more opportunities to be more at her own will and less at the mercy of others.

Final Verdict: Both BAD and UGLY

Most awkward part of having no-kissing scenes: We go from proposal straight to the delivery room of the first baby, which is even more awkward because it seems to confirm the rumors throughout the film that Molly was DWP (Drinking While Pregnant).