Love & Other Drugs
by Dante Rosario on November 27th, 2010
The Players: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, Judy Greer, George Segal, and Katherine Winnick.
The Game Plan: Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a smooth talking playboy who’s used to getting everything he wants. When circumstances change and Jamie finds himself at a point in his life where he is both jobless and directionless, he decides to take a job opportunity as a pharmaceutical sales rep. After discovering his new job isn’t going to be a walk in the park, Jamie takes an opportunity to shadow Dr. Stan Knight (Hank Azaria) to help him beat the competition and propel his sales. Through his association with Dr. Knight, Jamie meets one of his patients, a free spirited young woman with a lust for life named Maggie (Anne Hathaway). As their relationship evolves Maggie and Jamie realize they may need each other more than they ever imagined.
Dante’s Thoughts: This film should have been titled Sex & Other Drugs since the first half of the movie was the type of film you find late night on Skinamax. …Seriously, after the way this movie started, I thought the two main characters were going to be naked the entire time. Despite the beginning, the plot of this movie does a great job pulling together several fairly heavy real-life topics that gives the audience a pretty good idea of what the life of a pharmaceutical sales rep is like; the less glorious side of being a doctor; the intense popularity of Viagra; and the difficulties of having a loved one affected by a life altering disease. Even with all the drama, the plot has a great mix of comedy to balance it all out… Basically what I’m saying is, there’s a lot that viewers can take away from this film.
The acting was decent all around… the only real twist for me was Anne Hathaway’s performance as a free spirited young woman living her life without commitments, was a little stronger than Jake Gyllenhaal’s turn as the charming playboy who unexpectedly meets the love of his life just as his new fast paced career is beginning. In a sense Maggie is more like the traditional male character in this type of romance, and Jamie is like the girl.
Touchdowns: The best play of the day was the balance between the drama and the comedy…there’s a little something for almost everyone in the audience to enjoy and relate to in this film. I say almost everyone, because I wasn’t kidding when I said the first half of this movie is like watching Skinamax.
Penalties: The only flag is against the weak portrayal of Jamie’s life as a pharmaceutical sales rep. You get that he has a great love life, and that the explosion of the drug Viagra allows Jamie to rise through the ranks to become a top sales rep, but you aren’t shown the many transitions Jamie goes through to get there. At one point Jamie is struggling to build his client list, and then suddenly he is killing it as the best sales rep in the region. It almost seemed like the film didn’t have enough time to tell the audience how it all happened?
The Game-Winner: “Love & Other Drugs” is a relatively powerful and well-told story with a strong cast and good acting…so if you’re looking for a solid date movie to tide you over during the long holiday weekend, this is definitely it.
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Pretty much agree with how you rate this movie, not bad but at the same time not great… Not really a Jake fan to begin with so had low expectations going in.