Love & Other Drugs (***½)

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, Gebriel Macht, Judy Greer

Seen: January 30^th 2011

***½ Out of ****

Love & Other Drugs is definitely one of the better romance movies I’ve seen, with a bit of great comedy sprinkled in as well. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway share a palpable chemistry, and the audience is rooting for them to “work out” from the first time their two characters are introduced.

Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) is a smooth-talking ladies man who gets fired from his job as an electronics salesman for sleeping with his boss’ girlfriend. His rich brother Josh (Gad) gets him a job as a medical rep for Pfizer after quite a colourful and interesting family dinner, and from here it is as if Jamie finds his true calling. It does take him a little while to lock into his style of selling, but once he gets there, you forget that he ever had any trouble starting off. He is Pfizer’s salesman for Zoloft and Zithromax, and he does all he can to get his product in with influential Dr. Knight (Azaria), even if that means seducing Cindy (Greer), Dr. Knight’s assistant. His big break in the rep business comes when he gets a new drug, the by now infamous Viagra, which, coupled with his womanising ways, is his dream product.

On a sales trip to the doctor’s offices, Jamie accompanies the doctor into a consultation, where he meets Maggie Murdock (Hathaway), who suffers from early onset Parkinson’s disease. The two start off with sparks flying, and these sparks pretty much never stops as the two embark on a “no-strings-attached” physical relationship. Maggie has her defences up against commitment because she doesn’t need the guy bailing after making her fall in love because of her disease, and Jamie’s nature is the seduction game. They grow closer however, and they certainly don’t make things that easy for each other. Jamie persists though, and what follows is raw and beautiful romance the likes of which I haven’t seen in movies for many years.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are both brilliant actors, and they continue that trend in Love & Other Drugs, presenting two messed-up people who find a certain solace in each other. The two spend quite a lot of time together sans clothing in fairly steamy embraces, from there the 16LSN rating, and this is Anne Hathaway continuing her violent break-away from her image shaped from her early movies such as The Princess Diaries. Oliver Platt, as Bruce, Jamie’s mentor and partner in the rep world, does what he does best, another impersonation of himself (I don’t know him, so that statement might be inaccurate, but I still like the actor), while Hank Azaria creates a slightly sad and oddly influential Dr. Knight. The supporting cast all do their bit, Josh Gad as Jamie’s socially inept but very wealthy brother; Judy Greer as the giddy assistant Cindy; and Gabriel Macht as Jamie’s drug sales competitor.

Love & Other Drugs is among the top romance movies I’ve ever seen, as it knows what it wants to say and it doesn’t sugar-coat the relationship in any way. We all may know what’s on the way, but we’re rooting for the couple all along…