'Love and Other Drugs' Movie Review

Love and Other Drugs, an end-of-the-year release that came out of nowhere, divided the preview audience at the advance screening I attended. Complaints about the film seemed mostly to stem from its perceived manipulation of the audience, how it does everything possible to pull at your heartstrings, and how it doesn't succeed because it's trying too hard. And I get where those complaints are coming from. I understand why some people will be turned off by this emotional story that uses dark humor and lots of sex in exploring two damaged people. But I'm not one of the naysayers. For me, Love and Other Drugs was an easy pill to swallow, a smartly written love story featuring terrific performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. It's a real breath of fresh air and a welcome departure from the silly recycled rom-coms we're subjected to far, far too often.

Love and Other Drugs is very loosely based on Jamie Reidy's autobiography, Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, a book which had no romantic comedy elements and in which a character like the one Hathaway plays is nowhere to be found. What screenwriters Marshall Herskovitz and Charles Randolph used from Reidy's memoir was the basics on being a drug salesman, the cutthroat nature of the business, and the behind-the-scenes manipulation of doctors that patients never get to observe. They used that as the jumping off point and from there went an entirely different direction. In doing so, they created an offbeat love story with an edge, one that's believable, relatable, and although it does touch on a few of the standard romantic comedy conventions (including the requisite meet-cute), one that charts its own path often enough to distinguish it from the herd.

The Story

Gyllenhaal stars as Jamie Randall, a handsome womanizer who finds his calling when he moves from being an electronics salesman seducing women in the back room to being a pharmaceutical rep for Pfizer. The new job allows him to screw many more people in various and sundry ways, and Jamie - after a brief period of adjustment - excels at his new job. Under the guidance of a veteran salesman (Oliver Platt) who knows the ins and outs of the business but doesn't have the good looks or rakish charm of his young charge, Jamie quickly learns the ropes. He figures out who he needs to brown-nose, who he needs to seduce, and who can best help him get ahead in the business and thus get promoted out of a small market and into a big one.

Jamie has no problem getting women to go to bed with him, but after meeting an attractive patient of one of the doctors he's trying to schmooze, he's left a little off-balance and off his game. He feels a real connection with this brash, straight-talking beauty who wants sex but not a relationship. In Maggie Murdock (Hathaway), Jamie's found a female version of himself.

But Jamie soon finds himself wanting to be with Maggie as something more than a sexual partner. He wants more than to just share a bed with her every so often whenever they happen to have a night free that coincides. He's feeling something he's never experienced before, falling for this intelligent albeit damaged woman. However Maggie's serious about not looking for love or a commitment. Maggie has Parkinson's disease and the physical and emotional toll that has taken on her has left her unwilling to allow anyone to get too close.

Because this is a romantic comedy, and because it would be a total bummer if they didn't admit they care for each other enough to step outside their comfort zones, they do get together. For a while Love and Other Drugs allows them to be happy, but Maggie's Parkinson's and Jamie's history of leaving put a shared future in jeopardy.

The Acting

Hank Azaria, Gabriel Macht, Josh Gad, and Katheryn Winnick fill supporting roles and do just fine, but this is Hathaway and Gyllenhaal's film all the way. Hathaway, who's been impressive in her recent film choices, delivers an awards-worthy performance. Hathaway is bold, fearless and beautiful, handling the character's medical and emotional issues without ever allowing the material to get away from her. And Gyllenhaal, who's never looked better on the big screen, shows a real maturity as a player who finds himself exploring new relationship territory. The two played a married couple in Brokeback Mountain and that familiarity may have helped them achieve the level of comfort needed to go as far as they've been pushed in Love and Other Drugs. The chemistry is there; they play well off of each other, and they feel natural as a couple.

The Bottom Line

Love and Other Drugs may turn off some moviegoers because of the amount of nudity and sex throughout the film. If you're offended by either, then you'll want to avoid this R-rated romantic comedy. Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal spend a good deal of time in various stages of undress, however the sex isn't gratuitous. Every scene is tastefully shot and every R-rated moment serves a purpose.

It's intelligent and very funny, with Gad as Gyllenhaal's brother delivering comic relief when things get too heavy. And what saves it from getting bogged down and turning into a cliche-ridden middle-of-the-road genre piece - it has all the earmarks of one of those with its 'boy meets girl, gets girl, loses girl, must fight to get girl back' scenario - is how connected it is to its lead characters, how committed Hathaway and Gyllenhaal are in playing the characters, how complicated the road is the couple has been set on, and the daring way it approaches someone with a serious medical condition without sugarcoating the issue.

And for the men who aren't into rom-coms and get dragged to this one, take heart. As emotionally wrenching as it is, Love and Other Drugs isn't a chick flick. It's the story of a womanizing Viagra salesman who encounters a single lady who rivals him in the desire for nothing more than hot, casual sex. And did I mention Anne Hathaway gets naked? See, it's not a film just for women. But pushing it as the film in which we see a lot of Hathaway and Gyllenhaal's flesh is doing the movie an injustice. There's much more to this complicated love story than attractive naked bodies.

Love and Other Drugs is the right antidote to a year of overwhelmingly disappointing romantic comedies.

GRADE: A-

Love and Other Drugs was directed by Edward Zwick and is rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, and some drug material.

Theatrical Release Date: November 24, 2010

This review is based on a screening provided by the studio. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.