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Love and Other Drugs (2010)

Director: Edward Zwick

Time Out rating

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6 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is one smooth man about town. We first meet him when he’s a sales assistant using amateur psychology to woo pretty customers. Fired for sleeping with the boss’s girlfriend, Jamie discovers the perfect outlet for his cheerful charm: pharmaceutical sales. Taking a trainee job as a rep for Pfizer, Jamie doorsteps doctors and seduces receptionists in an attempt to sell his wares. First he’s flogging Zoloft, but when Viagra’s possibilities as a sex drug emerge, he’s first in line to push it – and his popularity soars.

Inspired by former rep Jamie Reidy’s book ‘Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman’, the film takes an entertaining, breezily cynical look at the tricks of the pharmaceutical trade. But that’s the drugs stuff – what of love? The tone shifts after Jamie meets commitment-shy artist Maggie (Anne Hathaway). At first they banter and bed each other (a lot). Then Jamie starts to question his lifestyle; the L-word is mentioned. Oh, and she has early-onset Parkinson’s disease. And so it morphs from macho career comedy into sexy romcom-turned-romantic weepie.

It’s like two or three films stapled together – imagine channel-hopping between ‘Wall Street’, ‘Pretty Woman’ and ‘Sweet November’. Editing choices are perplexing: subplots and characters appear forgotten then hastily revisited out of context. ‘Love and Other Drugs’ is not an unpleasant experience – it has charming leads and a fitfully witty script. It also shows you more of Gyllenhaal and Hathaway than you’ve seen before, should that be of interest. But it has so much going on it fails to develop any of its strands satisfactorily. Ultimately, the unsettled tone undermines the romantic conclusion. Still, you’ve got to admire the ambition it shares with its cocky hero. Not many films would follow a Parkinson’s convention with a Viagra-fuelled sex party.

Author: Anna Smith

Time Out London Issue 2106: 30 December 2010 - 5 January 2011

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Robert Thornton said...

Posted on Jul 24 2011 22:15 Sadly you can't mix rom-com with pathos, you go for something like Love Story or something lightweight. Could have dropped the brother as it became annoying and silly. I don't see Ann Hathaway as stunningly beautiful, she has a face like a clown.

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Mike said...

Posted on Jan 15 2011 07:53 Fairly predictable, though consistently amusing story. I was fairly bored several times. Overly long by about 10-15 minutes. Worth no more than 2 stars.

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on Jan 07 2011 20:48 Rapid (though still 5 min too long) surprisingly deep crowd pleaser. Not one for prudes though...too much crudity and ott nudity. Good start to the (cinema going) year. 7/10

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long cat said...

Posted on Jan 07 2011 14:09 Quite an enjoyable romp (pun intended)and we see a seedier side of goodytwo shoes Anne Hathaway. Some of the sex scenes were a little pointless but overall satisfying

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Gregg Bowen said...

Posted on Jan 04 2011 12:46 Really can't make my mind up about this film. Ann Hathaway is stunningly beautiful and it's a love story with a difference and a conscience
Did not like J Gad as Gyllenhaal's brother and proves that fat does not automatically mean funny!
The scene where Gylenhaal is chasing Hathaway on the bus in his Porsche is a real cliche but the movie is watchable...

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