Love and Other Drugs

So I had wanted to see this movie since I saw the trailer because I usually like Jake Gyllenhaal (except Prince of Persia ) and the movie's premise looked quite promising. I also looked forward to seeing Anne Hathaway in another mature role. The movie opened up in the number 6 slot and has made over $23 million which is a nice chunk of the $30 million budget.

The movie is about an extremely charming ladies' man turned pharmaceutical sales rep during the big drug boom. He is the man who can't be tied down and meets the woman who wants anything but to tie him down. They start an unusual relationship and we are taken along for the ride.

The plot is very believable and the two main characters are surprisingly multi-dimensional. The story arches and their timing, are a little bit improbable, but hey it is a movie afterall. The dialogue was great in the movie and very witty. There was some great unexpected humor. The supporting characters were a little bit stereotypical and cliched, but the two main characters made up for it. There was tons of sex in this movie. I found it very realistic and it didn't shy away from what it's really like to be in a relationship of that nature.

The movie was filmed nicely and - of course - there was a great soundtrack. The costumes and sets were in keeping with the time period and was very flattering on the two leads.

Jake and Anne did just a superb job with these roles. Jake is at his most charming in this movie, and also pulls off some genuine vulnerability. His character's motives and actions may have been sitting on the fence between believable and hollywood endings, but for the most part he was completely genuine. Anne did a stellar job. She not only had to deal with the physical performance of a character with early onset Parkinson's disease, she had to break out the big dramatics and constant nudity. Easy tasks by no means. She definitely went all out with this character and it shows. Her actions and motives were more believable than Jake's and she was given more material to pull off a more dramatic performance. I don't think she necessarily outshined him though. They had great chemistry and were perfect in these roles.

The movie was believable - especially in the beginning and middle - and turned out to be quite sweet. The ending may have been a little bit cliched, but hey I won't count off for it. There was a whole bunch of sex in this movie, but I guess it's obvious from the title. It was almost a little too much for my taste to see in the theater - or at least should've been a date movie. It would make a great rental ;) If you're a Jake Gyllenhaal fan, then I'd definitely recommend this film or perhaps if you'd like to see Anne Hathaway shatter her Princess Diaries image. It was a mature look at a relationship and the complexities of modern life. It was cute and I'm glad I saw it. "I bet pfizer is swelling with pride with it's new drug to beat this hard problem American men are facing" -- Love and Other Drugs