Love and Other Drugs (2010)
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, and Josh Gad
Directed by Edward Zwick
When womanizing drug rep Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) travels to Ohio for his new job with Pfizer, he meets Maggie (Anne Hathaway), a no-nonsense gal whose dry humor and unabashed affinity for sex seem to be a perfect fit for him. Things aren't ideal, though, as Maggie has been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease which any movie-watcher will know will turn this rather nice adult romantic comedy into quite a downer by the film's end. And that's the problem with Love and Other Drugs, a film that works surprisingly well for its first hour and then never quite finds its footing during its final half when it unsuccessfully attempts to pull at my emotional heartstrings.
I'm not afraid to admit that Jake Gyllenhaal's Jamie is charming here. It's not surprising to see why Anne Hathaway's Maggie who was adamant about not being in a "relationship" quickly falls for him. Hathaway also exudes a wry sense of humor and isn't the least bit hesitant to show off her body (which certainly won't garner complaints from me). The two of them have a good chemistry here during the film's first more humorous half. Their two light-hearted personalities mesh quite well together. However, neither Gyllenhaal nor Hathaway pulled me in enough to really give a damn when the film veered towards the dramatic during the final 45 minutes.
It certainly doesn't help that the two actors are forced to change seemingly with the snap of the director and screenwriter's fingers from lighthearted romance to melodramatic disease-of-the-week Lifetime movie. What should have ultimately been touching and moving doesn't work because it feels like we're watching two separate movies (and that's more the fault of director Ed Zwick and the trio of screenwriters including Zwick himself). It also doesn't help that the latter half is peppered with unnecessary and poorly written jabs at the state of the American health care system. These asides just come off as silly and desperate.
Still, I genuinely liked Love and Other Drugs for about an hour. I found myself laughing at Gyllenhaal, Hathaway, and side players like Oliver Platt as Jamie's co-worker and Josh Gad as Jamie's brother (a character plopped into the film only to provide laughs...something I usually hate, but really kind of liked here). I just wish the second half could have resonated with me instead of falling flat.
The RyMickey Rating: C
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