Film Review: Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal Sell Out in Unbearable ‘Love and Other Drugs’

Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 24, 2010 - 12:49pm

CHICAGO – “Love and Other Drugs” celebrates everything that is wrong with America, wrapped in a package with two “it” stars doing a disservice to their emerging careers. The love depicted is random and somewhat damaged. The drugs are simply a cynical proclamation on how great Big Pharma is.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Jamie, an only-in-the-movies stud who opens the film working in a stereo store in the mid-1990s (lots of boom box jokes). He is sacked for diddling a co-worker while he should be selling components, even though he’s the top salesman. He laments his fate back at home with brother Josh (Josh Gad), physician father (George Segal) and mother (the late Jill Clayburgh, deserving better). Apparently the doofus Josh is a software millionaire (the new go-to character) and has connections that can get Jamie a job as a pharmaceutical salesman.

He begins training with Pfizer Pharmaceutical. We know that because the rest of the film is basically an infomercial for the company. He goes through the Rocky-like montage of training, which is painfully embarrassing for adults, and emerges with a territory that is selling Zoloft, a psychotropic drug. On his beat is a vulgar partner, Bruce (Oliver Platt, cashing a paycheck), who gives him tips that are basically reasons for Jamie to score with all the receptionists, including Cindy (Judy Greer). It is through her that he able to throw away rival drug Prozac from the sample area, and infiltrate superstar doctor Stan Knight (Hank Azaria).

While Jamie pitches his wares to Dr. Knight, while pretending to be an intern, a stunningly attractive patient, an artist named Maggie (Anne Hathaway) is in for a check-up. It seems she has first stage Parkinson’s Disease, and also gets to flash her breast at the doctor and fake intern at the same time. This is the “Meet Cute” for Jamie and Maggie’s romance.

In the midst of the wooing, the very naked lovemaking and Jamie’s brother coming to shack up with him (which all software millionaires would do), Viagra is invented and rolled to the soft world. Jamie’s money-making abilities go through the roof and his relationship with Maggie deepens. Will Parkinson’s, Viagra and an ability to get pristine video quality in the 1990s as they tape their lovemaking get the couple over their obstacles? I guess so.

Is this suppose to be the feel-good film that will make us forget the recession? A crass reminder that a sex drug for males is the second coming of pharmaceutical Jeebus? This film is fake, crudely cavalier about how females are observed and completely and utterly false. Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

”Love and Other Drugs” opens everywhere on November 24th. Featuring Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Judy Greer, George Segal, Jill Clayburgh and Josh Gad. Screenplay by Charles Randolph, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz,
directed by Edward Zwick. Rated “R”