Film Review: Love and Other Drugs

Smart, realistic romantic comedies are hard to find, especially ones that convey an adult relationship; one recent release that came remarkably close was (500) Days of Summer. Love and Other Drugs is almost classic romantic comedy material, elevated greatly by the giant megawatt performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. However, the film's script needs another few rounds of edits before truly honing this movie into a true gem; a director sharper than Edward Zwick would also have benefitted the picture, giving the romantic comedy structure and occasional cliches a more singular edge.

Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, a true charmer and lothario who finds his calling in the world of pharmaceutical sales during the late 1990s; Hathaway plays Maggie Murdock, a wild woman afflicted by Parkinson's. As Jamie's career becomes more intense, and Maggie begins to grapple with the reality of her disease, the two begin to fall into a surprising relationship. The film's central love story works on all levels, showing a rather realistic side to love and lust; Love and Other Drugs loves its sex scenes, while Gyllenhaal and Hathaway give it their all. There are copious amounts of nudity from the two stars (both of whom have never looked more beautiful on screen), but in a way that feels organic and fun. It's never overly gratuitous, but rather an appropriate look at two people with a wonderful appetite for sex; Jamie and Maggie don't have post-coital chats with the sheets up to their chins, hiding. It's sexy and steamy, but it also informs their relationship.

The film fails in its numerous subplots that weave in and out of the central narrative, subplots that could have used serious revision. Beyond the two leads, the rest of the cast is rather throwaway, especially an unimaginative spot by the occasionally funny Josh Gad as Jamie's brother Josh; Josh's subplot is derivative and boring, more cloying than comedic. Also, the pharmaceutical elements are not developed enough to compete with the high satire found in last year's Up in the Air. Zwick, who also cowrote the screenplay, should have realized that the film works best when Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are together, and stripped away much of the extraneous goop. Thankfully, Zwick carefully shies away from hopeless melodrama, instead focusing on well-used moments of sentimentality.

The undebatable highlight of this film is the overwhelming chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Hathaway; here's hoping these two star in another film together, soon. After playing a couple in Brokeback Mountain, the two are reunited and sparks fly. Gyllenhaal is perfectly cast as the cocky and egregiously charming Jamie, still able to mine the necessary emotions behind the pretty facade; Gyllenhaal is outstanding during the film's romantic climax, further cementing his status as one of Hollywood's true young and irresistible talents. However, Hathaway is the main attraction, giving a performance both effortlessly likable and searingly passionate. Hathaway mines everything Maggie has, especially during the meatier scenes about Maggie's illness (for example, an emotionally complex moment late in the film featuring a bottle of vodka). Hathaway's giant brown eyes light up the screen, it's impossible not to follow her every move. Depending on the film's fate as a whole, this could be another Oscar nomination for Miss Hathaway. She's gorgeously depressing and fiercely irresistible.

Zwick's direction is uninspired, undermining the script's subtleties. The cinematography feels flat and boring, and many of the shots are predictable. With a different director, Love and Other Drugs would have been a much better film, maintaining the romantic energy while giving a more solid aesthetic base. Love and Other Drugs still offers some big laugh, buff bodies, and heartbreakingly beautiful moments, a giddy story of falling in love that will have you tearing up; it's entertaining, touching, obscenely sexy, and always engaging, even at its messiest moments. The final scene is perfection, slight melancholy and bright joy laced together in equal measure. It's worth the price of admission alone to see Gyllenhaal and Hathaway, soaking up every second of the other's presence; what was disheartening for me was seeing a much better, solid-A film at the core of this movie, the type of solid-A romance Gyllenhaal and Hathaway deserve. B