Review of Love & Other Drugs (2010) by Rebekah M — 26 Jun 2012

I actually really enjoyed this movie, and I know that many people felt mislead in what the movie was, but I actually preferred what it was compared to how it was advertised. I did find that this movie wasn't always sure what it wanted to be, and was a bit muddled between being a comedy and a drama, but most of the time they did get it right, and although near the end, it loses track and becomes slightly more generic and cheesey, it jumps right back on and the end for a classic, memorable romantic ending. This film has a great cast, and some really funny scenes, but also some really moving scenes, and it was like watching the superior version of No Strings Attached.

Our two main characters have such great chemistry, and it was such a joy to watch when they were on screen, and due to the context of the film it always has this moving undertone, and it just feels so real, but also feels romantic, which seems to lack in a lot of rom-coms nowadays as they always concentrate so much on the comedy, and the gross-out moments, but when you actually get some real moments in there, it really does improve the movie. There were other side characters, who all seemed to share the same amount of limelight, and never overshadowed the main two, and they were just brilliant performances given by Gyllenhaal and Hathaway. Hathaway especially, who gave a moving and desperate portrayal of someone who makes the most of what she has, but is always aware of what is to come, and it really is heartbreaking to watch in a few scenes.

Something else I liked was the setting, and as it was set agianst the introduction of Viagra in the 1990s, so much more could be done with the story, and there was this historical background, which made it that little bit more interesting, as they could have a side story running with the mian love story, that was actually interesting, and I found it quite interesting to see how the business worked, and how it all started. Added to this was the fact that it is a well known fact, in my opinon, that a lot of our classic love stories and rom-coms came from the 90s era, and the end of the 80s, with Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail, and When Harry Met Sally- and this film seems to act as an omage to those movies, and as the film started to close it really had this nostalgic feel to it, and I really do like the Hanks- Ryan movies, and this one really did come close to them for me, as it just had this warmth, but also this originality of adding this particular other aspect to the story also, that just made the film iso much more interesting, and invested within the characters.

The only problems I had with the movie is that three-quarters of the way into the movie, it has a few scenes to show that time has passed between a relationship, and these scenes just seem to drag the movie, and also just feel a little pointless, and add nothing to the story, and only seem to be there to end Gyllenhaal's brothers story, which I was never really bothered about, and I just felt that I wanted to get back to the main story in hand, and that I needed to know what was going to happen, which is almost a positive. The other problem I had was that there were a few scenes where it didn't know whether it wanted to be a comedy or a full on drama, and I really liked the drama, and I mostly really liked the comedy, but at thebeginning it sets out to be a energetic comedy, but actually, ten minutes later it compeltely reversed, and although I preferred the direction I went in, it just made the first 15 minutes or so just feel a bit odd.

Overall, this is one of the best romances I have seen a while, as it balances drama and comedy well, for the most part, and simply works due to the great performances given by Gyllenhaal and Hathaway, and their chemistry lifts this movie, and shows there are no bounds in love, but also acts as a 90s omage, and has this great nostalgic feel. A really funny and moving movie.