Review of Love & Other Drugs (2010) by Greg B — 30 Jul 2011

Love And Other Drugs is about a pharmaceutical salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who meets a young woman (Anne Hathaway) who has Parkinson's disease. At first, they are just F-buddies, trying to lose themselves in sex so that they can forget their situations. However, love happens and then things get complicated because Hathaway's character knows her condition will not get any better and wants to be alone.

Dancing between comedy and drama, there are refreshing moments in the movie. When the film shows you the inside of pharmaceutical sales, you get an idea of why the healthcare industry is so messed up. Then, when you hear the honest talk from a man who's wife has had Parkinson's disease for 30+ years, you might wonder to yourself what you would do if you were in Gyllenhaal's shoes.

The problem with Love And Other Drugs though is that it takes the honest situations it begins with and goes Hollywood on you towards the end. Had Love stayed on its original course, went more drama than comedy/Hollywood, it had the premise of a great character study. However, I realize, by doing so it would not have been a date type of movie and would not have been aimed at the audience it wanted to capture.