I’m not a big fan of movies that just haven’t quite determined what they want to be. They begin one way and then suddenly do a 180 and I find myself watching a movie that is totally unlike the one I started with. Granted there are times this works, most notable in mysteries. But a movie that begins as a romantic comedy that turns into heavy drama is not a combination that works. Thus is the problem with LOVE & OTHER DRUGS.
Jake Gyllenhaall is Jamie Randall, a smooth talking operator with an eye for beautiful women but on the short stack when it comes to handling a successful career or future. His brother Josh (Josh Gand) is a successful investor and his parents are two top people in the medical field. So what is Josh’s problem?
Put in touch by his brother with the folks at Pfizer, Jake takes on the improbably job of pharmaceutical sales man. He goes to classes, beds the instructor and is assigned to another agent (Oliver Platt) to help him along. Jamie applies his own knowledge and skills to get him into the good graces of Dr. Stan Knight (Hank Azaria), a doctor whose approval would result in other doctors following suit and choosing Jamie’s drugs over those of his competitor.
In his attempt to sway the doctor, Jamie passes along cash for the chance of following him through a single day. During that time he sits in on a patient consultation. Her name is Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) and she’s there just to get her prescriptions filled. She knows her problems, symptoms and likelihood of success but has little hope. She has Parkinson’s disease. She’s unusually young for this, but knows what to expect.
When Maggie catches Jamie as a salesman instead of the intern he claimed to be, she gets angry. Then she finds herself attracted to him. And then the pair becomes full time lovers with no attachments. Until Jamie finds himself drawn to Maggie.
The movie to this point has seemed like a combination romantic comedy and straight out romance story with quite a bit of nudity tossed in to appease the guys dragged to the movie so their girlfriends can check out Gyllenhaal’s butt. And then it suddenly changes.
Maggie understands what to expect in the near future but does Jamie? At a pharmaceutical convention, Jamie mingles with the crowd while Maggie finds a meeting of a support group for Parkinson’s patients. The group inspires here, makes her feel alive for the first time in ages and makes her appreciate Jamie for being there for her. Except perhaps he isn’t. At the same meeting he talks to one of the husbands of another patient who tells him if he had to do it all over again he would have run right away. This of course leads to the pair parting ways.
But remember this is movieland. The odds of them getting together again after this are pretty good. Then again the movie changed from what seemed a comedy to a rather intense drama too so it’s anyone’s guess how the story will end.
Is it any good? Not particularly. The lighter moments are tinged with quite a bit of cynicism. For those easily offended there is, as mentioned, plenty of gratuitous nudity and raunchy humor to boot. But the biggest problem is that with the exception of Maggie (due to her gut wrenching disease) there are not many sympathetic characters to be found here. Just single minded self interested people. How entertaining can that be?
The acting is good, the cinematography well done and the general feeling of the film fine. With the exception and a story that feels schizophrenic and that doesn’t involve the viewer as much as it should have.
I will say that one thing that has bothered me in recent years is how women, in particular actresses in film, seem to have to remove their clothing before they will be considered actresses. If you want work, you have to take off your clothes otherwise you’re designated uncompromising. The same doesn’t hold true for male actors (though many are doing more partial nude scenes). So why is it that the value of a female actress is judged by the amount of clothing she’s willing to remove but not men? Especially when actresses seem to be more involved with women’s rights groups? Who knows?
Some will enjoy the film for the sake of the nude scenes. Some will enjoy it because they find the leads attractive. And some will find the romantic storyline just what they’re looking for. It just would have been nice if this movie were more focused on what it wanted to be from beginning to end. The way it stands, it feels more like a jumbled flick than an enjoyable one.
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