Love and Other Drugs

We meet thousands of people in our lives but it only takes one to change it. This sentiment is reflected in the story of Jamie Randall, Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) who is the brilliant son of a doctor. Instead of following his father’s footsteps into medicine, he drops out of school and hones his skills as an electronics salesman. He happens to be great at it, mainly because he can charm the pants off of anyone with two x chromosomes. Young or old, they all fall for Jamie. But when Maggie Murdock, Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) enters his life things begin to change. For the first time in his life, he actually cares for someone. He finds the courageous Maggie beautiful and intriguing.
 
At this point in the story, Jamie has been fired from his electronics job for screwing a female associate at work. His brother gets him another job as a pharmaceutical rep and the clincher is the big money he can make by doing it well. This time around his charm is aimed at receptionists and office managers. In this arena his sexual prowess is a plus and his time spent in med-school gives him an edge on understanding his products and the vocabulary to communicate with doctors. Now he just has to take the sales leader down and earn himself a spot in the prime market of Chicago. Only success will get him out of his assignment in Ohio.
 
When Jamie meets Maggie, Dr. Stan Knight, Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) is examining her in order to refill her medication. Maggie has Parkinson’s disease and Jamie admires her humor, wit and victimless attitude. When she spots him in the parking lot later and realizes that he is not an intern but a drug rep, she hits him up the side of his head for taking advantage of her and witnessing her nakedness. When his apology has no effect and all his other plays fail, Jamie becomes determined to win her over. This develops in to a romance where both of them get in deeper than they intended.
 
Love and Other Drugs is about a dying woman, but instead of being melodramatic it is surprisingly funny. Anne Hathaway gives dignity and fight to Maggie and shows us a woman who is afraid of losing herself and therefore fights even harder to live. Jake Gyllenhaal shows us a guy who has suddenly learned what it is to care about someone and all about the pain and drama that goes with it. For once Maggie finds a guy that is more screwed up than she is and as much as she tries to push him away, for once he’s not going anywhere.

Set in the world of multi-trillion dollar pharmaceutical sales, Love and Other Drugs is about getting through life any way you can. Whether it is drugs, sex, or actually finding someone who can support you, we all need a little help in life to get us through the day. This film shows us how two egocentric people can grow, change and learn to see beyond their own pain and what its like to give to others. Jake and Anne really get a chance to stretch here and both give remarkable performances. Don’t go expecting a soap opera, this film is full of humor and life and like Viagra, it will get your hopes up.

Rating: First Run The charming duo of Jake and Anne, together again