Love and Other Drugs (2010)

The prospect of a nude Jake Gyllenhaal was all it took to entice us into the cinema to see Love and Other Drugs, well, that and the good reviews, and the fact Anne Hathaway is usually reliable. I'm not completely shallow... 

The movie is a unusual take on a rom-com, in that the sex is fast and dirty, and then feelings get involved, love doesn't come easy and Maggie's (Hathaway) Parkinson's disease creates problems. While the two are getting physically and then romantically enmeshed, the movie also explores Jamie's (Gyllenhaal) job as a drug salesman in 1990's America. He ends up being a promoted of a new wonder-drug called Viagra, whose sales go through the roof and Jamie's fortunes increase. He uses his access to doctors to try to find a cure for Maggie, which doesn't turn out too well. 

I'm finding it difficult to sum the movie up as it's about a romance, it's got drama about drug consumerim, and then it's a comedy on top. So there are serious moments when Maggie's Parkinsons becomes more pronounced causing her to get very angry and upset, and then there are hilarious bits with Jamie's overweight brother being caught wanking while watching a home sex movie of Jamie and Maggie! Reviews have found the mix of comedy and drama and Viagra distracting, but I thought it was a movie with everything, which didn't feel like it short changed any aspect and didn't rush anything. 

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are both so talented, whether at comedy, physical and verbal, drama or high emotion. Perhaps the final declarations of love at movie's end weren't as moving as they could have been (that's the writing rather than performance), but Hathaway delivered a consistantly sympathetic approach to Parkinsons without ever being twee or worthy. She should be up for an Oscar, but I fear that the role isn't showy enough to be noticed. Gyllenhaal shows how gifted he is at getting laughs, something he doesn't do nearly often enough - he was as delightful here as in the early Bubble Boy. 

Oh and the nudity? Hot! Gyllenhaal barely left anything to the imagination, and I'll be happy not to see Hathaway's breasts again for a good while!