Everything about "Love And Other Drugs" is just wrong - from the get go. The very first scene we see Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) dancing around in an electric shop. He's a very successful salesman, because he charms everyone, because he's just so damn charming - only thing is, he's not. It's one of those movies where everyone falls for the guy, when in real life people would just find him appalling. That's just the beginning. We stick to this slippery guy who could have jumped right out of an 80's movie he's that empty and material. In one of the next scenes we see him dancing to "Macarena" at a pharmaceutical group's assessment center. There's a lot of Gyllenhaal dancing. It's supposed to establish him as this dynamic, success-oriented guy, but it's just awkward and really annoying.
We also meet other male characters, and ALL of them are misogynist pigs who only ever talk about getting laid: the successful doctor (Hank Azaria, who at one point gives an incredibly sappy speech about grievance in his job, which is completely out of place), Jamie's working colleague (Oliver Platt, who also does some inappropriate dancing), Jamie's biggest competitor, Jamie's Dad and worst of all Jamie's brother, who's supposed to be the funny side character, but is just detestable and disgusting. Oh, I almost forgot, there's a funny homeless guy, who starts getting his life together after he begins taking Prozac. Nice little message there.
Anyway, the most incredible thing happens: Jamie falls for a girl, Maggie. She's got Parkinson's disease. This is where the movie gets all deep and edgy. We're supposed to feel sorry for her, but she's just a very unlikeable character. The movie has a thousand scenes where Maggie and Jamie go back and forth. He tells her about his feelings, she can't let it happen. It's interesting the first four times or so, then you just want them to have a terrible car crash and die in flames.
Jamie's big speech to get back Maggie in the end is the cream of the crop: You got every cliché. He tries to talk to her, she rejects him at first, a "funny" old couple comments on how cute he is, he continues his speech, the most kitschy music - think something along the lines of the "Bodyguard" soundtrack - starts playing in the background as Jamie speaks the words that move Maggie to tears and make her finally give in to her love. NOT FOR ONE SECOND do I believe that these two characters will make it past the initial stages of being in love, when Maggie's sickness really kicks in.
This is just appalling. The movie gets a relatively high rating of 4/10 stars from me, because for some reason it is eerily watchable. I hated it, but I could still make it to the end without having to force myself. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway (who I don't like at all), do the best they can with these horribly written characters they're given.
But that's about all the positive things you can say about "Love And Other Drugs". Edward Zwick ought to be ashamed of himself.
We also meet other male characters, and ALL of them are misogynist pigs who only ever talk about getting laid: the successful doctor (Hank Azaria, who at one point gives an incredibly sappy speech about grievance in his job, which is completely out of place), Jamie's working colleague (Oliver Platt, who also does some inappropriate dancing), Jamie's biggest competitor, Jamie's Dad and worst of all Jamie's brother, who's supposed to be the funny side character, but is just detestable and disgusting. Oh, I almost forgot, there's a funny homeless guy, who starts getting his life together after he begins taking Prozac. Nice little message there.
Anyway, the most incredible thing happens: Jamie falls for a girl, Maggie. She's got Parkinson's disease. This is where the movie gets all deep and edgy. We're supposed to feel sorry for her, but she's just a very unlikeable character. The movie has a thousand scenes where Maggie and Jamie go back and forth. He tells her about his feelings, she can't let it happen. It's interesting the first four times or so, then you just want them to have a terrible car crash and die in flames.
Jamie's big speech to get back Maggie in the end is the cream of the crop: You got every cliché. He tries to talk to her, she rejects him at first, a "funny" old couple comments on how cute he is, he continues his speech, the most kitschy music - think something along the lines of the "Bodyguard" soundtrack - starts playing in the background as Jamie speaks the words that move Maggie to tears and make her finally give in to her love. NOT FOR ONE SECOND do I believe that these two characters will make it past the initial stages of being in love, when Maggie's sickness really kicks in.
This is just appalling. The movie gets a relatively high rating of 4/10 stars from me, because for some reason it is eerily watchable. I hated it, but I could still make it to the end without having to force myself. Also, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway (who I don't like at all), do the best they can with these horribly written characters they're given.
But that's about all the positive things you can say about "Love And Other Drugs". Edward Zwick ought to be ashamed of himself.