"Love & Other Drugs" is another example of how Anne Hathaway is one of the most talented actresses from her generation. She managed to score a Golden Globe nomination just like her co-star Jake Gyllenhaal. I have to say I am not his greatest fan, so I was neither too impressed with his performance here nor did I manage to find him likable near the end which was probably the intention. He was just too unlikeable early on. The movie is directed by Edward Zwick, an Oscar-winning producer for "Shakespeare in Love".
First of all, I want to say that the happy ending felt a bit forced in my opinion that they just had to close it with the two reuniting and it was a bit random. And didn't she say before she had somebody else already? Where did he go? Why did Gyllenhaal's character leave her anyway if he loved her? The whole split-up scene came totally out of nowhere only minutes after they confessed each other that they are in love. Anyway, Hathaway's enthusiastic behavior after the Parkinson convention was great to watch and she really nailed that scene. The entire convention and monologues were written nicely. What I did not like about the film has mostly to do with Gyllenhaal's character. His brother was brought in for some comic relief, but added really nothing else. The final boner scenes were downright bad and brought some terrible "American Pie" humor to a film where it did not fit at all. Also, the whole medicine background story in the first half of the film was just not developed at all. That one scene when they talked about the impact of the medical industry at that point and included a reference to a presidential candidate was downright bad. All of a sudden, the movie seemed politically ambitious and it did not work out at all. The movie worked best as a somewhat different, more serious romantic comedy between the two protagonists.
The film succeeds occasionally on an emotional level, for example when the older man tells Gyllenhaal's character to leave her and not go through all the struggles due to the illness. Another one would be when Gyllenhaal's character watches the video of his ex-girlfriend near the end. Gave me goosebumps. As a whole, the movie has some great scenes, some pretty weak scenes, but as a whole I'd recommend it, especially if you like one of the two main actors. Lots of graphic nudity too, so stay away if you're a bit on the prudish side.
First of all, I want to say that the happy ending felt a bit forced in my opinion that they just had to close it with the two reuniting and it was a bit random. And didn't she say before she had somebody else already? Where did he go? Why did Gyllenhaal's character leave her anyway if he loved her? The whole split-up scene came totally out of nowhere only minutes after they confessed each other that they are in love. Anyway, Hathaway's enthusiastic behavior after the Parkinson convention was great to watch and she really nailed that scene. The entire convention and monologues were written nicely. What I did not like about the film has mostly to do with Gyllenhaal's character. His brother was brought in for some comic relief, but added really nothing else. The final boner scenes were downright bad and brought some terrible "American Pie" humor to a film where it did not fit at all. Also, the whole medicine background story in the first half of the film was just not developed at all. That one scene when they talked about the impact of the medical industry at that point and included a reference to a presidential candidate was downright bad. All of a sudden, the movie seemed politically ambitious and it did not work out at all. The movie worked best as a somewhat different, more serious romantic comedy between the two protagonists.
The film succeeds occasionally on an emotional level, for example when the older man tells Gyllenhaal's character to leave her and not go through all the struggles due to the illness. Another one would be when Gyllenhaal's character watches the video of his ex-girlfriend near the end. Gave me goosebumps. As a whole, the movie has some great scenes, some pretty weak scenes, but as a whole I'd recommend it, especially if you like one of the two main actors. Lots of graphic nudity too, so stay away if you're a bit on the prudish side.