Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Love and Other Drugs

Directed (and written by) Edward Zwick, Fox 2000 Pictures, 2010. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Hank Azaria and Oliver Platt.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Question: Have you ever seen a romance movie that wasn't really geared solely towards the female population? Well, you are in luck if you haven't seen Love and Other Drugs yet. This one might have been made for all the men out there who have been dragged to one-too-many chick flicks.

I am not kidding. As I was watching Love and Other Drugs waiting for more sap, gush, or some overly romantic parts in this movie, it dawned on me. This wasn't really made for women. Yes, this is a romance. Yes, it is about two people falling in love. Yes, there is a sick woman and the man learns to changes his ways to be with her. That is all the right components of a chick flick but it was not written or acted to get us females all weak in the knees or cry at every other scene. There was, however, a lot of nudity, sex jokes and other elements that would make guys want to stay in the theaters for this one.

Now here is the question - did I like it? Well, let me put it this way: I didn't like the beginning part of the story but I wasn't supposed to. It was all a set up to get you to not like the main character, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and some other elements of the movie which I won't spoil for you. But when he meets Maggie, played by Anne Hathaway, I immediately changed my mind and started enjoying the story. Then, as their relationship develops it sort of lost me. And by the climax or where most romance/chick flicks have me either sobbing or begging for the two betrothed to finally be together I became apathetic. So, I kind of liked it but not fully.

Somewhere in this movie, I suppose, I should have developed sympathy for the guy (Jake Gyllenhall) and have had my heart strings pulled more with Maggie's (Anne Hathaway) storyline. But overall it just didn't work for me. Then there was the younger brother mixed into all this. I assume he was supposed to be the comic relief, but I found it distracting and somewhat belittling to the storyline.

On the flip-side, I thought everyone acted well especially Anne Hathaway. She really is turning out to be a shining talent. Plus, we all know Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the greatest actors we have today and he took on this role with sincerity. However, I believe where the movie fell short was the overall story. I tried to like it but every time I would get sucked into it, I got batted back out with a stupid joke or unnecessary attempt to put up an obstacle between the two young lovers. I know that happens a lot in romances but for this one it didn't work for me.

I will admit I think it was very clever to make a romance movie with the guys in mind. It was different and we all need that in the movies. So, I can't really fault the movie-makers on this. We women have had our fair share of romance movies.

The story was based on the book "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman" by Jaime Reidy - This might put it all in perspective for you if you haven't seen it yet.

My favorite thing: Maggie's apartment.

My least favorite thing: The brother.


Did the previews show too much: No, not really but they kept showing a lot different of clips prior to release and I might have seen a bit too much before seeing the actual film


Rating: R
Length: 112 minutes

Review: 5 out of 10


Random thought: This was not the first time the two main actors worked together. They were both in Brokeback Mountain. 

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi there! Following you from Hop A little Tuesday Blog Hop! Thanks for the review. I thought it was a chick flick but this proved me wrong. COme say hi when you can!
Miriam
http://productjunkiemama.blogspot.com

Tired of Previews said...

Thanks for stopping by.

Katy

momof2 said...

The title of the book does seem to describe what you posted about the movie!

I love movies - but I am not sure I am excited about this one :-)

New to following you from MBC!
Danielle
www.DaniellePender.com

Tired of Previews said...

Thanks Danielle for following!!

Miami Single Momma said...

Hi!
I got to say I absolutely LOVE your Blog, this will become my before rent stop every time now. Thanks So much! About Love and Other Drugs, totally agree, It was kind of disappointing because I was expecting a chick flick lol. But not bad, like you said it had its moments. Well Im your newest follower from the blog hop and would love a follow back!

Thanks Again
Annery
everytopicunderthesun.blogspot.com

Tired of Previews said...

Annery: So happy to hear your comment. I am glad to help you select your next movie!

Xxx said...

I REALLY wanted to like this movie, I REALLY wanted to be invested in the characters and I think that is where this one failed, everyone was so disconnected that I never connected. I think you are dead on with a 5 out of 10 review.

Tired of Previews said...

Thanks Heather! So glad I wasn't the only one who thought this.

Katy