If someone had told me I would have an indifferent response and occassionally be bored by a film featuring endless shots of Jake Gyllenhaal's naked bottom, I have laughed in their face. Or just gone "nah, you're wrong". But this nameless, non-existent someone would be correct.Love and Other Drugs stars Jake as buff ladies man Jamie, who quit medical school for a faltering career in technology sales (think cassette players and chunky televisions - the film is set in the 90s). His hideous obese brother Josh (think Jonah Hill, but even fatter with worse hair - I know, gross) advises him to use his sleazy salesman skills in the pharmaceutical industry, where he can make megabucks. Here, Jamie stumbles across feisty artist Maggie (Anne Hathaway) who is succumbing to Stage One Parkinson's Disease. Might they each be faking their confidence, masking vulnerability and low self esteem...? Might they teach each other to be better people??
The main problem with this film is that it can't decide if it wants to be a slightly wacky comedy about the dodgy medical industry in the USA, where pharmaceutical companies bribe GPs to use their products (with added American Pie style "fat brother who loves porn" thrown in) or an edgy (LOADS OF NAKED SEX STUFF!!!) sensitive (she's all ill...) rom-com (...but she's able to make jokes about boners etc). So it kind of ends up being about nothing.
There's some weird subplots which don't go anywhere - such as a tramp who steals Prozac out of the bin, who we later see with a haircut and going for a job interview. So are prescription drugs GOOD? The rest of the movie kind of implies not.
I'm confused.
Especially because I lost interest in a film featuring this ->
