Love And Other Drugs (2010)

Plot: Maggie (Anne Hathaway), who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, befriends a drug rep, Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal). They eventually become a couple. But as Maggie's illness progresses and Jamie's career continues to grow, will they be able to stay together?

Review: I was surprised by this movie. It's better than most romantic comedies I've seen.

First of all, this a romantic comedy. But it's not aimed at teens. It's aimed at adults and adults only. In this day and age, most romantic comedies are aimed at adolescents and the romance is portrayed as sex-free for a great majority of the time. Everything is happy, there are problems but everything is okay at the end. And with most romantic comedies aimed at teens, you can tell whether or not the couple will actually get together at the end. And in most of them they do. In this film, you're sometimes questioning if whether or not they'll actually stay together or not. It's a realistic approach to romance, especially an adult romance. Most films are prudish when it comes to sex and this one is an exception. We don't see enough of this in movies.

I found the film's plot to be a little unbalanced. I liked the plot of Jamie's job as a drug rep and everything and thought that was well done, but it was how they wrote Maggie's disease. You really forget at some points that she has Parkinson's disease until it worsens. Nonetheless, I like that they made it a core point in the plot later in the film and how it is troublesome to Maggie and Jamie's relationship.

I found the acting very impressive. I think Jake Gyllenhaal pulls off the charm and plays a good romantic male lead. He has a nice balance of comedic and dramatic timing. Anne Hathway is fantastic in this, especially in scenes where her Parkinson's progresses and where she has her emotional breakdown. Like Gyllenhaal, I think she has a good balance of comedy and drama, which shows in this film where she's sarcastic in one scene and crying hysterically in the next. I think she and Jake Gyllenhaal have good energy between the two of them. Josh Gad plays Josh, Jamie's brother. I found him to be a good provider of comedy. He was hilarious in this. I found the rest of the supporting cast to be good as well.

Love And Other Drugs is an entertaining and funny romantic comedy that will be appreciated by the adults I have no doubt.

Rating: 3/5