Love & Other Drugs

An above average romantic comedy, Love & Other Drugs follows an ambitious pharmaceutical rep (Jake Gyllenhaal’s Jamie Randall) as he starts up a relationship with a free-spirited artist named Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) – with their coupling inevitably threatened by both Jamie’s fast-paced lifestyle and Maggie’s increasingly serious health issues. It’s a premise that’s employed to consistently watchable effect by filmmaker Edward Zwick, as the director, working from a script co-written with Charles Randolph and Marshall Herskovitz, immediately captures the viewer’s interest by emphasizing the exploits of Gyllenhaal’s character. The film’s briskly-paced and unapologetically slick sensibilities are heightened by Gyllenhaal’s almost ridiculously charismatic performance, while there’s little doubt that the actor’s palpable chemistry with his equally affecting co-star smooths over the inclusion of a few needless elements within the narrative (eg recurring appearances by Jamie’s comic-relief brother, played with over-the-top glee by Josh Gad). It’s subsequently worth noting that by the time it morphs into a full-fledged (and rather standard) romantic comedy/drama (complete with tearjerking elements), Love & Other Drugs has established itself as a perfectly watchable piece of work that ultimately does peter out slightly in its third act (ie the inclusion of such needless romcom clichés like the fake break-up and the race to a loved one wreak havoc on the film’s momentum).

*** out of ****