2011: A New Hope

For the first film of 2011, I chose to watch Love and Other Drugs, a nice romantic dramedy starring two reputable actors ('Big Smilie' Anne Hathaway and the male-half of the Gyllenhaal siblings, Jake). Usually I try and avoid this type of film as I don't find myself interested by the usual 'boy-meets-girl' storyline. However, my New Year's Resolution, twinned with my girlfriend's obsession with Jake Gyllenhaal, forced me to watch the film, regardless of what my inner-critic was yelling.

Love and Other Drugs tells the story of pharmaceutical rep Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) and his 'sex buddy-turned-girlfriend' relationship with Parkinson's Disease sufferer Maggie Murdock (Hathaway) around the time that Viagra began to sell in the 1990s.

Both Hathaway and Gyllenhaal approach the subject matter tentatively and seriously, showing a realistic chemistry, despite the turbulent relationship and events they live through. Hathaway especially shows her research into Parkinson's Disease and the afflictions it can have on a person, her character appearing more 'three-dimensional' and 'real' than any other rom-com character I've seen in a while. Gyllenhaal also shows depth in his performance, ranging from the heartfelt to the comedic and back again. The supporting characters, such as Josh Gad, Oliver Platt and Hank Azaria provide adequate comedic relief but are used too sparsely.

The film manages to cover a variety of subjects, such as the struggle of a relationship when one person requires much more care than the other, how Viagra changed the medicinal business in 1990's America, and how the health-care system still to this day operates and wrongly prioritises it's own goals ahead of the American public. However, this doesn't allow the film to have one main point or message that it's trying to put across, resulting in a confusing mixture with no point truly being formed and argued.

Love and Other Drugs honestly surprised me in how adult and alternative it was from how I expected a rom-com-drama to be. However, I felt like it was a lot of ideas smashed together and hurriedly made into a film with no main plot-line. Not a fantastic film, but certainly a step in the right direction.

Rating - 6/10