Drugged Out

The general charm and talent of Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway convinced me to give a chance to their romantic comedy, Love and Other Drugs. Some would challenge me calling the film a rom-com, because it includes within it the very serious and drama issue of Parkinson's Disease. As movie relationship complications go, that one's a doozie.

And yet the movie follows an utterly formulaic rom-com route. First they spar with each other. Then they agree to have fun, but not to actually have a "relationship." Then feelings blossom. Then they hit the skids. Then he has to chase after her before she gets on some form of public transportation. Seriously, you've seen everything this movie has to offer before.

Sure, these two make a screen couple with palpable and enjoyable chemistry. And for some, that might be reason enough to give the movie a chance. But I'm a bit dismayed that a movie with such an atypical premise at the core of it yielded such typical results. Frankly, the more unconventional aspect of the movie turned out not to be that the story incorporated a serious medical issue, but rather that the movie has a substantial amount of foul language and nudity, where most rom-coms hew to strictly PG territory.

The movie is also saddled with some go-nowhere subplots that fall by the wayside before reaching a conclusion. Gyllenhaal's character is a pharmaceutical rep who, for a while, is trying to best a rival rep from another company. His competition vanishes halfway through the film. He also has a brother who, despite being rich, can't really get his life on track. There's no real resolution to that story either.

So what you're left with is a winning cast. Besides the two leads, there's also Josh Gad, Hank Azaria, and Judy Greer. And there are some legitimate laughs here and there. But what there aren't are any tears, though the movie does feel like it's trying very hard at times to elicit them.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are good enough that, should you ever watch the film, you probably won't regret the experience. But even they are not really good enough in a thoroughly average movie for me to actually recommend having that experience. I call it a middle of the road C.