DVD
REVIEW: LOVE & OTHER DRUGS
02/28/11
OVERVIEW:
Experience the wonders of love when physical chemistry between two of today’s hottest stars explodes onscreen! Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents the romantic drama LOVE & OTHER DRUGS, arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on March 1st, 2011. From director/producer Edward Zwick and based on the best-selling book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy, LOVE & OTHER DRUGS takes aim with Cupid’s arrow when love is found in the unlikeliest of places!
SYNOPSIS:
Smooth-talking playboy Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain) is on a fast track to the top of the pharmaceutical sales industry – promoting the miracle drug Viagra by day and charming the ladies by night. However, Jamie is taken aback when he meets Maggie Murdock (Academy Award®-nominee Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada), a radiantly sexy free spirit who doesn’t allow her treatment for Parkinson’s get in the way of living her life. As Jamie and Maggie juggle their respective medications, they are forced to reassess their budding romance when they realize that love is the ultimate high.
FILM REVIEW: Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, Pfizer became the pharmaceutical emperor with the advent of
Viagra. Just before that Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) was looking for purpose in his life and a career perhaps. A naturally talented salesman, he was the brainiest underachiever of the family. He has plenty of talent but little motivation, other than in the pursuit of the opposite sex. After troubles with his job as an electronics store salesman, he tries his luck at becoming a pharmaceutical representative for Pfizer. He makes it and in the process his life would never be the same, thanks to Viagra and more importantly after a chance encounter with Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway). She made his head spin right round.
Yes, this is another one of your typical rom-com/dramas and although I have seen better, it is not a bad movie. I mean, is it funny? Yes, you might laugh out loud a few times. Is it romantic? Yes, there are a few moments of heart tugging. Is there good chemistry? Yes, actually, they look pretty good together. Is it sappy and touching? Most definitely, there are a few moments of tear tugging. Is it cliché and predictable? Of course. Is it sexy? And how! I know Anne has done other movies where she bares a lot, but I haven’t seen any of them. So when I saw this film and how much she bares, well, I felt the need to put on my seatbelt. This movie has plenty of sex and sexiness. There is a good amount of nudity/eye candy that would benefit both the ladies and the gentlemen in the audience. Myself being a gentleman, I focused on Anne and I can tell you that she has never looked better. Is the acting good? Well, I guess it was good enough. Anne did the best job and Jake wasn’t bad either. Are the overall movie and story going to leave a lasting impression? Not really . . . this is not The Notebook people. As far as the sidekicks or supporting cast, well, you’ve got Oliver Platt playing Jamie’s mentor, Hank Azaria playing a doctor and all important Pfizer distributor, and Josh Gad playing Jamie’s disturbing younger brother. What supporting cast would be complete without Judy Greer? Is there any
rom-com film that she is not in? You really have to admire her and her body of work. Heck, I think she already qualifies for and deserves a lifetime achievement award. So the supporting cast is pretty good. However, another weakness in the film is the shallow character development. You only really connect with Maggie and not fully and Jamie is almost as shallow as Hal, so not a strong connection there. An interesting aspect of the film is how the business side of the medical profession is portrayed. It is very lucrative but it is also very cutthroat. Make no mistake, the field of medicine is very much a business too if not more so than taking care of people. Director Edward Zwick does a good job of pointing that out. So what seems out of place in the following list: Glory, Legends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire, The Siege, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Defiance, and Love and Other Drugs? Edward has directed some masterful productions, and this one is okay, but he has done better work with epics.
Film
Review
By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: Love & Other Drugs is presented in
a widescreen format with a 1.85:1 aspect ration. The
transfer looks clean, judging from the watermark screening
received it is very difficult to determine the real quality
of the video, however I wont doubt that the final product
will be just fine. The picture is
complemented with a 5.1 Dolby digital sound in
English, French and Spanish with Spanish, French and English subtitles.
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish and French Dolby Surround
Subtitles - English Spanish French- Optional
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