Love & Other Drugs
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There’s a shrewd and sincere dramedy dying to get out from under the covers in “Love & Other Drugs,” a movie that otherwise lets it all hang out, at least where stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway are concerned. Set in the world of 1990s pharmaceutical sales, it has a promising premise, following a hotshot drug rep (Gyllenhaal) who, in the midst of becoming the poster boy for Viagra, falls for a Parkinson’s patient (Hathaway) all too familiar with prescription meds. The film can’t decide if it’s a fearless sex comedy or a reach-for-the-Kleenex romance.
Which unfortunately causes it to fail on both levels. When Hathaway’s character isn’t around (and, initially, even when she is), “Drugs,” directed and co-written by Edward Zwick and adapted from a nonfiction book by Jamie Reidy, is a sort of testosterone-pumped male-dominance fantasy, where women are easy puzzles to solve and even the requisite overweight clown (Josh Gad) gets to bed a hottie. As if knowing such an approach would limit its audience, the movie then stirs in a semi-tragic love story, which is largely well-acted by Hathaway, but even within her performance feels phony and fabricated.
Gyllenhaal, though always a welcome presence, offers a backwards interpretation of his character, first failing to convey a much-discussed despicability, then going cold when the antihero is allegedly warming up to his love interest. A lot of blame falls on Zwick, who’s known for sprawling epics but has far less of a handle on small moments. Scenes in which his leads measure each other up are crawling with pretense, and their ultimate declarations of love are milked to a remarkably cloying extent.
The film’s distinction is it’s a Hollywood product uncharacteristically comfortable with nudity. But all the skin-showing grows increasingly uncomfortable , not unlike the blown opportunity to do some real justice to Parkinson’s sufferers. Simply put, the movie isn’t good enough to tackle serious issues or warrant ample sex. You especially feel sorry for Hathaway, who should’ve waited for something better than “Drugs” in which to flaunt her jugs.
Love & Other Drugs
R
Two reels out of four
Now playing in area theaters
Recommended Rental
Cairo Time
PG
Available Tuesday
Patricia Clarkson takes on her first romantic leading role in “Cairo Time,” filmmaker Ruba Nadda’s gentle tale of fleeting love. Clarkson is stunning (if overly understated), but the real star of the film is Cairo itself, captured and swooned over in a way that calls to mind the Tokyo of “Lost in Translation.” SPR
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