No run-of-the-mill romantic comedy

FILM REVIEW: LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

The marketeers behind the trailers for Love and Other Drugs would have you believe the film is a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, but to its great credit, it isn’t.

Set in the late ’90s, Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a slick pants man who works as a salesman for pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer. He meets Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), a feisty artist, while pitching Zoloft to Dr Stan Knight (Hank Azaria).

After an initial hiccup, the pair agrees to a no-strings attached physical relationship, but predictably things get serious. But the thought of Maggie’s inevitable degeneration looms over the budding romance and cracks start to appear.

Director/co-writer Edward Zwick’s track record isn’t good. His previous films, Defiance, The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond, have all been near unwatchable. So it stands to reason he wanted to try something different. To this end, he takes risks, albeit in the framework of a traditional romcom, and they pay off.

Generally people like their romcoms pathos free, but Zwick isn’t scared to make his audience squirm. The sex scenes are unusually racy ­– Hathaway is naked for much of the film – and the scenarios pertaining to Maggie’s illness confronting.

At times, the film overstretches, but Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are excellent and have genuine chemistry.

REVIEWED BY ADAM KAMIEN
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***

Photo: Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in a scene from Love and Other Drugs.