I really loved this. First off, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway are both Oscar worthy in both of their roles and if they are ignored around awards time (especially Hathaway), it's a complete travesty. Jake was just wonderful. He was handsome, charming and you really cared for his character. He was the boyfriend everybody wants but can never seem to find and he pulled it off perfectly. Anne Hathaway was just fantastic. There are no words for me to describe her here. This is the role of her career and I hope her work doesn't go unnoticed. You can tell how much detail went into creating this character. She was funny, she was bitchy and she was completely heartbreaking. Loved her and she completely deserves a Best Actress nomination. The only flaw I have to say about the movie is Jake's brother. He was pretty funny but really wasn't needed and kind of brought the movie down, but I still absolutely adored it. I urge everyone to see this. Just an all around fantastic flick.

9/10 (A-)

In Love & Other Drugs, a group of future pharmaceutical salesmen, one played by Jake Gyllenhaal, are taught to not just sell their product's advertised purpose (to, perhaps, alleviate mood disorders or reduce fever), but also drop hints regarding its other potential benefits, however untested or unethical. I wonder if this scene was based on a screenwriting seminar once attended by the trio of credited writers, including Edward Zwick, who also directed (a return to America AND near modern times for the director of Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond). Part Thank You for Smoking-esque satire, part sentimental romantic drama, with several long sex scenes, and a dash of low-brow humor, Love & Other Drugs' title could be Love & More Than a Few Other Genres. It feels designed not to deliver a single artistic payload, but to please each demographic, to comment on a number of distinct issues, at times in depth and at times in passing.

This is a film where the screenwriters are compelled to remind the audience over and over the protagonist is "good"--he can sell, sell sell with superhuman charm and endurance, and the sex he has? Sensational. Ocean's Eleven and its sequels often did this with humor; Love & Other Drugs does it with a straight face. I bet Jake Gyllenhaal's character loves Dos Equis. The fact the sex seems so fantastic, and so choreographed, undermines its purpose. It doesn't feel "brave" or "intimate" so much as, "Aren't our stars hot? Here, we'll prove it. Again! Again! Wait, wait, wait, cut, cut, we need more dramatic moaning."

Also, the film, overburdened with (sub-)plots and characters, can't help but feel a bit schizophrenic. I, for one, was more drawn to the scenes following Gyllenhaal as he navigates the fast-paced, strange world of drug samples and doctors (customers). There's a fantastic scene near the end where a general practitioner (Hank Azaria) reveals he once saw his profession as a higher calling, but is now disillusioned by noncompliant patients and unfair insurance companies. The romantic drama side of the film is fine, landing a few poignant punches, yet it feels far more familiar. Just another tale of an he attractive, career-first, "shallow" man who meets a beautiful, wounded woman who seems to exist just to save him, etc., etc. Except every scene in Garden State didn't end with a cut to Zach Braff and Natalie Portman lying naked and drenched in sweat in each other's arms.

The acting is, for the most part, top-notch. Gyllenhaal puts his movie-star charm to good use, as does co-star Anne Hathaway, who plays her vivacious character with a dynamic blend of anger and warmth. In a year of strong performances, I'm not sure either is deserving of Oscar consideration, but, still, both deliver what is expected of them and more. Oliver Platt also deserves praise. He seems to be giving an interesting performance as a pharmaceutical sales vet who longs for a promotion which would bring him to Chicago; alas, his character is never explored beyond the superficial.

Love & Other Drugs is set in the '90s for a specific reason (hint: the introduction of a certain blue pill), and it has minor fun with the decade, including retro cell phones and "period" cuts by Spin Doctors and Fatboy Slim. In general, the film is a pleasant, yet also frustrating experience. The performances are strong, it's well-shot, certain scenes (most involving Gyllenhaal's character pushing drugs--the legal way) are brilliant, etc., but the film never finds itself, never finds its center. It's good, not great.

B

If you can manage to swallow extreme sappiness (James Newton Howard...if it weren't for BB and TDK, I'd be calling for your head right now) then I'd say it's worth a look. It doesn't have much to say about the drug industry so it's not as biting as it could've been, and it kind of drags on too long in the third act, but Hathaway and Gyllenhaal keep it afloat.

**½

Loved this! I thought it was very sweet and Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway were great and had great chemistry. My only complaint is the grotesque brother character. He was supposed to be comic relief, but he was just disgusting.

8/10 (A-)

Wow! I was carried through the first half of Love and Other Drugs on an exhilarating wave of sexy ROM-COM energy!

Unfortunately, in the second half I was tossed up on the reef of bad medical drama and unconvincing plot twist.

Of course, I have absolutely adored Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal throughout their already lengthy and varied careers - - plus, we can clearly see in this film that the two of them make a truly great natural comedy team! (I could see them in a classy remake of Bringing Up Baby.)

So what to make of this ½ & ½ clash of genres?

I rate the first half: 18 out of 5.

I rate the second half: 1 out of 5.

Overall rating: 2 out of 5.

(...if only the good half had been at the end...)

((...or even better, if the movie had stopped in the theatre at the halfway mark and the projectionist puts on a whole different second set of reels! A second half where the two leads discover that they're actually their characters from Ella Enchanted and Bubble Boy brought together by a freakishly convincing Twilight-Zonesque plot twist!! The couple embark on zany yet heartwarming tale full of raunchy comedy and hot sex as they bring the plot to a climax with their final decision on whether to return to Niagara Falls or Frell... Now that's a happy ending in my book.))

(((In retrospect, perhaps I've been too strict with my overall rating of Love and Other Drugs - - the nudity alone surely merits a point on it's own - - so I'll raise my grade to: 3 out of 5.)))

((((Even if my dream of a great second half being added at the theatre only remains a dream... if Jake and/or Anne reads this, I highly recommend that you make an actual crossover sequel to the two early films of yours' that I mentioned - - it would truly make the most of both of your ample talents and be a delight to see on the big screen!))))

(((((Okay, okay - - I just remembered how lame that second half of Love and Other Drugs really was - - I'm relowering my overall grade to: 2 out of 5.)))))

The kind of movie you go to if only because you're in the mood for its type, then it basically gives you what you expect and you don't regret going to it, but at the same time when you're writing a review for it a few weeks later you're not really sure what to say other than 'yeah I guess it gave me what I wanted'

Wish it didn't have the scene where the old guy talks about marrying a Parkinson's girl being a russian novel. That was Haggis like subtelty.

Jake sold the playboy role, the problem is he came off like that the entire movie. Made it hard to believe any tenderness in the Hathaway relationship. Maybe it was his hair.

Very easy to grade. B.

Never quite lives up to its full potential, but entertaining and often charming. This is largely thanks to the performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, who have plenty of chemistry and manage to create sympathetic characters while rolling around naked. B

Hooray nakedness!

B-

I have not seen this film and will not see this film, but I strongly believe it has the worst title ever

Love and Other Drugs is a really great romantic comedy. It is very adult in nature but refrains itself most of the time from being a cliche in the genre. Both Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway work well together and really bring out that right amount of charm. Even the supporting cast, including Hank Azaria are quite funny. It also has a lot of heart and all that together is quite a treat. ***1/2

I have watched this like three times in the past couple of weeks because it's been on TV a lot. It is so underrated.

There's only one good thing about this movie.

That is definitely a plus but it is a great movie with or without

Love and Other Drugs

It was good up until it became obsessed with pushing sentimentality and self pity down my throat. It was lively and enjoyable when it was a light and bold look at how smooth it is to get laid in the pharmaceutical rep industry. The whole 'rules of getting laid' angle was bubbly and addictive. But then the tonal shift occurred, and it got bogged down in something that it should never have tried to tackle. Gyllenhaal was, as always, fantastic, but Hathaway was incredibly annoying and such a fucking bitch (but she do the best female orgasm I've seen).

I loved everything related to medicinal sales and disliked mostly everything related to the girl with Parkinson's disease. I admired that it tried to be different, though.

B-

Easily one of the best rom-coms of the past few years. Great movie.

I still this movie. So underrated.