.....and we enjoyed it, although my wife and I agreed it became a less interesting movie as it went on.
The Link
Spoilers ahead!
I suspect Anne Hathaway will be Oscar nominated for her full ranging portrayal of an attractive, free-spirited young woman, stricken with and adjusting to the early stages of Parkinson's Disease, who's reluctant to commit to a full relationship with the charmingly confident (make that cocksure) pharmaceutical salesman, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who enters her life.
That their involvement grows into more than just really great sex surprises and somewhat scares them and, in turn, gives each of them pause.
Hathaway's performance (and that of Gyllenhaal) shone brightly in spite of a screenplay which seemed overly long and unfocused to me.
I thought this flick's storyline started out quite well as a believable, sexy, funny, romantic, drama/comedy, but then wandered away into a less memorable, Apatowesque sexual romp and a playful expose of the "marketing" of drugs like Zoloft and Viagra, before finishing up only so so, now sloppy and soppy, somewhere in the realm of movies like "Love Story" and/or "Magnificent Obession."
Any one or two of these three or four story or genre directions could have served different movie audiences sufficiently and well, but when all were combined I found the result more distracting than complimentary.
I know this screenplay was adapted from a novel.
And I haven't read it.
Edward Zwick, who co-wrote, directed and produced "Love and Other Drugs," has (in his various moviemaking capacities) previously given us such diverse and entertaining fare as "Blood Diamond," "Glory," "Legends of the Fall," "The Last Samurai," "About Last Night...." and "Courage Under Fire," so I had hoped for and expected more here.
IMHO, this movie became bloated, weaker and, by its end, even dysfunctional as a whole simply because it had too many major plot inclusions in its storytelling.
The best parts of "Love and Other Drugs" fondly reminded me of the peripatetic, job-driven lives and the lusty, sky-crossed affair that George Clooney and Vera Farmgia portrayed so well as the **** buddy frequent flyers in "Up in the Air," but I feel that excellent movie said more about its interesting subject by using a much tighter and better written story.
"Love and Other Drugs" wasn't all bad by any means.
Beautiful, naked jiggly bits abound and sexy sack time is often featured.
Oliver Platt is in it, as well as George Segal and, still lovely in her next to last role before her death about a month ago, Jill Clayburgh.
Heck, I thought almost every individual thing in the movie rang true.
But there were just too many bells in the storyline for me, plus a few extra whistles.
Fans of Anne and Jake and those moviegoers who aren't put off by realistic, sexy, romantic, screwball, comedic tragedy should enjoy it; however, I hope we'll get a future film with a more cleverly honed screen story in which they both can further and better display all their physical and thespian talents.
Your thoughts?
The Link
Spoilers ahead!
I suspect Anne Hathaway will be Oscar nominated for her full ranging portrayal of an attractive, free-spirited young woman, stricken with and adjusting to the early stages of Parkinson's Disease, who's reluctant to commit to a full relationship with the charmingly confident (make that cocksure) pharmaceutical salesman, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who enters her life.
That their involvement grows into more than just really great sex surprises and somewhat scares them and, in turn, gives each of them pause.
Hathaway's performance (and that of Gyllenhaal) shone brightly in spite of a screenplay which seemed overly long and unfocused to me.
I thought this flick's storyline started out quite well as a believable, sexy, funny, romantic, drama/comedy, but then wandered away into a less memorable, Apatowesque sexual romp and a playful expose of the "marketing" of drugs like Zoloft and Viagra, before finishing up only so so, now sloppy and soppy, somewhere in the realm of movies like "Love Story" and/or "Magnificent Obession."
Any one or two of these three or four story or genre directions could have served different movie audiences sufficiently and well, but when all were combined I found the result more distracting than complimentary.
I know this screenplay was adapted from a novel.
And I haven't read it.
Edward Zwick, who co-wrote, directed and produced "Love and Other Drugs," has (in his various moviemaking capacities) previously given us such diverse and entertaining fare as "Blood Diamond," "Glory," "Legends of the Fall," "The Last Samurai," "About Last Night...." and "Courage Under Fire," so I had hoped for and expected more here.
IMHO, this movie became bloated, weaker and, by its end, even dysfunctional as a whole simply because it had too many major plot inclusions in its storytelling.
The best parts of "Love and Other Drugs" fondly reminded me of the peripatetic, job-driven lives and the lusty, sky-crossed affair that George Clooney and Vera Farmgia portrayed so well as the **** buddy frequent flyers in "Up in the Air," but I feel that excellent movie said more about its interesting subject by using a much tighter and better written story.
"Love and Other Drugs" wasn't all bad by any means.
Beautiful, naked jiggly bits abound and sexy sack time is often featured.
Oliver Platt is in it, as well as George Segal and, still lovely in her next to last role before her death about a month ago, Jill Clayburgh.
Heck, I thought almost every individual thing in the movie rang true.
But there were just too many bells in the storyline for me, plus a few extra whistles.
Fans of Anne and Jake and those moviegoers who aren't put off by realistic, sexy, romantic, screwball, comedic tragedy should enjoy it; however, I hope we'll get a future film with a more cleverly honed screen story in which they both can further and better display all their physical and thespian talents.
Your thoughts?
