Poster © 20th Century Fox. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Drama & Romance
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 52 mins
ReleasedNovember 24, 2010
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorEdward Zwick
StarringJake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt
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| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
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| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Love & Other Drugs's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama & Romance |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 11/04/2010 (AFI Fest); 11/24/2010 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 52 mins |
| Budget | $30M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Love & Other Drugs's Interests | |
| General | Free samples, sample closets, waiting rooms, sales quotas, 1996 cell phones, a lot of charm. |
| Music | James Newton Howard, keeping it warm and a little bittersweet. |
| Movies | Thank You for Smoking (2005). Another smooth talker selling a product for a living. |
| Television | Mad Men. Sales, charm and selling yourself first. |
| Heroes | Maggie Murdock. Smart, funny, and never once lets anyone pity her. |
| Love & Other Drugs's Crew | |
| Director | Edward Zwick |
| Writers | Charles Randolph, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz |
| Producers | Scott Stuber, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Charles Randolph, Pieter Jan Brugge |
| Cinematography | Steven Fierberg |
| Music | James Newton Howard |
| Edited By | Steven Rosenblum |
| Production | Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, New Regency, Stuber Pictures, Bedford Falls Productions, Dune Entertainment |
| Distributed By | 20th Century Fox |
Is Love & Other Drugs a sales comedy or an illness drama? It never decides, so it lurches between the two like a car with a bad clutch. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jamie, a smooth-talking drug rep in 1996 who wins over doctors’ offices with a grin, and the sales half is a cheerful satire that never bites. Then he meets Maggie, and Anne Hathaway takes the movie. Her Maggie is prickly, funny and scared, a young woman with early-onset Parkinson’s who refuses to be anybody’s project. The best scene has nothing to do with the romance. Jamie wanders into a support group, and a husband caring for his wife tells him the plain, hard truth about the road ahead. Josh Gad plays the brother for cheap gags that fall flat. The ending runs on rom-com autopilot. It made $102.8 million worldwide on a reported $30M. A 4.8 because Hathaway is great and the movie around her keeps changing the subject. $951 says you try to charm your way out of a late fee this month and get charged anyway.
What works: Anne Hathaway’s fierce, funny Maggie and one devastating support group scene.
What doesn’t: The tone swings between broad sales comedy and serious illness drama, and the comic side characters fall flat.
Who it’s for: Grown-ups who want a romantic drama with a strong lead performance and can forgive a messy movie.
Jamie tracks Maggie down on a bus trip to Canada and tells her he needs her, and she admits she’ll need him more. He turns down a big promotion and goes to medical school to stay with her.
It's 1996, and Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) can sell anything to anyone, mostly with a grin. After losing his electronics store job in Pittsburgh, he lands at Pfizer as a pharmaceutical rep, assigned to talk busy local doctors into prescribing Zoloft. His manager Bruce (Oliver Platt) thinks Jamie is his ticket to a bigger market, and the key target is Dr. Stan Knight (Hank Azaria). While shadowing Knight at work, Jamie meets Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), a sharp, guarded patient living with early-onset Parkinson's disease, who sees right through his charm. Edward Zwick directs. One hundred twelve minutes, side effects may include feelings.
Anyone who can see past a sales pitch. Ask your doctor if romance is right for you.
| Jake Gyllenhaal | Jamie Randall |
| Anne Hathaway | Maggie Murdock |
| Oliver Platt | Bruce Winston |
| Hank Azaria | Dr. Stan Knight |
| Josh Gad | Josh Randall |
| Gabriel Macht | Trey Hannigan |
| Judy Greer | Cindy |
| George Segal | Dr. James Randall |
| Jill Clayburgh | Nancy Randall |
| Nikki DeLoach | Christy |
| Katheryn Winnick | Lisa |
| Natalie Gold | Dr. Helen Randall |
| Michael Chernus | Jerry |
| Michael Buffer | Pfizer Convention MC |
| Bingo O'Malley | Sam |
| Jaimie Alexander | Carol |