Watch Love and Other Drugs

Love and Other Drugs is a movie that starts out looking like a romantic comedy, but takes several twist and turns that are less predictable than we've come to expect from that genre. For starters, it's rare that a romantic comedy is centered around two type A alpha-dog personalities, but that's exactly what Love and Other Drugs delivers with the confident and driven pharmaceutical rep Jamie, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and the no-nonsense always-in-charge Maggie, played by Anne Hathaway. The two main characters are so much alike, including the fact that they are in no way looking for any kind of relationship, especially with someone exactly like themselves. Of course, with this type of movie, that's exactly what happens.

The movie takes an odd twist in the fact that it explores a serious illness, Parkinson's Disease, and in doing so explores a contemporary social issue, the health care system. While in so many romantic comedies it is a third character that is keeping the two main characters apart, in Love and Other Drugs the disease becomes that third character that is the divisive issue between Jamie and Maggie. While not meant to be a serious film, Love and Other Drugs does have a few serious moments, as it takes a good long look at such a debilitating disease and what it does to the people that it affects.

Of course it isn't all doctor's visits and medications in this movie, there is plenty of romance and comedy involved. The chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Hathaway is apparent, as the two often have a charming and entertaining love-hate back and forth. The two leading actors also exhibit a good physical chemistry. Gyllenhaal and Hathaway aren't always the go to actors for comedy in this movie, which is in part a side effect of the more serious story line, but they do get good help from the supporting cast. Veteran actors Oliver Platt and Hank Azaria, as well as relative newcomer Josh Gad all provide good comedic timing in supporting roles, as all three are more than willing to go out on a limb for humor, which provides a good compliment and balance to the disease-oriented Parkinson's story line.

As far as the ending goes, it's fairly typical of the romantic comedy genre, but when it comes to the twist and turns in getting there and what the film is willing to put out there, Love and Other Drugs offers a unique taste on romantic comedies that makes it a movie worth checking out.