Love & Other Drugs is an adult romantic comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. Directed by Ed Zwick it's an adult "rom com" because of the explicit nudity from both stars. The audience is treated to multiple shots of Anne Hathaway topless and of Jake's buttocks. The pair have great chemistry and look great together, but the movie follows the standard Hollywood 4- step formula for a romantic comedy and simply falls apart in the middle.
Step 1.) The "meet-cute"- the duo meet and are strongly attracted to each other, but resist getting involved for various reasons.
Step 2.) Fall in love. - Despite their best intentions the couple fall heavily for each other and become romantically involved. But still try to avoid romantic entanglements.
Step 3.) The misunderstanding - The couple have a fight and end the relationship. usually because of a misunderstanding that could be resolved with one or two simple sentences. The movie will spend 20 minutes with the separated couple pining for each other.
Step 4.) The romantic reunion - With an amazing amount of style or panache one of the pair will proclaim love for the other (usually in public) and the pair will unite in true love for ever.
Every unoriginal romantic comedy out of Hollywood for the past twenty years has followed this formula and very few do it well. Love & Other Drugs starts off very promising but gets bogged down by the formula; an attempt to make a statement about the pharmaceutical industry; and an annoying supporting character who's only function is to provide comic relief.
Watch the film if you want to see the great chemistry between Jake and Anne, otherwise skip it.
At the Movie House rating ** stars
No comments:
Post a Comment