I thought it was a romcom which was just all about sex. But then, hell no, it wasn’t just about that. Love and Other Drugs shocked me. Yes, it technically shocked me — mainly because of their choosing to do nudity in a romantic comedy like this; a bold move, but it’s not totally because of that. Love and Other Drugs will bring you to an unusual world, far more than the typical Hollywood romcom movies we’ve seen in big screen. And that’s what made me like it.

Set in the nineties where Pfizer was just on the climb, Jake Gyllenhaal (Jamie) uses his undeniable charisma to sell drugs like Zoloft and Viagra, making more money on his way to success. Well he’s got issues with him being a disappointment to his family, but the story doesn’t revolve on that. Along the way he meets the sexy Anne Hathaway (Maggie), struggling on her Parkinson’s disease.

The filmmakers are brave enough to let Hathaway do super sexy – a hard R on the loose. But the film has potential and when I say potential, a big potential. For me it’s just a simple story but it’s not only about the usual boy-meets-girl (remember 500 Days of Summer?). It’s about boy-meats-girl. No pun intended. Set kidding aside, what makes this unique is that Jamie meets Maggie, have tremendous amounts of hot sex with her and then falls in love. Maggie thinks it’s pity sex because of her disease, but then they fall in love with each other even more.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway have the spark. They’ve been a couple in big screen before in the controversial Brokeback Mountain. They’re not off screen couples but they do well together and don’t look awkward being naked in bed most of the time. I’ve read that they choreograph their sex scenes — funny but impressive. Both are good actors individually (Gyllenhaal is funny, Hathaway, very lovely) and they blend with the other characters pretty well too.

Another interesting ingredient to the story is Maggie’s Parkinson’s disease. Now, I am aware what it is, what struggles it gives to the person, and what hardships it provides to the person’s loved ones, thanks to this film. One scene that moved me is when those with the disease convened together and shared their stories, on how they never gave up on their lives.

I’ve read other reviews saying that this film is mediocre and inconsistent. Well actually I’m a sucker for romantic comedies — which brought me to write it this way. I kind of agree that there’s monotonicity in the film but I’ve learned something from this and made me feel good, so I brushed that off aside.

I do not assure you that you will fall in love together with Maggie and Jamie. Theirs is not the usual. But if you do, then prepare to fall in love in a special kind of way, something far beyond the physical and the mental, but of the heart. Love and Other Drugs is a special movie. It brings twist to the usual love story. A 7.5 out of 10. — Bryan

(More info on IMDB; Photos by heit007 & fairytalefrog)