The drugs don't work - and nor does this

By CHRIS TOOKEY FOR MAILONLINE
Updated:

Love And Other Drugs is about a Viagra salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal) attracted to the rapacious sexuality of a beautiful young woman with Parkinson’s disease (Anne Hathaway). 

Neither wants a serious relationship, so naturally they fall in love. It’s not all bad, especially in the final reel. There are echoes of Jerry Maguire as our hubristic hero learns to become more sensitive, and Miss Hathaway gives a warm, sexy performance that’s her most attractive since The Devil Wears Prada.

Repellent romcom: It's a wonder how a film this messy got into production, let alone enticed Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

Repellent romcom: It's a wonder how a film this messy got into production, let alone enticed Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

Unfortunately, too many of the attempts at humour fall flat, and the leading characters are repellent for so long that, when they do reform, they seem to be doing so in a desperate attempt to bring an overlong movie to an end. Director Edward Zwick tries to pack in too much.

This includes a satire on the drug industry (but it isn’t as sharp as, say, Thank You
For Smoking), a disease-of-the-week weepie (but it lacks the tearjerking power of a Love Story), and a romcom that goes out of its way to be unromantic and raunchy, like a Judd Apatow movie with pretensions.

I ended up wondering how a screenplay this messy had ever gone into production, let alone attracted two actors of this quality.

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