jouvenaz

21 May 2012

Saw it for free, still ended up asking my money back

The makers of this movie knew the story was flimsy. Bad boy meets girl,boy straightens out, girl turns him down, boy makes big gesture, happyend. Of course, the end isn't really happy, because the girl isterminally ill. Most of the movie is Anne Hathaway showing her nicebody. Nothing wrong with her body, but it just screams: "We know themovie is crap, and we're not even trying to do something about it!" The actors can act, but the writers and the director don't give themanything to work with. The basic plot could have been worked into adecent movie, maybe even Oscar material. Hollywood loves its cripples.Hey, if Forrest Gump can win it, anything can. But nobody put anyeffort into it, so it fails miserably even as a romcom.At the end, the audience sighed in relief and applauded the guy whoturned the lights on. As I said, definite contender for the goldenrazzies.

20 May 2012

wasted talent

This review is from: Love & Other Drugs (Amazon Instant Video) I rented this thinking the film would be great cause its got two amazing leading stars but once again, they are so far away from making good interesting movies today , its now all about money and not about art. I wish I could get my money back.

19 May 2012

Superficial and lacking in substance...

I rented this movie because I had heard good things about it in the media. But it was a sad disappointment. While the story had potential for deep character development, the movie failed utterly to do so. Instead, it was plagued with superficiality. The director seemed more interested in the over-abundance of sex scenes (just add some cheesy music, and this movie easily becomes soft-porn) than with the lives of his characters outside the bedroom.

DICK STEEL

18 May 2012

A Nutshell Review: Love and Other Drugs

The first part introduces us to Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal), a goodlooking schmuck who gets his way around women always, possessing anirrepressible charm that make them all feel weak in their knees. Beingkicked out of his job at an electronic store for his amorous ways, hesoon finds himself applying his innate ways with women into his sellingroutine, now working as a sales rep in the medical industry for Pfizer,which when he joined hasn't created the magical blue pill called Viagrayet.I'd always wonder whether Pfizer was totally OK with the use of theirbranding, just like how Up in the Air featured Hilton. After all thissection of the film relentlessly pummels you with their sales strategy,arguments and counter-arguments where some aren't really flattering, oreven ethical to begin with. It's like a statement of how numbers andquotas are being chased no matter the cost, and their sales trainingmade for some comedic fodder. And to make matters worst, it puts upfront how the use of freebies can open up doors which are closed, andto Jamie it also means manipulating women to get at what he wants,especially an account with Dr Stan Knight (Hank Azaria) who in onescene opened up and blabbers about how corrupt the entire industrycould be in demolishing one's medical ideals.So I suppose it's fair game for Pfizer since the story, or at leastthis part of it, is based on the book "Hard Sell: The Evolution of aViagra Salesman" by author Jamie Reidy, himself a former Pfizer salesrep, because at least it gets itself everywhere in the film by virtueof Jamie's job. Besides the lessons learnt and applicability in thecorporate world, I totally agree with how being good looking puts oneat a certain advantage because people like aesthetically pleasingthings and beings, or try as hard to deny that such things exist.Things work, appeals work, and just about everything one touches turninto gold, or you get a leg up in your mission in life. This entirepart on the bubbling new career of Jamie's I enjoyed and had a hugechuckle from for its bold portrayal of things that cut close to reallife.Then there's the romantic portion of the film that kicked in once AnneHathaway's Maggie Murdock comes into the picture, piquing Jamie'sinterest when she revealed a boob and caught him ogling. The lovebetween the two is anything but simple (and I touch on this in a while)since she wants to keep her emotional walls up to prevent from gettinghurt again. They reach an agreeable compromise in establishing arelation that's built on purely physical terms, and try as hard as theycan to avoid falling into the usual relationship trap. Through theirinteractions we learn a lot more about their characters, and in thesemoments come the expansion to prevent them from lapsing into caricaturemode. Both Gyllenhaal and Hathaway score in their respective roles, so muchso that it earned them a Golden Globe nomination each. Gyllenhaal'sJamie develops from schmuck to an all round nice guy, something whichlove does of course since it forces you to care about somebody else,while Hathaway has to mimic an early stage of Parkinson's for herMaggie role, and brings to light some basic understanding of sufferersfor the disease in which there's still no cure. After all, modernmedicine seems to be interested in developing products that have massmarket demand (like Viagra) appealing to the primal desires of men (andwomen too) which automatically translates to profits. Needless to sayhaving been on screen together (sans clothes too in Brokeback Mountain)meant some natural chemistry already established and which they shared But the third part to the film was the home run for me. It defines theconcept of unconditional love, other than the innate one that a momwill always possess for her kids. You'll know someone is right for you,and there's no point denying it anyway, when they choose to stick byyou when they know the going will get tough, that things will turn outquite the nightmare and disadvantageous, but decide to do sononetheless. It takes the concept of "in sickness and in health" andweaves a strong emotional narrative around it in this film, where acouple not yet bounded by matrimonial vows, decide to adopt its conceptimplicitly. One is a sufferer from an incurable, long term disease,afraid to get too close to someone in fear of being pitied upon, orunfairly bogging down and clipping another's wings when the other halfhas opportunities to take off and fly.But no, the film isn't that sombre in mood always, and contains plentyof comedy also courtesy of Oliver Platt as Jamie's sales manager, andthat of Josh Gad playing Jamie's uncouth brother Josh, a one timeinternet paper millionaire until the dot com bubble burst, having tolive on the couch in Jamie's apartment, the details of his shenanigansbest left for you to find out from the film. The strength of Love andOther Drugs come from the development and transformation of charactersand their relationships with each other, which dialogues that remindedme of, of all films, Jerry Maguire, set against an historical backdropof developments in the medical industry that shook up the whole world.As I said, it's smart and all encompassing for a film like how Zwicklikes his films to be, and I'm sure has elements that you'll identifywith and enjoy.I'm firmly putting this in my Highly Recommended list, and an earlyshoo in as one of the best of this year, even though it's early. Nowexcuse me as I go practice my Hey Lisa routine!

chrismsawin

13 May 2012

A great date movie

I've never been a big fan of romantic comedies. They usually try toohard to be cute or are too heavy on romance and too light on comedy.Sitting through a string of romantic comedies when you're single isn'tthe best idea either as it just seems to remind you of what youcurrently don't have. But every once in a while a film labeled as aromantic comedy offers a little bit more than it lets on. Love & OtherDrugs is such a film.Love & Other Drugs spends an equal amount of time giving a lesson inpharmaceutical sales that it does with the relationship between Jamieand Maggie. In between getting familiar with how easy it is for Jamieto get laid, we're introduced to how competitive it was for Zoloft toget off the ground when Prozac already ruled the world ofanti-depressants in a 1996 world. Then a little blue pill came alongcalled Viagra to help anyone with impotence and swept the world bystorm. In addition to that, there's also a fair amount of screen timegiven to Parkinson's's disease as Maggie struggles with stage one ofthe disease as a 26-year-old. So Love & Other Drugs is basically a filmabout pharmaceutical sales while also giving the viewer an idea of whatit's like to deal with an incurable disease at a young age first and aromantic comedy second.If the film still doesn't sound like the type of film for you, there'sstill a little bit of hope. Anne Hathaway is shown topless quite oftenin the film's 113 minute duration, so guys have something to lookforward to if a girlfriend or wife is planning on making you sitthrough this any time soon. You pretty much see all of Jake Gyllenhaalas well other than a full frontal, so the ladies can oggle something aswell. The real chemistry on-screen is obviously between Gyllenhaal andHathaway, but also Gyllenhaal and Josh Gad who play brothers. Gad seemslike a knockoff of Jonah Hill or some weird parallel universe versionof him. With that being said, you can probably figure out that it'smostly emotional touchy-feely stuff between Gyllenhaal and Hathawaywhile the relationship between Gyllenhaal and Gad provides most of thelaughs.Love & Other Drugs is probably mostly what you're expecting it to be,but it may contain more about pharmaceutical sales and Parkinson's'sdisease than the trailers let on. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway doa decent job of making you care about the fate of a relationshipbetween two people who try their hardest to pass themselves off asselfish jerks. The film is actually pretty similar to Knocked Up or aJudd Apatow production in general, at least in tone. Love & Other Drugsis still a funny, touching, well-acted romantic comedy that is sure tomake a great date movie.

xJags

12 May 2012

Hilarious....Heart Felt......Hope you go see this movie.

When I first saw this trailer I expected a funny adult comedy...Idefinitely got that and a lot more. With actors like Anne Hathaway andJake Gyllenhaal in the lead, not only is the automatic on-screenchemistry but if in your opinion the script may go weak(which it didn'tfor me),their performances and very strong and excellent. The awarenessof Parkinson's disease and upcoming of Viagra not only gave the moviemeaning but made it even more interesting. If you are in the mood foran adult comedy(and it is adult as is shows a lot of skin) then youneed to see this movie. As for Hathaway's and Gyllenhaal's Golden Globenominations...Yes they are definitely strong contenders. It a moviethat everyone can enjoy so go see it.

Kaye Espinosa

12 May 2012

Love And Other Drugs

This is the first movie of Anne Hathaway where I saw her taking off herclothes. This was a touching movie. I remember "A Walk To Remember"film with this video. There's one part of this movie that I gotconfused with. The part where Jamie Randall's (Jake Gyllenhaal) heartbeats faster. I don't know why it happened. Or maybe because he wasdrunk that night and things happen like that. But the fact that Jamiehelped Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) to see all the doctors around thestate just to help her with the healing process is so heart-warming. Heloves Maggie with all his heart that he's willing to risk everythingfor that girl. And he is willing to accept the truth. I feel so pityfor Maggie. I thought it was another sex story. But this movie has sometwist so I enjoyed watching it.

12 May 2012

Thought I'd love it, but didn't

I really thought I would love this movie and couldn't wait until it was available on DVD. We rented it recently and I thought the story was pretty good and I really liked Jake Gyllenhaal. However, I couldn't get past all of the "pervasive language". It REALLY took away from the likability of the movie for me. Also there was more nudity than expected, mostly females, which I don't appreciate. Anyway, if you're not offended by these things, then you'll probably like it, but for those of you that are more sensitive to these things, be forewarned.

11 May 2012

Hollywood Grows Up

I hadn't heard of this movie when it was released and stumbled upon it on Netflix. As a die-hard fan of romantic comedies, upon reading the synopsis, I wasn't too hopeful that it would fit neatly into the rom-com genre. Still, it sounded interesting enought to warrant watching. Now a few days later, the gravity of the movie still weighs heavily on my mind. It is rated 'R' for its nudity and sex scenes; it really should be rated 'M' for 'Mature' -- mature audience who have experienced life, that is. If one can look beyond the graphic scenes (not easy with Gyllenhaal's glorious physique flashing before our eyes every few minutes) as well as reserve moral judgement, one can see that the movie encompasses many of the issues that mankind is afraid of confronting, which, not coincidentally, are also the same ones that we find difficult to talk about with our children. For Hollywood to even be able to address such deep issues in one film is a laudable endeavour:- Fraility of the human condition, at any age- The aftermath of casual sex (what comes next, how to deal with it, etc.)- Human insecurities and self-doubt; everyone's latent desire to be loved 'as is'- The wild roller coaster of life that can lift one to the heights of euphoria one moment and plunge one into abject shadows the next- The ability to love 'in spite of', aka unconditional love- The depth (or shallowness) of human interactions that range from the comfortable, non-competitive brotherly love between Jamie and Josh to the aggressive, self-serving relationships forged by the pharmaceutical salespeopleOur experience with, and views on, some of those issues are harboured deep within our souls, never to be revealed; others, we are quite boldly vocal about. But all have seeded at least some thought in us, at one point or another.Both Jamie and Maggie wallow in self-pity -- she from the obvious and he from his ADHD. Both use their disability as shields against deeper feelings and forging more meaningful relationships -- she with men, he with his family. I could go on but no one wants to read a review that lengthy and heavy. Only the ending is predictable and uninspiring, as if the script writers have already expended too much thought and emotions and couldn't wait to end the story. This is not a first-date movie, or one where you just want levity. It is, however, a movie to watch with one you trust and who might welcome a discussion about the movie, should it affect you as much as it did me.

10 May 2012

I had enough of their sex scences once I saw one!

This movie was so disgusting! Gratuitious sex all over the place! I'm not a prud, but give me a break! The whole first half of the movie just shows them having sex.....I had enough once I saw the first sex scene. You could tell this movie had a male producer or director because the nudity was all over the place. I can't believe Anne Hathaway let the movie industry use her like that! Even though I'm not crazy about her, this movie completely exploited her by showing her nude so many times, it finally got real old! And the constant commercial for Pfizer and Viagra was just too much! I wish I had the last 2 hours of my life back after seeing this stupid movie. I'm just happy I didn't spend good money to see it at a theatre.

smith39-908-732946

10 May 2012

thoughts about several of the films themes, sexuality, male roles, health care

Today I saw a film, Love and Other Drugs, in which Jake Gyllenhaal andAnne Hathaway have several high energy sexual encounters. Oneparticular depiction (?) of a mutual orgasm was so beautiful that manymembers of the audience may have vividly recollected this state. It wassexual connection based on both characters knowing they loved eachother. The film displayed a peak erotic and spiritual connection. Forsome theater goers it may have seemed too much, but I don't thinkanyone would have thought a similar personal experience was "too much".The film had many cinematic forebearers, stories of lovers whosepartners are ill and one or both struggle with leaving or staying. Mostof the plot turns at this level of analysis were better than most ofthe progenitors. A chance encounter with a man who did stay with hispartner and had to watch her become immobile and unable to communicate,allows Gyllenhaal's character to see the future. This vision moves himout of the moment in the relationship and results in a separation thathe is both regretful of and relieved by. This is one example of how thefilm makes the couple's dilemma real to the audience. Even someone whois less confused that Gyllenhaal's character about commitment wouldhave great difficulties with this challenge.There is a strong subplot that looks at male sexuality as it isprescribed for men in modern culture. The chance to have unconnectedsex with numerous women is presented as the main character's onecertain accomplishment and the envy of other men. On one occasion hisyounger brother actually achieves this status. The younger brother isable to recognize that it isn't what he wants or enjoys. As he sharesthis insight with Gyllenhaal's character, a piece of a developingunderstanding occurs within him. His vulnerability is uncovered by hispartner, Anne Hathaway's, Maggie, who assists him in recognizing hisvalue as a good man.When he finds his way back to his center, his relationship also rightsitself. The film's essential statement is that the immediate momentthat lives in all of us is the center from which loving connection isconceived, nurtured and revitalized.The Big Pharma aspect of the plot is humanized by looking at its effecton several levels of medical personnel and patients. A variety of humanbetrayals are shown as a part of corporate health care. This story linedevelops the idea that corporate greed can subvert the best parts ofour humanity if we do not recognize our most important needs.

09 May 2012

About so much more than the previews lead you to believe

This movie has such a strong message. They could have done it with a little less sex and nudity, but the story is priceless.

TwitterJamieMadril

09 May 2012

Lighthearted fun and profound emotion make this film a great watch

While some producers may find the idea of writing a love story based onan illness a bit taboo, I found this film to be beautifully gritty,honest and poignant. Anne Hathaway did an incredibly job portraying acharacter that is admittedly flawed. Her ability to create such a wellrounded character, with such a sense of strength and at the same timevulnerability was truly magic. Her pain was so raw that it couldn'thelp but strike a nerve in any viewer. Anne's presence was profound inthis film. This film had the perfect balance of lighthearted fun andraw emotion to please a wide range of viewers. The director succeededin their efforts to create a film that introduced the viewer to theharsh realities we all must endure, while still allowing us toexperience the unwavering love that lies in all of us.

jacobson98

08 May 2012

Soft-Core Porn

This is a terrible film with a total lack of focus. It's all over theplace - seems to randomly throw out issues and plots without anyconvergence whatsoever. The shame is that it has a terrific and verytalented cast, it looks great and is occasionally funny. Alas, it'splotted like a soft-core porn film, lots of nudity and humping with noindication of what it has to do with the film. Somewhere in this messis a good film trying to emerge. Perhaps, this movie should be a filmschool problem -- what went wrong here and how can it be fixed. There'slots of pretty people here that look good nude and the usual funny fatguy who doesn't and after watching this picture you're left withabsolutely nothing -- it doesn't register. What a shame.

08 May 2012

rambling move

This review is from: Love & Other Drugs (Amazon Instant Video) Its a movie that you want to get excited about instead it just gently pulls you along leaving you waiting for more then entire time.

Jackson Booth-Millard

07 May 2012

Love & Other Drugs

From director Edward Zwick (Glory, Blood Diamond, Defiance), this cameout in cinemas two months before No String Attached, they were notcompeting the same year, but they are both similar films with subtledifferences, I watched this one first. Basically Jamie Randall (GoldenGlobe nominated Jake Gyllenhaal) lost his job selling electronics backin 1996 for having sex with his manager's wife, and he now works forPfizer as a drug rep. His recent job is to try and prescribe Zoloftinstead of Prozac, and while doing this he meets the beautiful freespirited and Parkinson's disease suffering Maggie Murdock (Golden Globenominated Anne Hathaway). They arrange a date together, this only lastsa few minutes because they rush back her apartment for sex, and theydecide after doing it again to make a regular thing, i.e. become "sexfriends". One night Maggie teases Jamie that he cannot get an erection,and that he needs the latest drug available, Viagra, which solveserectile dysfunction, and he also promotes this drug which becomes evenmore popular. After some time, Jamie wants a more serious relationshipwith Maggie, but she refuses, and they break up for a little while, butshe accepts a relationship when they see each other again. They spendmore time together and he spends nights round her apartment, and onenight returning he tells her that he loves her, he has never said heloves someone in his life, not even his family. One day Jamie catchesMaggie's brother Josh (Josh Gad) masturbating to their sex tape, he isangered and shocked whatever apology he gets. Going to conventiontogether, Maggie attends a meeting for Parkinson's sufferers, she ismoved by the people and their stories who suffer like her, and shecomes to tell Jamie she love him. He becomes obsessed with trying tofind a cure for her disease, pushing Dr. Stan Knight (Hank Azaria) forresults, and after a few too many sessions she argues there is no cureand she wants to live the way she is, therefore they break up. LaterJamie has a dinner with friend Bruce Winston (Oliver Platt), andhappens to bump into Maggie, and he decides after initially accepting apromotion to go and see her at the restaurant she works, but she hasleft for Canada to obtain drugs she needs. In the end Jamie persuadesMaggie to have a five minute talk with him, he explains how better hislife is with her in it, and she cries knowing she feels the same, so herefuses the promotion and they live together. Also starring GabrielMacht as Trey Hannigan, Judy Greer as Cindy, George Segal as Dr. JamesRandall, Jill Clayburgh as Nancy Randall, Katheryn Winnick as 'Lisa'and Jaimie Alexander as Carol. Gyllenhaal is near enough suave andcharming, Hathaway I was not expecting to see fully naked and plays herpart nicely, and together they make a good on screen couple, it is notnecessarily original with in love, breaking up and back again part, andthe "sex friends" that fall in love is a bit obvious, but it is not abad romantic comedy drama. Worth watching!

06 May 2012

Great acting, but definitely a drama and not a comedy

I just finished watching this movie, and was curious as to what other people thought. Personally, I thought that the acting was phenomenal; there was a wide range of emotions in the movie, and I'm impressed with the maturity of the actors. That said, it still felt odd to see quite so much nudity--I didn't think it fit with the seriousness of the subject matter (not the sex scenes themselves, but I was surprised at how many there were!). This movie is about loving someone with Parkinson's, but the trailers gave me the impression that it was a lighthearted romance, which is obviously not true. Overall I give it 4-stars. A unusual story, great actors, and a relatively happy ending. The negatives include the unlikability of several of the characters, as well as some of the things I mentioned above. I couldn't help but feel that there were SOOOO many sex scenes because Anne Hathaway was officially moving into the adult movie-world, or something like that. I mean, I'm pretty sure that most actresses (and actors, I suppose) start REFUSING to take off all their clothes when they reach a certain level of success. Since I'm not privy to Anne and Jake's thoughts, I conclude that they were very brave. And looked good. =)

neenahhh

05 May 2012

A lot more than the poster suggests

I wasn't expecting a lot when coming into this movie, so I guess I cansay that I enjoyed it. I was expecting this movie to just be about sexafter seeing the poster, but I was wrong. There was so much more.After watching the movie (and becoming biased from a few posts on theboard), I realized that there were 2 separate stories and only oneinterested me. The first story was about a man becoming rich because ofhis sales of Viagra and Pfizer. The second story is about a woman whohas Parkinson's and is afraid to fall in love. Heh, I'm a young girl.Take a wild guess at what plot captured my attention more.I liked the soft porn. Anne Hathaway was sexy. Jake Gyllenhaal wassexy. Everyone was sexy! Except for that disgusting pig of a brother,who I thought to be quite useless in this film. Sorry, Josh. I thoughtthat the sex was done beautifully. Not too much, but it left theviewers wanting more. Or maybe that's just me. OKAY. Enough with thesex scenes.I really, really liked the whole Parkinson's plot! It made me curiousabout that disease. I learned new things while watching this film. Anneexecuted her role greatly. She played Maggie who was suffering fromthat illness and was hesitant to fall in love, for reasons that areunknown to me up to now. Jamie, who is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, getsto know her and after many sexual encounters, falls in love with her. Ifound that sweet, although many people complained that there wasn'tenough emotional contact between the two. Psh. The ending got to me,with Jamie's speech and such. I didn't cry, though. But it was good.Nice movie. I don't get why the US version had to edit it, though. Iguess I was lucky enough to watch the original unedited version. I'mgiving this film a 7. It was supposed to be an 8, but the whole Viagraplot thing threw me off. But other than that, it was a good movie, Iguess."Sometimes the things you want the most don't happen and what you leastexpect, happens. I don't know- you meet thousands of people and none ofthem really touch you. And then you meet that one person and your lifeis changed."

ugh_jacob

05 May 2012

If you're able to feel any emotion, go see this movie!

I know you should probably not review anything while still beingemotional, but what the heck, here goes.This film was such an amazing emotional roller-coaster ride, I can'tremember the last time I laughed and cried so much during a film asthis one, sometimes even at the same time. And the funny thing is, it'snot even the parts where the film obviously tries to be funny when Ilaughed most.The performances were great, the story was interesting (excepting maybethe a bit too slow build-up) and really made you care. The film was attimes philosophical and very critical of today's pharma industry andmedical care without being dry or boring about it. And yes, it also hadsome very erotic scenes which nevertheless never left the realm of theaesthetic.But, mainly it's about the insecurities of love and the hard work arelationship needs to be successful and satisfying as opposed toshallow and meaningless.

04 May 2012

Love and Pain and the Whole Enchilada in a Tonal Whiplash of a Dramedy

To call this 2010 romantic dramedy uneven would be a severe understatement. It suffers from downright ADD as it moves from a snapshot of manic arrested development to pharmaceutical satire to near-porn to romantic comedy to medical melodrama. That the film was directed by Edward Zwick (Glory) suddenly makes sense when you think about how he and fellow producer Marshall Hersokowitz created a similarly toned TV series, thirtysomething, back in the late eighties. Both of them also co-wrote the screenplay along with Charles Randolph based on James Reidy's 2005 book, Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. However, what works over several TV seasons doesn't work as well within a 112-minute running time. Fortunately, Zwick chose two attractive leads, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, to star in this basically schizophrenic movie, and both perform admirably under the circumstances.Beginning in 1996, the plot revolves around Jamie Randall, a young medical school drop-out just fired from a sales job at an electronics store. A typical commitment-phobe, he manages to land a job through his younger brother Josh, an obnoxiously wealthy dot-commer, as a pharmaceutical rep for Pfizer selling Zoloft and eventually Viagra. While accompanying an influential doctor on his rounds, Jamie meets Maggie Murdock, a pretty free spirit with early onset Parkinson's disease. They waste little time in having sex, an arrangement that suits both their situations and libidos. However, it's inevitable that one wants more out of the relationship, and Jamie convinces Maggie to take it to the next level. At a Parkinson's convention in Chicago, they come away with a more palpable sense of what the long-term effects of the disease will be on Maggie. This naturally tests their relationship as they face the prospect of her condition worsening.More at home than as the Prince of Persia in the sixth century B.C., Gyllenhaal takes on a George Clooney-type role in Jamie with convincing self-assurance. Perhaps because The Princess Diaries will never entirely leave her screen persona (note her recent Oscar gig as evidence of her cheerleading tendencies), Hathaway does surprisingly well portraying a sexual hedonist keeping a deliberate emotional distance from everybody. The two banter sharply and handle their characters' sexual combustion with élan. When the film threatens to move into Sweet November-type melodrama, the actors avert the heart-tugging predictability with their emotional alertness. As the chubby younger brother, Josh Gad is as irritating as an evasive fly in an unessential role designed to provide intermittent comic relief but failing miserably in what amounts to a Jonah Hill impersonation.The other actors are fine but make mostly truncated appearances - Oliver Platt as a blustery Pfizer salesman, Hank Azaria as the seasoned go-between doctor, Gabriel Macht as a competing rep with anger management issues, George Segal and the late Jill Clayburgh as Jamie's concerned parents in an early and all-too-brief dining table scene. It's also worth noting that Steven Fierberg's sharp cinematography captures the various Midwest locations really well, and Steven Rosenblum's action-movie-style editing captures the manic energy Zwick appears to have wanted during the film's first half. The 2011 DVD/Blu-Ray offers relatively few extras - about seven minutes of deleted scenes, the original theatrical trailer, and four quick featurettes ("Love & Other Drugs": An Actor's Discussion", "Beautifully Complex: Anne Hathaway is Maggie", "Reformed Womanizer: Jake Gyllenhaal is Jamie", and "Selling Love & Other Drugs" which features Reidy. Surprisingly, there is no education piece about Parkinson's disease, a missed opportunity.