Love & Other Drugs

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Love & Other Drugs
Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Maggie (Anne Hathaway) are in torn blankets in bed, as information is below and "Love & Other Drugs" is at the top.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdward Zwick
Screenplay by
Based onHard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman
by Jamie Reidy
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySteven Fierberg
Edited bySteven Rosenblum
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • November 4, 2010 (2010-11-04) (AFI Fest)
  • November 24, 2010 (2010-11-24) (United States)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[1]
Box office$105 million[2]

Love & Other Drugs is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film[3] directed, produced and co-written by Edward Zwick and based on Jamie Reidy's 2005 non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad and Gabriel Macht, the film tells the story of a medicine peddler in 1990s Pittsburgh who starts a relationship with a young woman suffering from an illness that leads to Parkinson's disease.

Love & Other Drugs was released in theaters on November 24, 2010, by 20th Century Fox and grossed $103 million against a $30 million budget. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot[edit]

In 1996, womanizer Jamie Randall is fired from a Pittsburgh electronics store for having sex with his manager's girlfriend. His wealthy brother, Josh, refers him for a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative.

After attending a Pfizer training program, Jamie goes to work for them, attempting to get doctors to prescribe Zoloft. He is rebuffed, much to the dismay of his regional manager, Bruce, who sees him as his ticket to the Chicago market. Bruce suggests he get Dr. Stan Knight to prescribe Zoloft instead of Prozac, so other doctors will follow. Jamie tries to gain access to Dr. Knight by flirting with his female employees, while secretly discarding the Prozac samples.

Knight eventually allows Jamie to observe him examine one of his patients, Maggie Murdock, who suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease. Taking an interest in Maggie, Jamie obtains her number from one of Knight's assistants, whom he previously seduced.

Jamie and Maggie go on a date and agree that neither is interested in a serious relationship, so they start having casual sex. He is beaten up by top-selling Prozac rep, Trey Hannigan, who discovers that Jamie has been discarding his samples. Maggie reveals Trey is an ex-boyfriend, and she tells Jamie a rumor about Jamie's company developing a new drug to treat erectile dysfunction. Bruce confirms that Viagra is about to be marketed.

Jamie starts selling Viagra, which is an instant success. He reveals that he wants a serious relationship, but Maggie breaks up with him. He confronts her while she helps senior citizens onto a bus bound for Canada to obtain cheap prescription drugs. They argue, Jamie refuses to leave and waits for Maggie all night at a bus stop. Touched, she reciprocates feelings and they resume their relationship.

Maggie accompanies Jamie to a medical conference, where she ends up at a Parkinson's support group across the street. She invites Jamie, and he meets a man whose wife is in the final stages of the disease and asks for advice. The man tells him to leave her, citing the downsides of the disease over time.

After the convention, Maggie finally tells Jamie how much she loves him. He begins researching Parkinson's and takes Maggie to different specialists around the country for tests. Jamie becomes angry when they arrive at an appointment only to discover it has been rescheduled. Feeling Jamie only wants to be with her if there is a hope for a cure, she breaks up with him.

Sometime later, Jamie and Josh are invited to a party by Knight, where Jamie takes Viagra and has a threesome with two women. He awakens with a rare side effect and goes to the hospital. Sometime later, he goes to a restaurant and encounters Maggie on a date. Bruce arrives and reveals Jamie has been promoted to the Chicago office.

While packing, Jamie finds the videotape recorder with the video of himself and Maggie talking about life. He realizes he wants to be with her, but her boss tells him she has left for Canada to obtain cheap prescription drugs.

Jamie finds and tells Maggie he loves and needs her. She starts to cry, saying she will need him more. Jamie decides not to take the job in Chicago; instead, he attends University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to be with her.

Cast[edit]

The film was a posthumous release for Jill Clayburgh who died November 5, 2010. The film was dedicated to her memory.

Production[edit]

Filming[edit]

Principal photography began in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region on September 21, 2009.[4] The city was chosen for its atmosphere, rich medical history, the state's tax incentive program for film productions, and the area's experienced crews.[5] Pittsburgh suburbs such as McCandless, Squirrel Hill, Fox Chapel, Sewickley, Aliquippa, and Brownsville have been used as locations for the film, as well as Mellon Arena, Jane Street in the South Side between 17th and 18th streets, the Omni William Penn Hotel, The Capital Grille, and Station Square. Pittsburgh doubled as Chicago for some scenes.[5] The studio was in a building that had been a limousine car park.[6]

The scene in the beginning of the film where Gyllenhaal's character works in the audio/video store was shot at the former Don Allen Car Dealership located on Baum Blvd and S. Atlantic Avenue where the East End neighborhoods of Shadyside, Friendship and Bloomfield intersect. The building has since been demolished as of 2014.

A section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway (Pennsylvania Route 43) in suburban Washington County was used for scenes on November 15–16, delaying traffic. A helicopter was used for filming and 40 to 50 vehicles were brought in for the shoot. Trailers and tents were set up on the campus of Ringgold High School while filming took place on the Expressway. An area was set aside for actors waiting to film their scenes.[4]

In preparing for the film, Hathaway credits the work of Kate Winslet and Penélope Cruz, two actresses "whose work [she] returned to a lot in preparation" for Love and Other Drugs; she believes both have "done nudity with a tremendous amount of sensitivity and dignity".[6] She identified one of her favorite Cruz films, Abre Los Ojos, as work that helped her greatly for her role.[7] Like Gyllenhaal, Hathaway had final cut over those scenes, using it to cut five seconds where she thought "the camera lingered a little bit".[6] Hathaway said that she did not believe her nudity in the film would put off socially conservative people who would otherwise see the film, saying "just because nudity is such a contentious issue in America people believe that they automatically alienate the conservative parts of America by having nudity. But I give the American public more credit than that. I think that people are curious and people do love love stories. I think people might find it and like it, even though it is a little bit risky."[8]

Release[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Love and Other Drugs received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 49% based on 170 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's a pleasure to see Hollywood produce a romance this refreshingly adult, but Love and Other Drugs struggles to find a balance between its disparate plot elements."[9] Metacritic gave the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[10]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it two and a half stars out of four, commenting that it "obtains a warm, lovable performance from Anne Hathaway and dimensions from Jake Gyllenhaal that grow from comedy to the serious".[11] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review, writing: "The energy is far too great—manic even—at the beginning but calms down for a while to focus on the highly competitive but not always ethical arena of drug sales, then gets distracted by unusually bold sex scenes for a studio picture only to wander off into the cultural phenomenon of Viagra before the movie decides it's a romance after all and so concludes in a highly conventional final embrace."[12] A negative review from the East Bay Express described it as "a spectacularly maudlin and repellent piece of work" where the two protagonists "try to outdo each other in the 'who cares' department with their alarmingly off-putting interpersonal communication", leading to "callous salesman jokes, callous sex jokes, even callous jokes about the homeless man who rescues drug samples from the Dumpster."[13] An Associated Press reviewer found the film to be a "run-of-the-mill Hollywood love story".[14]

Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, stating "Zwick is thankfully much more of a grown-up now in dealing with relationship entanglements. Somehow, between the epic and the intimate, between Hathaway and Gyllenhaal, love doesn't come easy, but with Love & Other Drugs, at least you don't have to wait."[15] Mary Pols of Time stated, "Since American movies tend to be prudish about sex, especially having bona fide stars appear to do it onscreen, Love & Other Drugs' desire to thoroughly acquaint us with a topless Anne Hathaway and a bottomless Jake Gyllenhaal is a welcome change."[16] James Berardinelli, film critic for ReelViews, praised the film and its story, giving it three and a half stars out of four. He wrote, "The first thing one notices about Love and Other Drugs is that it's an adult romance. So many current love stories are targeted at teenagers that it's rare to find one that sidesteps the numerous contrivances that permeate the genre."[17]

Box office[edit]

Love and Other Drugs was released on November 24, 2010, and opened in 2,455 theaters in the United States, grossing $2,239,489 on its opening day and $9,739,161 in its opening weekend, ranking No. 6 with a per theater average of $3,967.[18][19] On its second weekend, it remained No. 6 and grossed $5,652,810, averaging $2,300 per theater.[20] By its third weekend it dropped down to No. 8 and made $2,981,509, averaging $1,331 per theater.[21]

The film had a domestic total gross of $32,367,005 against a production budget of $30 million. It fared much better overseas, where it grossed $70,453,003.[2]

Accolades[edit]

Award Category Recipient(s) Result
68th Golden Globe Awards[22] Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Jake Gyllenhaal Nominated
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Anne Hathaway Nominated
15th Satellite Awards[23] Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Jake Gyllenhaal Nominated
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Anne Hathaway Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association[24] Best Actress Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fritz, Ben (November 23, 2010). "Movie projector: 'Harry Potter' to rule again as four new movies open, three competing for women". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2010. Still, 20th Century Fox and Regency Pictures spent only about $30 million to make it, giving them as much chance as their competitors to turn a profit.
  2. ^ a b "Love and Other Drugs (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  3. ^ "AFI|Catalog - Love & Other Drugs". AFI. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Oliver, Jeff (November 17, 2009). "Movie crew hanging out at Ringgold High". Valley Independent. Retrieved January 1, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b Barbara Vancheri (October 21, 2009). "Pittsburgh addicted to Gyllenhaal's 'Love and Drugs'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Archived from the original on January 26, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "Anne Hathaway: From Princesses To Passion". Fresh Air. NPR. November 29, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  7. ^ Whipp, Glenn (February 17, 2011). "Oscars: Anne Hathaway owes thanks to Penelope Cruz". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  8. ^ "Hathaway: Nudity won't put off 'more conservative' fans". BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat. BBC. December 22, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  9. ^ "Love and Other Drugs (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "Love and Other Drugs reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  11. ^ Roger Ebert (November 23, 2010). "Love and Other Drugs". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  12. ^ Honeycutt, Kirk (October 26, 2010). "Love and Other Drugs: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  13. ^ Vance, Kelly (November 24, 2010). "Erection Day: Love and Other Drugs and Made in Dagenham". East Bay Express. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Germain, David (November 22, 2010). "Review: 'Love & Other Drugs' Sells Same Old Potion". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  15. ^ Sharkey, Betsy (November 24, 2010). "Movie review: 'Love & Other Drugs'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 27, 2010. Zwick is thankfully much more of a grown-up now in dealing with relationship entanglements. Somehow, between the epic and the intimate, between Hathaway and Gyllenhaal, love doesn't come easy, but with "Love & Other Drugs," at least you don't have to wait.
  16. ^ Pols, Mary (November 24, 2010). "Love & Other Drugs: Anatomy Lessons with Anne Hathaway". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010. Since American movies tend to be prudish about sex, especially having bona fide stars appear to do it onscreen, Love & Other Drugs' desire to thoroughly acquaint us with a topless Anne Hathaway and a bottomless Jake Gyllenhaal is a welcome change.
  17. ^ Berardinelli, James (November 23, 2010). "Love and Other Drugs". ReelViews. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  18. ^ Brandon Gray (November 27, 2010). "Friday Report: 'Harry Potter,' 'Tangled' Dominate". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  19. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for November 26–28". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  20. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for December 3–5". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  21. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for December 10–12". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  22. ^ Reynolds, Simon (December 14, 2010). "In Full: Golden Globes - Movie Nominees". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  23. ^ Carlson, Alex (2010-12-04). "Golden Satellite Award Nominations 2010" Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine. Film Misery. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
  24. ^ Carlson, Alex (2010-12-05). "Washington D.C. Film Critics Award Nominations 2010" Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine. Film Misery. Retrieved 2010-12-27.

External links[edit]

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