Love and Other Drugs
Encyclopedia
Love and Other Drugs is a 2010 romantic comedy
film co-written and directed by Edward Zwick
and based on the non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy
. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal
and Anne Hathaway
in their second film together, following Brokeback Mountain
in 2005.
Love and Other Drugs was released in the U.S. on November 24, 2010, to mixed reviews from film critics.
) is fired from a Midwest town's electronics store for having sex with his manager's girlfriend. His wealthy brother Josh (Josh Gad
) finds him a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Jamie goes to work for Pfizer
and tries to get doctors to prescribe Zoloft and Zithromax. He is rebuffed, much to the dismay of his regional manager, Bruce (Oliver Platt
), who sees Jamie as his ticket to the "big leagues" of Chicago
.
Bruce says if Jamie can get Dr. Knight (Hank Azaria
) to prescribe Zoloft instead of Prozac, other doctors will follow his lead. Jamie uses his womanizer skills to gain access to Dr. Knight through his female staff. Dr. Knight unethically permits Jamie to observe a disrobing patient, Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway
), who suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease
.
A date with her results, lasting only minutes before she and Jamie have sex. Jamie is later beaten up by top-selling Prozac rep Trey (Gabriel Macht), one of Maggie's ex-lovers, who warns him to stay away from her and the doctors. That night, Jamie is unable to get an erection. Maggie teasingly says he should use the new erectile dysfunction
drug that his company has developed. Bruce confirms that such a drug, to be called Viagra, is about to be marketed. Jamie soon starts selling Viagra, an instant success.
Jamie wants a committed relationship, but Maggie refuses. While she helps senior citizens onto a bus bound for Canada
to get cheap prescription drugs, Jamie shows up. They argue but the next day when the bus comes back, Maggie is touched that he waited.
Jamie spends nights at Maggie's apartment. One night, he tells Maggie that he loves her although he had never said it to anyone in his life. Jamie has a slight panic attack and Maggie calms him by saying she "said 'I love you' to a cat once".
Jamie catches his brother masturbating to a sex tape that he and Maggie had filmed. Jamie asks her to go to a Chicago medical conference with him. She ends up at a Parkinson's discussion group across the street. She is moved by the people and their stories. Jamie meets a man whose wife is in the final stages of the disease. Jamie asks for advice about Maggie, and the man tells him to run. After the convention, Maggie tells him how much she loves him.
Jamie starts researching Parkinson's. He takes Maggie to a specialist to have tests done. Jamie becomes upset because an appointment was rescheduled after they had flown in to see the doctor. Maggie walks out because she sees that Jamie can only love her if there's a hope that one day there will be a cure. She breaks up with him.
Some time later, Jamie goes to a restaurant and runs into Maggie who is on a date. Bruce shows up and reveals Jamie has been promoted to the Chicago office. Jamie realizes he wants to be with Maggie, but her boss tells him she has left for Canada to obtain drugs. Jamie flags down her bus. He tells Maggie how she makes him a better person, that he loves her and needs her. She starts to cry and says she will need him more. Jamie decides not to take the job in Chicago to attend medical school.
began in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
region on September 21, 2009. 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. 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. The studio was in a building that had been a limousine car park.
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 is scheduled to be torn down in 2011 to make way for an L.A. Fitness Center.
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.
In preparing for the film, Hathaway credits the work of Kate Winslet
and Penelope 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." She identified one of her favorite Cruz films, Abre Los Ojos
, as work that helped her greatly for her role. Like Gyllenhaal, Hathaway had final cut
over those scenes, using it to cut five seconds where she thought "the camera lingered a little bit". 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."
gave the film a score of 48% based on reviews from 152 critics, or an average score of 5.8/10, with the site's consensus stating, "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." Metacritic
gave the film an average score of 55 based on reviews from 38 critics.
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
gave it two and a half stars out of four, stating that he "obtains a warm, lovable performance from Anne Hathaway and dimensions from Jake Gyllenhaal that grow from comedy to the serious".
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
gave the film a negative review. He stated, "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." Another reviewer found the film to be a "run-of-the-mill Hollywood love story."
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."
Mary Pols of Time
magazine 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."
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."
On its second weekend, it remained #6 and grossed $5,652,810 - $2,300 per theater.
By its third weekend it dropped down to #8 and made $2,981,509 - $1,331 per theater.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film co-written and directed by Edward Zwick
Edward Zwick
Edward M. Zwick is an American filmmaker and film producer noted for his epic films about social and racial issues. He has been described as a "throwback to an earlier era, an extremely cerebral director whose movies consistently feature fully rounded characters, difficult moral issues, and plots...
and based on the non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy
Jamie Reidy
Jamie Reidy is an author, screenwriter and Huffington Post blogger.After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1992, he served with distinction as a U.S. Army officer...
. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
and Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (actress)
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries...
in their second film together, following Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
in 2005.
Love and Other Drugs was released in the U.S. on November 24, 2010, to mixed reviews from film critics.
Plot
In 1996, Jamie Randall (Jake GyllenhaalJake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
) is fired from a Midwest town's electronics store for having sex with his manager's girlfriend. His wealthy brother Josh (Josh Gad
Josh Gad
Joshua “Josh” Gad is an American film-, television-, and stage-actor best known for playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon and the role of Ryan Church in the television series Back to You. Gad has also appeared in episodes of ER, The Daily Show, Modern Family...
) finds him a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Jamie goes to work for Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
and tries to get doctors to prescribe Zoloft and Zithromax. He is rebuffed, much to the dismay of his regional manager, Bruce (Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt
Oliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
), who sees Jamie as his ticket to the "big leagues" of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Bruce says if Jamie can get Dr. Knight (Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
) to prescribe Zoloft instead of Prozac, other doctors will follow his lead. Jamie uses his womanizer skills to gain access to Dr. Knight through his female staff. Dr. Knight unethically permits Jamie to observe a disrobing patient, Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (actress)
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries...
), who suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
A date with her results, lasting only minutes before she and Jamie have sex. Jamie is later beaten up by top-selling Prozac rep Trey (Gabriel Macht), one of Maggie's ex-lovers, who warns him to stay away from her and the doctors. That night, Jamie is unable to get an erection. Maggie teasingly says he should use the new erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
drug that his company has developed. Bruce confirms that such a drug, to be called Viagra, is about to be marketed. Jamie soon starts selling Viagra, an instant success.
Jamie wants a committed relationship, but Maggie refuses. While she helps senior citizens onto a bus bound for Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to get cheap prescription drugs, Jamie shows up. They argue but the next day when the bus comes back, Maggie is touched that he waited.
Jamie spends nights at Maggie's apartment. One night, he tells Maggie that he loves her although he had never said it to anyone in his life. Jamie has a slight panic attack and Maggie calms him by saying she "said 'I love you' to a cat once".
Jamie catches his brother masturbating to a sex tape that he and Maggie had filmed. Jamie asks her to go to a Chicago medical conference with him. She ends up at a Parkinson's discussion group across the street. She is moved by the people and their stories. Jamie meets a man whose wife is in the final stages of the disease. Jamie asks for advice about Maggie, and the man tells him to run. After the convention, Maggie tells him how much she loves him.
Jamie starts researching Parkinson's. He takes Maggie to a specialist to have tests done. Jamie becomes upset because an appointment was rescheduled after they had flown in to see the doctor. Maggie walks out because she sees that Jamie can only love her if there's a hope that one day there will be a cure. She breaks up with him.
Some time later, Jamie goes to a restaurant and runs into Maggie who is on a date. Bruce shows up and reveals Jamie has been promoted to the Chicago office. Jamie realizes he wants to be with Maggie, but her boss tells him she has left for Canada to obtain drugs. Jamie flags down her bus. He tells Maggie how she makes him a better person, that he loves her and needs her. She starts to cry and says she will need him more. Jamie decides not to take the job in Chicago to attend medical school.
Cast
- Jake GyllenhaalJake GyllenhaalJacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
as Jamie Randall - Anne HathawayAnne Hathaway (actress)Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries...
as Maggie Murdock - Josh GadJosh GadJoshua “Josh” Gad is an American film-, television-, and stage-actor best known for playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon and the role of Ryan Church in the television series Back to You. Gad has also appeared in episodes of ER, The Daily Show, Modern Family...
as Josh Randall - Judy GreerJudy GreerJudy Greer is an American actress, known for portraying a string of supporting female characters, including Kitty Sanchez on the Fox series Arrested Development and Cheryl on the animated comedy series Archer...
as Cindy - Gabriel MachtGabriel MachtGabriel S. Macht is an American actor. Macht is known for playing The Spirit in the film of the same name, and lately for his role as Harvey Specter on the USA Network series Suits.-Personal life:...
as Trey Hannigan - Oliver PlattOliver PlattOliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
as Bruce Jackson - Hank AzariaHank AzariaHenry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
as Dr. Knight - George SegalGeorge SegalGeorge Segal is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:George Segal, Jr. was born in 1934 Great Neck, Long Island, New York, the son of Fannie Blanche and George Segal, Sr. He was educated at George School, a private Quaker preparatory boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County,...
as Dr. James Randall - Jill ClayburghJill ClayburghJill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
as Nancy Randall - Katheryn WinnickKatheryn WinnickKatheryn Winnick is a Canadian film and television actress.-Life and career:Etobicoke-born Winnick, who is of Ukrainian descent and speaks fluent Ukrainian, has appeared in numerous studio films including Paramount's Failure to Launch and New Line's Amusement.She has guest starred in multiple...
as "Lisa" - Nikki DeLoachNikki DeLoachAshlee Nicole DeLoach is an American actress known as Nikki DeLoach.-Life and career:DeLoach was born in Waycross, Georgia. DeLoach was a member of the Georgia 4-H Performing Arts group Clovers & Company from 1991 to 1994. She then joined the The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993.In 1998, she became a...
as Christy
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
region on September 21, 2009. 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. Pittsburgh suburbs such as McCandless
McCandless, Pennsylvania
McCandless is a municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 28,457 at the 2010 census. It was originally incorporated as a township; however, on January 1, 1975, McCandless Township adopted a new charter designating it a Home Rule Charter Municipality with the...
, Squirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the east end of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated as a single neighborhood...
, Fox Chapel
Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania
Fox Chapel is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, and is a suburb of Pittsburgh located northeast of downtown.The population was 5,388 as of the 2010 census.-History:...
, Sewickley
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 at the 2010 census...
, Aliquippa
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
Aliquippa is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 9,438 at the 2010 census. Formerly a borough, it was formally named a city in 1987 by the Aliquippa Council.-History:...
, and Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
have been used as locations for the film, as well as Mellon Arena
Mellon Arena
Civic Arena is an indoor arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is currently undergoing demolition. It was the first retractable roof major sports venue in the world, covering 170,000 sq. feet and constructed with just shy of 3,000 tons of Pittsburgh steel...
, Jane Street in the South Side
South Side (Pittsburgh)
South Side is an area in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, located along the Monongahela River across from Downtown Pittsburgh. The South Side is officially divided into two neighborhoods, South Side Flats and South Side Slopes. Both the Flats and the Slopes are represented on Pittsburgh City...
between 17th and 18th streets, the Omni William Penn Hotel
William Penn Hotel
The Omni William Penn Hotel is located at 530 William Penn Place on Mellon Square in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A variety of luminaries have stayed at the hotel, including John F. Kennedy. The hotel staff innovated Lawrence Welk's now famous bubble machine, and it was the site of Bob...
, The Capital Grille, and Station Square
Station Square
Station Square is a indoor and outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. Pittsburgh doubled as Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for some scenes. The studio was in a building that had been a limousine car park.
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
Shadyside
Shadyside may refer to:in the United States:* Shadyside, Indiana, site of head-on collision on railroad at passing loop* Shadyside, Ohio in Belmont County, Ohio* Shadyside , listed on the NRHP in Mississippi...
, Friendship
Friendship
Friendship is a form of interpersonal relationship generally considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association are often thought of as spanning across the same continuum...
and Bloomfield
Bloomfield
- Canada :* Bloomfield, Newfoundland and Labrador* Bloomfield, Ontario* Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island** Bloomfield Provincial Park- United Kingdom :* Bloomfield Colliery and Bloomfield Iron Works - Canada :* Bloomfield, Newfoundland and Labrador* Bloomfield, Ontario* Bloomfield, Prince Edward...
intersect. The building is scheduled to be torn down in 2011 to make way for an L.A. Fitness Center.
A section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway
Mon-Fayette Expressway
The Mon–Fayette Expressway is an interstate tolled freeway that is planned to eventually link Interstate 68 near Morgantown, West Virginia with two branches to Interstate 376 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
(Pennsylvania Route 43) in suburban Washington County
Washington County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...
, 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
Ringgold High School (Pennsylvania)
Ringgold High School, part of the Ringgold School District, is in Carroll Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, which is about thirty miles south of Pittsburgh. The Ringgold School District was formed as a result of the merger of the Donora and Monongahela School Districts.-Graduation rate:In...
while filming took place on the Expressway. An area was set aside for actors waiting to film their scenes.
In preparing for the film, Hathaway credits the work of Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
and Penelope Cruz
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...
, 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." She identified one of her favorite Cruz films, Abre Los Ojos
Abre los ojos
Abre los ojos is a 1997 Spanish film directed by Alejandro Amenábar which was written by himself and Mateo Gil. It stars Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Fele Martínez and Najwa Nimri...
, as work that helped her greatly for her role. Like Gyllenhaal, Hathaway had final cut
Final cut privilege
Final cut privilege is a film industry term, usually used when a director has contractual authority over how a film is ultimately released for public viewing.- Condition :...
over those scenes, using it to cut five seconds where she thought "the camera lingered a little bit". Hathaway said that she did not believe her nudity in the film would put off socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
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."
Critical response
Love and Other Drugs received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the film a score of 48% based on reviews from 152 critics, or an average score of 5.8/10, with the site's consensus stating, "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." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the film an average score of 55 based on reviews from 38 critics.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
gave it two and a half stars out of four, stating that he "obtains a warm, lovable performance from Anne Hathaway and dimensions from Jake Gyllenhaal that grow from comedy to the serious".
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
gave the film a negative review. He stated, "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." Another reviewer found the film to be a "run-of-the-mill Hollywood love story."
Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
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."
Mary Pols of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine 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."
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
, 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."
Box office
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 #6 with a per theater average of $3,967.On its second weekend, it remained #6 and grossed $5,652,810 - $2,300 per theater.
By its third weekend it dropped down to #8 and made $2,981,509 - $1,331 per theater.
Accolades
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 68th Golden Globe Awards 68th Golden Globe Awards The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais.... |
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Jake Gyllenhaal Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten... |
|
| Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Anne Hathaway Anne Hathaway (actress) Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries... |
||
| Satellite Awards 2010 Satellite Awards 2010 The 2010 Satellite Awards, honoring the year's outstanding performers, films, television shows, DVDs, and interactive media, were presented by the International Press Academy at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Sunday, December 19, 2010... |
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Jake Gyllenhaal Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten... |
|
| Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Anne Hathaway Anne Hathaway (actress) Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries... |
||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association is a group of film critics based out of Washington, D.C., United States that was founded in 2003. WAFCA is composed of 34 DC-based film critics from television, radio, print and the internet... |
Best Actress Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress is one of the annual awards given by the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association.-2000s:-2010s:... |
Anne Hathaway Anne Hathaway (actress) Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries... |