love and other drugs(A note: the version of this review is incomplete, the full version should be updated sometime Thursday, sorry)
it should be noted i am a recorded cynic. i tend to hate movies more often than i love them. and as such i don't discuss the movies i hate as much unless i really passionately hate them. so it ends up looking like i am giving high marks to lots of things when in reality i try to avoid wasting my time with bad things. i devote a large amount of times to seeing films early and by that i mean i give up about 8 hours including travel and waiting for and watching said movies. so a movie needs to catch my interest before i even want to devote that much time to so a film. most often this is in the form of it looks good, it looks bad, i have hope, i want to see it, or because of an actor, director, producer, writer i want to hear from. so i walked into this thinking, okay there aren't enough r rated romantic comedies so it deserves attention for that. most of them are a lot like the recent string of r rated comedies, cruder because they can. not because the story demands it. here the story demands it. it truly needs to be an r rated romantic dramadey. and it absolutely is a dramdey. for the scenes of high drama are balenced off by the scenes full of laughs. there is a really truly touching story here and it all works because our main character Jamie Randal is played by Jake ghylanhal to perfection. both he and Anne hathaway bring real emotion to these characters. it is rare that a character flat out cries. it happens twice. instead you get scenes of just on the verge of break down when they come up in the last act as they often do in these movies. but it works because you aren't handed these teen actors that don't know what they are doing or these older actors who are tired or bored. instead you get the middle of the road actors who are on top of their game and are ready to act. and they act very well. you believe the emotions here. it doesn't seem forced or placed or set up by a movie. they feel like they legitimately build a relationship. they unfortunately follow standard formula in this film. and the characters make mistakes but the best thing is these are characters who handle these things with grace ad humility. realistically. they are developed. this is the part that is without a doubt why this movie succeeds. it spends 30 minutes developing the character of Randal before introducing the girl. in then develops her by showing him learning about her. it works better than most. then there are the supporting characters who are done justice by hank azaria, oliver platt, and . they aren't as developed but they have their own stories going on and the movie only hints at the under the surface stories these characters are on.
this movie isn't perfect. the directing is rather meh and there is some really awkward music placement that ruins some of the pathos. these are the beats that drag a bit but these blemishes are like a spider bite in the movie. it really is just a cosmetic distraction. the movie also features a lot of Jake and Anne being naked. but while not tasteful it is at least equally objectifying. this isn't for everyone but for a few like myself you will love it. guys, I'm a guy who hasn't really enjoyed a romantic comedy since 1988's say anything. this wasn't as good. but it is on that level. the thing this film will grip you with is characterization. id give it a solid B+.
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