Love and Other Drugs

Love and Other Drugs is a 2010 comedy-drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, based on the non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman by Jamie Reidy. Set in the late 1990s, Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a traveling pharmaceutical salesman. Jamie has found some success in sales and in meeting women. He meets Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) at a doctor's office, where she's getting drugs to battle the onset of Parkinson's disease. The two have a one-night stand and eventually develop a relationship. They battle Maggie's illness together and confront the distractions of the world of pharmaceutical sales to find love.
Maggie is an alluring free spirit who won't let anyone - or anything - tie her down. But she meets her match in Jamie whose relentless and nearly infallible charm serve him well with the ladies and in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Maggie and Jamie's evolving relationship takes them both by surprise, as they find themselves under the influence of the ultimate drug: love.
The film had many cinematic forebearers, stories of lovers whose partners are ill and one or both struggle with leaving or staying. Most of the plot turns at this level of analysis were better than most of the progenitors. A chance encounter with a man who did stay with his partner and had to watch her become immobile and unable to communicate, allows Gyllenhaal's character to see the future. This vision moves him out of the moment in the relationship and results in a separation that he is both regretful of and relieved by. This is one example of how the film makes the couple's dilemma real to the audience. Even someone who is less confused than Gyllenhaal's character about commitment would have great difficulties with this challenge.
There is a strong subplot that looks at male sexuality as it is prescribed for men in modern culture. The chance to have unconnected sex with numerous women is presented as the main character's one certain accomplishment and the envy of other men. On one occasion his younger brother actually achieves this status. The younger brother is able to recognize that it isn't what he wants or enjoys. As he shares this insight with Gyllenhaal's character, a piece of a developing understanding occurs within him. His vulnerability is uncovered by his partner, Anne Hathaway's, Maggie, who assists him in recognizing his value as a good man.
It is necessary to note that Jake and Anne have several high energy sexual encounters. One particular depiction of a mutual orgasm was so beautiful that many members of the audience may have vividly recollected this state. It was sexual connection based on both characters knowing they loved each other. The film displayed a peak erotic and spiritual connection. For some theater goers it may have seemed too much, but I don't think anyone would have thought a similar personal experience was "too much".
The Big Pharma aspect of the plot is humanized by looking at its effect on several levels of medical personnel and patients. A variety of human betrayals are shown as a part of corporate health care. This story line develops the idea that corporate greed can subvert the best parts of our humanity if we do not recognize our most important needs.