Writer: Nur Safina Othman

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Watch this if you liked: "No Strings Attached", “What Happens In Vegas”

Set in 1990's, "Love And Other Drugs" is partly based on Jamie Reidy's 2005 memoir "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman". In the book, there are no romantic comedy elements and Anne Hathaway's character cannot be found. But the screenwriters Marshall Herskovitz and Charles Randolph took a different direction and created an off-beat love story that can be related to the audience.

Directed by Edward Zwick ("Blood Diamond"), this romantic comedy film puts Jake Gyllenhaal as Jamie Randall, a Pfizer pharmaceutical rep who knows that his sex appeal is the way to sell medication to doctors and their assistants. He meets straight-talking Parkinson's patient Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) who just wants sex and no strings attached. However their evolving relationship takes them both by surprise.

Gyllenhaal and Hathaway has acted together previously in a homosexual film drama "Brokeback Mountain" (2005). They have portrayed their characters excellently especially for Hathaway who managed to pull off with her emotions as an incurable Parkinson's patient that protects herself from people who would pity her. We definitely can see there is chemistry between the two casts very well. Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt and Judy Greer fill the supporting roles just fine, but Josh Gad who plays Jamie's younger brother managed to get the reviewer's attention with his humour especially when some scenes are getting heavier in the movie.

If one thinks this movie is entirely about sex than one could be partly wrong. Even though the audience can observe how obvious both Jamie and Maggie really love sex, but deep inside they actually have different, real goals that they want to achieve in their lives. Who would have thought that just from a meaningless purely physical relationship may actually lead to the true goals of companionship and love.

Despite the kinky scenes and daring flesh-baring from the two main sizzling leads, "Love And Other Drugs" will keep the audience laughing with small tears of genuine emotions as the movie progresses. This movie offers quite a number of subjects that can only be found in a limited number of movies out there especially when it touches the more adult-related issues such as erectile dysfunction, masturbation, internet porn and three-way sex. Now that is really interesting.

Cinema Online, 22 February 2011