Love & Other Drugs is a 2010 American romantic comedy drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Edward Zwick. It is based on a 2005 non-fiction book by Jamie Reidy titled Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, and Gabriel Macht. It follows the story of a medicine seller in 1990s Pittsburgh who begins a relationship with a young woman who has Parkinson’s disease.

The film premiered at the AFI Fest on November 4, 2010, and was released in theaters on November 24, 2010, by 20th Century Fox. It made $105 million, which was more than its $30 million budget, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

In 1996, Jamie Randall loses his job at an electronics store in Pittsburgh after having a romantic relationship with his manager's girlfriend. His wealthy brother, Josh, helps him find a new job as a pharmaceutical sales representative.

After completing a training program with Pfizer, Jamie begins working for the company, trying to convince doctors to prescribe a medication called Zoloft. His regional manager, Bruce, is upset because Jamie is not successful at this task. Bruce believes Jamie could help him reach a larger market in Chicago.

Bruce suggests Jamie try to get Dr. Stan Knight to prescribe Zoloft instead of another medication, Prozac. Jamie attempts to gain access to Dr. Knight by being friendly with his female employees and secretly throwing away samples of Prozac.

Dr. Knight allows Jamie to watch him examine a patient named Maggie Murdock, who has an early form of Parkinson's disease. Jamie becomes interested in Maggie and gets her phone number from one of Dr. Knight's assistants, whom he had previously been close to.

Jamie and Maggie go on a date and agree they do not want a serious relationship, so they begin a casual romantic relationship. Jamie is physically harmed by another sales representative, Trey Hannigan, who discovers Jamie has been throwing away Prozac samples. Maggie explains that Trey was her former boyfriend and shares a rumor that Jamie's company is developing a new drug to treat a medical condition. Bruce confirms that a drug called Viagra is soon to be released.

Jamie starts selling Viagra, which becomes very popular. He tells Maggie he wants a serious relationship, but she ends it with him. They argue when Jamie refuses to leave her while she helps elderly people board a bus heading to Canada for cheaper medications. Moved by his actions, Maggie returns his feelings and continues their relationship.

Maggie accompanies Jamie to a medical conference, where she attends a Parkinson's support group nearby. She invites Jamie to join and introduces him to a man whose wife is in the final stages of the disease. The man advises Jamie to leave Maggie before her condition worsens.

After the conference, Maggie finally tells Jamie she loves him. Jamie begins researching Parkinson's and takes Maggie to specialists for tests. He becomes upset when an appointment is rescheduled, feeling Maggie only wants to be with him if a cure is possible. Maggie ends their relationship.

Later, Jamie and Josh attend a party hosted by Dr. Knight. Jamie takes Viagra and has a romantic encounter with two women. He experiences a rare side effect and goes to the hospital. Later, he meets Maggie at a restaurant where she is on a date. Bruce informs Jamie he has been promoted to the Chicago office.

While preparing for his move, Jamie finds a video recording of happier times with Maggie. He realizes he wants to be with her, but her boss tells him she has left for Canada to obtain medications. Jamie finds Maggie and tells her he loves and needs her. She begins to cry, explaining she will need him more. Jamie decides not to take the job in Chicago and instead enrolls in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to stay with Maggie.

Cast

The film was released after Jill Clayburgh passed away on November 5, 2010. It was made to honor her memory.

Production

The film is partly based on Reidy's first-person memoir about his life as a Viagra salesman. The drug company Pfizer, along with other brand names like Zoloft and Prozac, are mentioned many times in the film, which suggests a clear example of "product placement." The director, Edward Zwick, has said he did not seek permission for any of these names to appear in the film.

Principal filming began in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area on September 21, 2009. The city was chosen because of its unique atmosphere, strong medical history, a state program that offers tax incentives for film productions, and the availability of skilled crews. Suburbs such as McCandless, Squirrel Hill, Fox Chapel, Sewickley, Aliquippa, and Brownsville were used as filming locations. Other locations included 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 was also used as a stand-in for Chicago in some scenes. The studio was located in a building that had once been a limousine parking lot.

The film's opening scene, which shows Gyllenhaal's character working in an audio/video store, was filmed at the former Don Allen Car Dealership on Baum Blvd and S. Atlantic Avenue. This location is where the East End neighborhoods of Shadyside, Friendship, and Bloomfield meet. The building was demolished by 2014.

A section of the Mon-Fayette Expressway (Pennsylvania Route 43) in suburban Washington County was used for filming on November 15–16, which caused traffic delays. A helicopter was used during filming, and 40 to 50 vehicles were brought to the location. Trailers and tents were placed on the campus of Ringgold High School while filming took place on the expressway. A separate area was set up for actors waiting to perform their scenes.

In preparing for the film, Hathaway said she studied the work of Kate Winslet and Penélope Cruz, two actresses whose performances she reviewed often while preparing for Love & Other Drugs. She believes both actresses handled scenes involving nudity with care and respect. Hathaway mentioned that one of her favorite films by Cruz, Abre Los Ojos, helped her prepare for her role. Like Gyllenhaal, Hathaway had control over the editing of scenes involving nudity and used that power to remove five seconds of footage she felt lingered too long. She also said she believed the film's nudity would not turn off socially conservative viewers, stating that she thinks people are curious and enjoy love stories, even if the film includes some risky content.

Box office

The movie Love & Other Drugs was released on November 24, 2010. It opened in 2,455 theaters across the United States. On its first day, the film earned $2,239,489. Over the opening weekend, it made $9,739,161, ranking No. 6 with an average of $3,967 earned per theater. During its second weekend, it remained ranked No. 6 and earned $5,652,810, averaging $2,300 per theater. By its third weekend, the movie dropped to No. 8 and earned $2,981,509, averaging $1,331 per theater.

In total, the film earned $32,367,005 domestically, which was slightly more than its production budget of $30 million. Internationally, the movie performed better, earning $70,453,003.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 49% approval rating from 170 reviews, with an average score of 5.8 out of 10. The site’s critics agreed that the movie is a refreshing adult romance but struggled to balance its different storylines. Metacritic gave the film a score of 55 out of 100 from 38 critics, which means the reviews were mixed or average. CinemaScore, which polls audiences, gave the film a grade of "B-" on a scale from "A+" to "F."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, noting that Anne Hathaway delivered a warm and lovable performance and that Jake Gyllenhaal showed growth from comedy to serious moments. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said the film started with too much energy and became distracted by topics like drug sales, bold sex scenes, and the cultural impact of Viagra before returning to its romantic theme. A critic from the East Bay Express called the film "extremely emotional and unappealing," saying the main characters had poor communication and that the movie included harsh jokes about salespeople, sex, and a homeless man. An Associated Press reviewer called it a "common Hollywood love story."

Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times praised the film, saying the director handled relationships more maturely and that the story showed love as something difficult but real. Mary Pols of Time noted that the film was refreshing for showing topless and bottomless scenes with Hathaway and Gyllenhaal, which is rare in American movies. James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it an adult romance that avoided typical clichés found in many love stories.