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"Love" isn't the drug

A movie about relationships hinges largely on the chemistry of the lead actors. The audience must be willing to believe that the characters that are presented to them are (depending on the movie) star-crossed lovers, best friends, mortal enemies, siblings, etc. Without that palpable engagement, it is nearly impossible to give the benefit of belief to the proceedings. Take, for example, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The movie-going public wept for them in "Sleepless in Seattle", a movie in which they shared about 5 minutes of screen time, but the two outings in which they had actual scenes together, "You've Got Mail" and "Joe Versus The Volcano", didn't exactly correspond to a rise in Kleenex stock.

Jake Gyllenhaal ("Brokeback Mountain") and Anne Hathaway ("The Devil Wears Prada") have the same problem. Both are undeniably good actors and they each have charisma to spare but they simply don't click when in the same room. Given the story of "Love and Other Drugs" is about two people who are so drawn to each other that they are willing to lower their defenses and take a chance on loving each other, this presents a major problem.

They are also not helped by the unwieldy pile of plot that is heaped on them. Gyllenhaal's Jamie Randall is a slacker, turned drug company representative, turned money grubbing yuppie and Hathaway's Maggie Murdock is a bohemian artist who runs charter busses to Canada for people who can't afford prescription drugs in the United States. And, of course, she's also afflicted with a life-threatening illness. This overstuffing results in numerous threads that are either never discussed (drug rep v. drug runner, bohemian v. yuppie) or only result in confusion to both the audience and, undoubtedly, the actors.

This lack of cohesion is particularly disappointing in a screenplay co-written by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, the team that so deftly and enjoyably handled interpersonal complexities in TVs "My So Called Life" and "thirtysomething". Teaming up with writer Charles Randolf ("The Interpreter") does not seem to have helped them recapture their past magic. There are some great and very real scenes, particularly the celebratory dinner with Jamie and his sales partner, played by Oliver Platt ("Executive Decision", Showtime's "Huff"), but for the most part the script flies wildly between slapstick and melodrama, making every stop in between. While this is not in and of itself a problem, this effort to span genres is not handled well. The transitions are done poorly and character continuity is often sacrificed.

The supporting cast generally fares well, if only because not much is asked of them. Platt plays his standard type (sweaty and disorganized, with a hint of bombast), Hank Azaria throws in the thoughtful doctor role that he has had in his back pocket since the cancellation of the aforementioned "Huff", and Judy Greer ("The Wedding Planner") continues to fine tune her version of the slightly shrill, man-seeking plot point. Josh Gad (TV's "Woke up Dead") is the only complete misstep. Inexplicably cast as Gyllenhaal's younger brother, his never-grew-up software millionaire is poorly played, poorly written, and serves no point at all in enriching or advancing the story. And yet, he is a constant (and constantly annoying) presence on the screen.

"Love and Other Drugs" unquestionably succeeds in one area; it separates Hathaway and Gyllenhaal from their clothing. In most other ways, though, the whole thing falls flat.