Love & Other Drugs

Story:

Based on Jamie Reidy’s 2005 nonfiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, Edward Zwick is the director, producer, and co-writer of the 2010 American romantic comedy drama film Love & Other Drugs. The film, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, and Gabriel Macht, is about a medication vendor in Pittsburgh in the 1990s who has a romantic relationship with a young woman who has Parkinson’s disease.

20th Century Fox released Love & Other Drugs in theatres on November 24, 2010. Critics gave it mixed reviews, although it made $105 million on a $30 million budget.

Plot

A Pittsburgh electronics business dismissed womaniser Jamie Randall in 1996 after he had sex with his manager’s girlfriend. He is recommended for a position as a pharmaceutical sales representative by his affluent brother Josh.

Jamie works for Pfizer after completing a training program there, trying to persuade physicians to prescribe Zoloft. Bruce, his regional manager, is devastated by his rejection since he views him as his pass to the Chicago market.

To encourage other physicians to prescribe Zoloft rather than Prozac, Bruce advises Jamie to ask Dr. Stan Knight to do so. While covertly throwing away the Prozac samples, he flirts with his female staff members in an attempt to get Dr. Knight’s attention.

After a while, Knight lets Jamie see him examine Maggie Murdock, a patient with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. Having developed feelings for Maggie, Jamie gets her number from one of Knight’s aides, whom he had previously wooed.

After deciding that neither of them is interested in a committed relationship, Jamie and Maggie begin enjoying casual sex. Trey Hannigan, a top-selling Prozac representative, beats him up after learning that Jamie has been throwing away his samples. Maggie informs Jamie that Trey is an ex-boyfriend and spreads a rumour that Jamie’s business is creating a new medication to treat erectile dysfunction. Bruce affirms that the marketing of Viagra is imminent.

Jamie begins selling Viagra, which quickly becomes popular. Maggie ends their relationship after he confesses that he wants a committed relationship. As she assists elderly people in getting inexpensive prescription medications onto a bus headed for Canada, he confronts her. Despite their arguments, Jamie stays at the bus station all night waiting for Maggie. Feeling touched, she returns the favour, and they start dating again.

Maggie ended up at a Parkinson’s support group across the street after accompanying Jamie to a medical conference. Jamie accepts her invitation and meets a man who is seeking counsel from a man whose wife is nearing the end of her illness. Before Maggie’s symptoms unavoidably get worse, the man advises him to leave her.

Maggie ultimately confesses her love for Jamie after the conference. He starts looking into Parkinson’s and takes her for tests at several specialists across the nation. When Jamie shows up for an appointment and finds that it has been rescheduled, he gets upset. Maggie ends their relationship because she believes he only wants to be with her if there is a chance for a recovery.

After a while, Knight invites Jamie and Josh to a party, where Jamie takes Viagra and makes out with two ladies. He visits the hospital after waking up with an uncommon side effect. He runs across Maggie on a date at a restaurant a while later. When Bruce shows there, he announces that Jamie has been moved to the Chicago office.

Jamie discovers the VHS recorder with a film of him and Maggie together in their better moments while packing. Although her boss informs him that she has departed for Canada on a prescription drug run, he still feels a strong desire to be with her.

After locating Maggie, Jamie assures her that he needs and loves her. She breaks down in tears and declares that she will require him more.