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★★★★☆

While Leicester Square was mobbed by screaming Harry Potter fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars arriving for the film’s premiere, two Hollywood A-listers slipped un-noticed past the crowds of autograph seekers into the cinema next door. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway were there to screen their new film ‘Love and Other Drugs’ and I was lucky enough to be invited along to watch it.

The film, directed by Edward Zwick is based on the non-fiction book ‘Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman’ by Jamie Reidy. Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, a womanizing Viagra salesman. Exuding confidence and charm he’s the object of desire of the women he encounters and the envy of every man including his richer, more successful, less aesthetically blessed younger brother. Despite the bravado, Jamie is deeply insecure, his need to prove himself to his parents deriving from unfulfilled potential due to having ADD. Gyllenhaal found the part difficult to research as the world of pharmaceutical sales is incredibly secretive. He says “I played a CIA agent in a movie and it was easier to research that than researching the world of pharmaceutical sales.”

“When people are going through difficult times some people run towards others while there are some who push people in the other direction isolating themselves.”

Hathaway plays Maggie Murdock. At first Maggie, an artist, appears to be an alluring free spirit with an insatiable libido who won’t let anyone tie her down but her behaviour stems from a deep rooted fear of being rejected due to having an incurable degenerative disease. Hathaway’s clearly invested alot of energy into the part admitting that she found it difficult to leave behind. Insight-fully she remarks “When people are going through difficult times some people run towards others while there are some who push people in the other direction isolating themselves.”

Parkinson’s features heavily in this film and Ed Zwick commented: “We wanted to create a juxtaposition of the character of Jamie and his pill for everything and Maggie with an incurable disease”

Now this makes me feel old…the film’s classed as a period piece. Set in the 90′s, it opens in a second hand electronics store and there are plenty of gadgets to spot for those keen on nostalgia.

a delicate study into the nature of the psychology of love and the constant battle between wants and needs…based on a book about Viagra

There are funny moments, but it’s not a rom-com in the typical sense of the word. They director worked with the cast improvising scenes to steer the film away from the rom-com stereotype. For the cheese like-rs, there’s still a few cheesy moments but if you hated all cheesy moments all the time then possibly you have a heart of stone. Rather than a rom-com, the film’s a delicate study into the nature of the psychology of love and the constant battle between wants and needs…based on a book about Viagra.

Opens in the USA 24th November 2010 and the UK 29th December 2010