Love & Other Drugs is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film directed, produced and co-written by Edward Zwick and based on Jamie Reidy's 2005 non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad and Gabriel Macht, the film tells the story of a medicine peddler in 1990s Pittsburgh who starts a relationship with a young woman suffering from an illness that leads to Parkinson's disease.
Love & Other Drugs was released in theaters on November 24, 2010, by 20th Century Fox and grossed $103 million against a $30 million budget. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
In 1996, womanizer Jamie Randall is fired from a Pittsburgh electronics store for having sex with his manager's girlfriend. His wealthy brother, Josh, refers him for a job as a pharmaceutical sales representative.
After attending a Pfizer training program, Jamie goes to work for them, attempting to get doctors to prescribe Zoloft. He is rebuffed, much to the dismay of his regional manager, Bruce, who sees him as his ticket to the Chicago market. Bruce suggests he get Dr. Stan Knight to prescribe Zoloft instead of Prozac, so other doctors will follow. Jamie tries to gain access to Dr. Knight by flirting with his female employees, while secretly discarding the Prozac samples.
Knight eventually allows Jamie to observe him examine one of his patients, Maggie Murdock, who suffers from early onset Parkinson's disease. Taking an interest in Maggie, Jamie obtains her number from one of Knight's assistants, whom he previously seduced.
Jamie and Maggie go on a date and agree that neither is interested in a serious relationship, so they start having casual sex. He is beaten up by top-selling Prozac rep, Trey Hannigan, who discovers that Jamie has been discarding his samples. Maggie reveals Trey is an ex-boyfriend, and she tells Jamie a rumor about Jamie's company developing a new drug to treat erectile dysfunction. Bruce confirms that Viagra is about to be marketed.
Jamie starts selling Viagra, which is an instant success. He reveals that he wants a serious relationship, but Maggie breaks up with him. He confronts her while she helps senior citizens onto a bus bound for Canada to obtain cheap prescription drugs. They argue, Jamie refuses to leave and waits for Maggie all night at a bus stop. Touched, she reciprocates feelings and they resume their relationship.
Maggie accompanies Jamie to a medical conference, where she ends up at a Parkinson's support group across the street. She invites Jamie, and he meets a man whose wife is in the final stages of the disease and asks for advice. The man tells him to leave her, citing the downsides of the disease over time.
After the convention, Maggie finally tells Jamie how much she loves him. He begins researching Parkinson's and takes Maggie to different specialists around the country for tests. Jamie becomes angry when they arrive at an appointment only to discover it has been rescheduled. Feeling Jamie only wants to be with her if there is a hope for a cure, she breaks up with him.
Sometime later, Jamie and Josh are invited to a party by Knight, where Jamie takes Viagra and has a threesome with two women. He awakens with a rare side effect and goes to the hospital. Sometime later, he goes to a restaurant and encounters Maggie on a date. Bruce arrives and reveals Jamie has been promoted to the Chicago office.
While packing, Jamie finds the videotape recorder with the video of himself and Maggie talking about life. He realizes he wants to be with her, but her boss tells him she has left for Canada to obtain cheap prescription drugs.
Jamie finds and tells Maggie he loves and needs her. She starts to cry, saying she will need him more. Jamie decides not to take the job in Chicago; instead, he attends University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to be with her.
Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal as Jamie Randall
Anne Hathaway as Maggie Murdock
Oliver Platt as Bruce Winston
Hank Azaria as Dr. Stan Knight
Josh Gad as Josh Randall
Gabriel Macht as Trey Hannigan
Judy Greer as Cindy
George Segal as Dr. James Randall
Jill Clayburgh as Nancy Randall
Nikki DeLoach as Christy
Katheryn Winnick as Lisa
Natalie Gold as Dr. Helen Randall
Michael Chernus as Jerry
Michael Buffer as Pfizer Convention MC
Bingo O'Malley as Sam
Jaimie Alexander as Carol (uncredited)
The film was a posthumous release for Jill Clayburgh who died November 5, 2010. The film was dedicated to her memory.