He co-wrote the script (based on Jamie Reidy's memoir) with longtime collaborator Marshall Herskovitz and thriller writer Charles Randolph ("The Interpreter"), so no real romantic comedy prowess exists among them, hence the tendency to stick with genre conventions. As good of a filmmaker as Edward Zwick is, his best credits include "Glory," "The Last Samurai" and "The Blood Diamond" - not exactly romance. He epitomizes a Don Juan and he's plays the type well, but when you can predict that he'll end up in bed with the next attractive woman that shows up on screen, the writing has taken it a bit far. He's also adept at landing any woman he desires. Gyllenhaal plays Jamie, an expert salesman who lands a gig as a pharmaceutical sales rep for Pfizer, right before Viagra hit the market. Gyllenhaal and Hathaway have what it takes to do just that in spite of a script that sometimes tries to lean too hard on conventional tactics of boys meets girl. What counts is whether they can convince you of their attraction/love and get you to - without blunt coercion - invest in what happens to them.
When it comes to romance, it's not about how cleverly written the two characters are and how unique and special they feel to us. There's a reason most romantic films are judged based on the chemistry of their lead actors. Both forces are hard at work in this film, but the tipping point goes in favor thanks to the leads, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. Many will see through "Love and Other Drugs" and count the romance clichés and formulaic characters, others will find the 1996 setting and the pharmaceutical angle refreshing. Love stories are essentially the same - it's a matter of how you dress them up.
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