Film Review: Love and Other Drugs

Rating: MA 15+

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt

Director: Edward Zwick

This review is going to be difficult to write because I feel Love and Other Drugs is missing something crucial. I still cannot work out what exactly this is, but here goes nothing...

                                                                                                                                                                                   

We meet Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) in 1996, a suave ladies’ man who has just become a salesman for a large drug company. He then meets Maggie Murdock (Hathaway) in a doctor’s surgery, whom he sees as merely his next fling. Maggie is, however, the female version of him – witty, charming, and only seeking sex. She does have Stage 1 Parkinson’s disease, so I guess she is ‘living it up’ while she still can.

Of course, the characters begin to develop deeper feelings for each other – Jamie wants to take care of Maggie, and Maggie (although completely in love with Jamie) says that would be unfair on him. By this stage, the subplot of Jamie selling the new wonder drug Viagra has taken a back seat, and the audience has forgotten that the movie is actually based on the book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. It’s obviously made him rich though, because suddenly he’s driving around in a Porche and is offered a higher-paid position in Chicago!

Like most romances, the central characters do everything to sabotage their relationship, but when the final scene beckons (Gyllenhaal’s “I want us” speech), Maggie melts into the Jamie’s arms and everything is forgotten.

The movie, however, is not all clichés. Maggie attends a Parkinson’s disease conference, and the audience is faced with the different stages of the debilitating illness. One man in particular shares how his life has changed since his wife’s diagnosis. What he says is not very nice, but probably expresses how some people feel when faced with such uncertainty.

There are many ‘shagging’ and nudity scenes (Hathaway is naked for much of her first few scenes), which I think the director uses to take the audience’s mind away from the generally lack-lustre storyline and often pointless banter between the characters. Therefore, Love and Other Drugs has probably only made it to mainstream cinema because of its two famous actors.

Spend your money on another movie and wait until this comes out on DVD!

2.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

One of the most popular ‘chick lit’ novels to have been written over the last fifteen years, The Notebook can be described in just four words – a bittersweet love story.

The book follows Noah and Allie, who had a passionate summer romance as teenagers but never forgot each other. Three weeks before Allie is to marry her lawyer fiancé, she sees an article about Noah in the newspaper. Old feelings for Noah arise, and Allie decides to visit him. Of course, he has always been in love with her, so Allie becomes torn between two men.

This love triangle has been recorded in a notebook, and is read aloud by a little old man to his beloved wife, who now has advanced Alzheimer’s. No prizes for guessing who the old man and lady actually are...

Having seen the movie, but never read the book (shame on me!), I was intrigued and excited to find a beaten-up old copy at my local library. After reading the book, I think the movie does a better job at capturing Noah and Allie’s summer romance and demonstrating step-by-step how they actually fell in love. The book only touches on the initial romance, and prefers to focus on Allie returning to Noah for one last time. Having said that, the book does a far better job at exploring Alzheimer’s disease – the initial symptoms and diagnosis, to the rapid downward spiral of forgetting who you are, and how to do simple daily activities such as eating, showering, and dressing.

Like most of Sparks’ pieces, The Notebook is heavy on the melodramatic language and romantic rendezvous. However, if you look past this, it is worth the read simply for the information about Alzheimer’s. Sure, we all know it is a debilitating disease, but I think the book gives us a rare insight into how it also affects the wife or husband who has to see their partner rapidly decline right before their eyes.

4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Dear Fatty by Dawn French

Dear Fatty is the autobiography of British comedian and actress Dawn French. It is written as a series of letters to her loved ones, each depicting an important part of French’s life. Best known for her comedic roles in The Vicar of Dibley and French and Saunders, French has also cleverly inserted various jokes addressed to Fatty (Jennifer Saunders) to lighten the mood after a long or emotional chapter.

What became clear to me as I read French’s story was her ability to evoke different emotions to the reader. I laughed as she explained her encounter with the Queen Mother. I appreciated my own boyfriend as she thanked her husband Lenny for their joyous marriage (I wonder if she still feels the same way now they are divorced. My friend A has just come back to Australia from the United Kingdom and said the divorce was a huge story in the British media). I felt ashamed as she described the racism she witnessed between a taxi driver and an Indigenous person during a trip to Adelaide, South Australia.

However, the most gut-wrenching feeling for me was overwhelming sadness as French outlines her father’s decision to commit suicide when she was 19 years old. Dawn writes to her father about this life-changing experience, taking up two whole pages with questions that will go unanswered. Consequently, most of the letters in the second half of the book are written to French’s father, and detail how she became one of today’s best-known female comedians.

Throughout Dear Fatty, it is easy to get a sense of who French really is. My previous thoughts of her as a warm, bubbly, generous, hilarious person have proven to be correct, yet I have now added a tiny touch of tragedy to her persona.

I am looking forward to reading French’s new fictional book A Tiny Bit Marvellous.

4 out of 5 stars.

Flog Your Blog Fridays!

In an effort to drum up readership, I have just joined 'Flog Your Blog Fridays'. The fantastic idea came from the author of Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mum. If you have made your way to my blog, PLEASE (I am on my knees begging) become a follower and/or 'like' my Facebook page! I know I haven't written many reviews just yet, however I only created the blog this week so there are many more reviews to look forward to! Next week, I also hope to have written a review to go before the 'Flog Your Blog' list. If you have time, check out the following blogs below:

Book Review: The Carrie Diaries

I’m probably overdoing it with the girly books at the moment, but being a huge fan of Sex and the City, I simply had to find out how Carrie Bradshaw became the famous fictional character she is today!

The Carrie Diaries follows a small-town girl who is navigating her way through her senior year of high school. With ambitions of becoming a writer, Carrie finds herself in the midst of typical teenage behaviour – friendship strains, boyfriend troubles, and risk-taking behaviour. Through this, we learn how Carrie develops her writing voice and how she makes her way to her beloved New York City. You may, therefore, think the book is more about The City than Sex. This is not the case. Sex is there, but is presented in an ‘innocent teenager’ manner than in the exploration nature we see in the television show. But what else could be expected from a 17-year-old?

While Bushnell does explore Carrie’s family background, it is very difficult for me to believe this is the real Carrie we have come to know on the famous television series. Thus, the book and screen adaptations have the following discrepancies:

1.       The book states Carrie’s mother died when she was a young girl, leaving her father to raise three young girls. The television series reveals Carrie’s father left when she was five years old.

2.       In the book, Carrie is a good cook. In the series, she keeps sweaters in her stove!

3.       In the book, Carrie calls Samantha Jones when she first arrives in New York City. In the movie, Carrie meets Samantha after Charlotte and Miranda.

4.       In the book, Carrie’s first love is Sebastian Kydd. In the series, it is Jeremy.

The Carrie Diaries has been labelled as teenage fiction yet it may be difficult for some of today’s teenagers to relate to Carrie’s life. Sure, she deals with friendship betrayal and boyfriend confusion, but at a time when perms and white go-go boots were all the rage. However, with many details from the television series ignored, it seems that Bushnell has used her life as the basis for Carrie’s story (she also grew up in Connecticut during the 80s).  This leaves me thinking that the book may have only been written so Bushnell could further benefit financially from the Sex and the City brand. Perhaps she needed some new Manolos?

2.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Shopaholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella

We meet Rebecca Bloomwood in Shopaholic Abroad when her life is fabulous. She has her own segment on a London television show, she is dating a successful businessman, and she has recently paid back most of her outstanding debts. Her new found success means she can indulge in a little more shopping, right?

Wrong! Rebecca’s frequent shopping sprees mean she is once again being consumed by her mounting financial debt. Letters from debt collectors, banks, and department stores are quickly pouring in, dismissing her excuses (broken bones and illnesses) and demanding their money back.

Ignoring her financial woes, Rebecca follows boyfriend Luke Brandon to New York, where she is promised a spot on several American networks. However, everything goes pear-shaped when a London tabloid reveals the hypocrisy of Rebecca’s life – a financial adviser drowning in tidal waves of debt!

While Shopaholic Abroad certainly will not win any literature prizes, it is a bit of lightweight fun. I particularly enjoyed reading Rebecca’s excuses as she tried to justify a ridiculous purchase. For example, a fencing set was purchased because it was only forty quid from a charity shop, and she may have a chance at being Catherine Zeta Jones’ stunt double! The book does, however, have some underlying meaning for all the shopaholics out there. It highlights the dangers of ‘maxing out’ your credit cards, and makes you think twice about impulse purchases. It also allows you to take a step back and look at today’s consumer-driven society. Do we really need the latest IPhone when our old mobile phone can also send texts? To what extent do we need to ‘keep up with the Jones’’ to simply validate self-worth?

This book is the second in a six-part series and is preceded by Confessions of a Shopaholic, which has also been made into a movie and stars Australian actress Isla Fisher. However, it is now obvious that the movie is actually based on the first two books, with ideas taken from all over the place and rolled into one. While the movie is based on a shopaholic in denial, the details are very different!

While I found Shopaholic Abroad very amusing, I think this shopaholic idea may be wearing a little thin by the time I read the sixth book!

3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do

The Happiest Refugee came with the sticker ’50 books you can’t put down’ emblazoned on its front cover. And this was certainly my experience as I made my way through its pages...

Most famous for his stand-up comedy routines, particularly his appearances on Thank God You’re Here, Anh Do’s autobiography begins as though it is fiction. Escaping Vietnam’s communist regime after the war, a young Anh Do boards a tiny boat with 39 of his family and friends. Barely surviving run-ins with pirates and the brink of starvation, a German ship finds the refugees and takes them to Malaysia. Australia eventually becomes Do’s new home, where his parents work around the clock to create a better life for their young family.

Throughout the book, details of Do’s extended family, his affections for wife Suzie, and his decision to move from a career in law to comedy are entwined in funny ditties and stories that would bring a smile to any reader’s face. However, the biggest satisfaction I gained while reading this book was Anh Do’s appreciation for his second chance in Australia. We really do live in the lucky country!

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Happiest Refugee to anyone. Anh Do’s kind, smiling, and gentle personality really shines through – which is exactly like his television persona really!

4.5 out of 5 stars