May 23, 2014
It's Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway together again, ostensibly because Gyllenhaal and Hathaway compensating for the shortage on female nudity and what have you in "Brokeback Mountain". Looking at it that way, this is by no means a chick flick, and is more like an apology to people who wanted Hathaway naked more in "Brokeback Mountain", and don't really deserve an apology if they're looking to this film as a worthy follow-up to "Brokeback Mountain". You know, I'd say that this is more like the sequel to "About Last Night...", but it's hard to think about a film which features both Jake Gyllenhaal and a title dealing with timing, and not think of "The Day After Tomorrow". It doesn't exactly help that this film is directed by Edward Zwick, but don't get too excited, folks, because this isn't another one of Zwick's cheesy epic melodramas, just one of this cheesy minimalist melodramas. I joke, but "About Last Night...", a 1980s romantic dramedy starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, is actually one of Zwick's less schmaltzy films, and ever since then, more than he's been building up his skills as an epic filmmaker, he's been building his experience as a cheesy filmmaker. It's easy to expect this film to be kind of lame, but once you see that R rating that reflects some guts, all the concerns wash away, or at least they do once you see what exactly got this film that R rating. Hey, I didn't say that I mind seeing Anne Hathaway naked, I just said that you shouldn't expect this film to be nearly as good as "Brokeback Mountain", as it has issues that Hathaway naked can't completely get you to forget.
I don't really want to keep comparing this film to "About Last Night...", but it too flirts with a two-hour runtime that is hardly justified, achieved largely through meandering material that is at its most aggravating early on, when the film takes forever to incorporate Anne Hathaway's Maggie Murdock character, yet still shakes the focal consistency of the final product's body to an aimless degree. Tonal inconsistency, while not as big of an issue, is also an issue, for although the film never takes itself too seriously, neither does it take itself too lightly, and rather than finding a tonal balance, it struggles to keep focused on its bite and consequentiality as a comedy-drama. Of course, it's not as though the dramatics aren't also fluffed up at times, by melodramatics that is seen in writing which has improbable characterization attributes, and in direction whose genuineness is challenged by cloying occasions that, while still somehow not as overwrought as certain sentimental storytelling touches within Edward Zwick's more dramatically weighty, maybe even generally superior efforts, cheese things up, ostensibly in an attempt to milk the dramatic core for all its worth. Alas, no matter how hard Zwick works, he can't quite overcome shortcomings of a natural persuasion, which limit dramatic potential with near-fluffy inconsequentiality that is hard to disregard as rather lazy when accompanied by the usual tropes that plague dramatically minimal films of this type. I suppose there is something refreshing about the maturity of this Hollywood rom-com-dram, but beyond that, little is unique about this film, which hits trope after trope, until finally falling into predictability that is thinned down by all of the aforementioned dragging, until you can't help but focus on the other issues in this film of limited surprises to soak up. The film has its strengths, but it has just as many flaws, or at least simple shortcomings that make the final product underwhelming, through all of its ambitions. However, no matter how overdrawn, uneven, melodramatic and unconventional the film may be, the patient can expect plenty of highlights within a perfectly decent romantic comedy-drama, or at least within the perfectly decent soundtrack of a romantic comedy-drama.
Not so much in the sense that it's predictable with its pieces, this film's soundtrack is very 1990s, with some beats from preceding eras, and there's a potential for plenty of mediocre material that is ultimately evaded for the sake of many a tune, both archived and composed for the film by James Newton Howard, that is entertaining by its own right, or at least played with in an entertaining fashion by Edward Zwick's sharp direction. Zwick has always been a thoroughly flawed director, but he is a talent, there's no denying that, and while this project isn't as grand as most of Zwick's other projects, it does have a style that plays upon anything from the aforementioned colorful soundtrack to Steven Rosenblum's snappy, if often busy (Oh boy, there are some glaring jump cuts) editing in order to liven things up, until thoughtfulness comes in, uncorrupted by sentimentality. As usual, Zwick doesn't incorporate a whole lot of dramatic storytelling touches without sentimentality, yet there are, in fact, more controlled moments which define the potential depths of this generally inconsequential drama. Often fluffy and dramatically minimalist, and even formulaic something serious, this film's story, even in concept, is lacking, but it does have potential, and it's easier to see that in this particular interpretation of conventional subject matter because of touches that are, in fact, refreshing in their inspiration and audacity. I suppose what makes the dated "About Last Night..." a superior Ed Zwick romantic dramedy is Tim Kazurinsky's and Denise DeClue's deliverance on a more clever, perhaps even more genuine script, although that's not to say that Zwick, Charles Randolph and Marshall Herskovitz don't drive much of this film with their own clever writing, whose sharp dialogue and humor entertain, while well-rounded characterization give you a greater grip on the human elements that most carry the film, that is, on the backs of the characters' portrayers. Most everyone in this solid cast delivers, with Josh Gad particularly standing out in the supporting cast with a delightfully overwhelming charm in the ambitious, yet still self-conscious and weird younger brother role, while the heart of the film is kept pumping by lead performances by the dashing Jake Gyllenhaal and the beautiful Anne Hathaway that go bonded by sparkling chemistry, bookended by solidly charismatic, if not dramatically strong individual performances. Gyllenhaal and Hathaway endear as much as anyone or anything in this film, and not even their enough to carry the potentially more memorable final product that far from underwhelmingness, yet they and everyone else does enough to craft a thoroughly charming and sometimes moving affair, despite lost potential.
Once it's all worn off, a promising endeavor slips into underwhelmingness under the weight of an excessive length, inconsistencies in focus and tone, histrionics and clichés to the telling of a somewhat inconsequential tale, which still has value that is done enough justice by a colorful soundtrack, snappy and often thoughtful direction, clever scripting, and endearing performances by and chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway which make "Love & Other Drugs" a pretty decent and occasionally effective romantic dramedy, even though it could have been more.
2.5/5 - Fair
Verified