Love and Other Drugs

When I met the Hubby-to-be, he was a chain smoker.

Now, I didn’t smoke, never have. Well, if you count one whole stick of Philip Morris when I was in 4^th year high school, then you might say I have tried at least once. But I never liked the smoke coming in my lungs, much less the after taste it gave my breath. So the habit never caught me. Then here comes this guy who smoked, and I fell in love with him. So crazy in love that I’m willing to forget that he smoked.

MNG blouse
MNG Skirt
Celine Wedges

Then we got married. Had the Daughter. When she was a baby, she had a cold and when I brought her to the pediatrician, the doctor asked me if someone smoked in the house. That brought the discussion with the Hubby to stop smoking. For the Daughter’s health. For my health. More importantly, for his health. I tried all kinds of strategies—persuasion, calm talks, threats. I told him if he got sick because of smoking, I wouldn’t take care of him. (Mean ba?) I even swore to start smoking myself if he didn’t stop. (Of course, I didn’t!) But nothing worked at that time. Although he promised me he would quit the habit one day. In his time.

Well, one day I woke up not remembering when his last cigarette was. It has been—what?—almost ten years since he last touched a lighter. He said he even hates the smell of smoke now. So I guess he wouldn’t be backsliding anymore.

Now he has decided not to drink Coke. Just like me. And his kids. I don't know what got into him, but he just decided--just like that. Hey, no one's complaining.

He is in his two weeks. And counting.

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Movie Recall: Love and Other Drugs (2010)

The Story: 

Maggie is an alluring free spirit who won't let anyone - or anything - tie her down. But she meets her match in Jamie, whose relentless and nearly infallible charm serve him well with the ladies and in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Maggie and Jamie's evolving relationship takes them both by surprise, as they find themselves under the influence of the ultimate drug: love.

My Review:

Why do silly  love stories always get me? Is it Anne Hathaways’s enormous puppy eyes, or Jake Gyllenhaal’s boyish charms? Anyways, these two great actors made good chemistry on the screen that I was convinced that they were meant for each other, in spite of the Parkinson’s disease looming in between them. One of the most challenging hurdles a relationship could have is if one of the parties is sick and unhealthy. And the main character realized that living with someone sick that he loves is better than all the promotion, money, free girls, and a Jaguar in the world. Aww, so what is there not to love in this sappy movie?

Trivia:

The film is based on a book ('Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman') by a former Pfizer rep. He says the book is a "jumping off point." In the book there is no love interest. The author, Jamie Reidy, says he left all of that out because he thought his mother would read the book.

In designing the sex scenes, Director Edward Zwick had the principals watch romantic comedies and sexually charged films (everything from "Pillow Talk" to "9 Songs" to "Last Tango In Paris") and talk about what turned them on. Then some of those shots and ideas were incorporated into the making of.

To prepare for their respective roles, Jake Gyllenhaal spent time with Jamie Reidy, the author of the book this film is based on, and Anne Hathaway spent time with Lucy Roucis, an actress stricken with Parkinson's disease, who has a role in the film.

Some of the clothes Anne Hathaway wears in the film come from costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott's own wardrobe.

Patti Podesta designed Maggie's loft to be in stark opposition to the cold, sterile, medical buildings Jamie works in.

(http://www.imdb.com)