Ed Zwick‘s romantic dramacom, “Love and Other Drugs,” which opens November 24th, pokes fun at Pfizer and other big pharmaceutical companies.
The sexy film, based on former Pfizer salesman Jamie Reidy‘s memoir as a Viagra rep, is unsparing. It uses the Pfizer logo, and has constant references to drugs like Viagra, Zoloft, and Prozac.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jamie Randall, the randy, promiscuous salesman who became a star by selling Viagra when it was new. Mixed in with Jamie bedding many women, and finally falling for Anne Hathaway, is an insiders’ look at how Big Pharma woos doctors and convinces them to push their brands over others.
At first, I thought Pfizer must be in on this. How else would they allow their logo, name, and brands to stamped all over a major motion picture?
But Zwick said last night that he’s had no contact with Pfizer or anyone else. “This is not a product placement. But the Fox lawyers told us to go ahead.”
The whole prescription drug culture is lampooned. A homeless man starts eating Prozac samples and is soon all cleaned up. He even gets a job interview. There’s lot of popping of Viagra, especially for orgies and three way sex–Jake’s Jamie gets it on with two beauties. He also winds up in the emergency room when his Viagra-induced erection goes well beyond four hours.
Ouch!
Reidy, you should know, left Pfizer and went to work for Eli Lilly. They fired him the day “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman,” was published.
