There's a lot to like about LOD, primarily, Jake and Anne. Now I'm a big Anne Hathaway fan (she's my #1 celeb crush), but even if I wasn't, you can't deny how good both she and Jake are in their roles. They fit easily into the skins of their characters and have excellent chemistry together. A lot of hoopla was made of the actors being naked in this movie, and yes, they are naked quite a bit, but I didn't think they were naked for any longer amount of time than in many other movies of this kind (if famous people getting nude on film is your thing, you're in for a treat). As a guy in a relationship, there are many pieces of their romantic connection that I could relate to. I also appreciated the wonderful job that Anne did of portraying the physical manifestation of the degenerative disease; it's evident that she did her research. I found myself invested in this relationship and rooting for these characters to come together, which is the hardest trick for any romantic film, and because of Jake and Anne LOD pulls it off.
Which isn't to say that the other performers are slouches either. Oliver Platt continues to add to his impressive résumé of supporting roles as Bruce, Jamie's partner in crime who keeps telling Jamie he wants him to carry them to Chicago, the Shangri-La of pharmaceutical sales. While Jake and Anne carry the movie, Oliver is the most interesting character. He steals almost every scene he is in. Josh Gad plays Jamie's brother. His character is used as comic relief throughout the movie, and while he manages it well, lots of his gags seemed forced and contrived. This is one of the few weak spots of this movie. And does anybody play a slimy, skeezy, sketchy guy better than Hank Azaria? Hank is like a designated hitter in baseball: he may not play all the time, but when he does, you have to respect his game. I always enjoy his performances. And in LOD, he is funny, mean, and creepy. Fantastic.
I was worried prior to seeing LOD that by adding the Parkinson's element into the movie it would get preachy. Films like this that have these kinds of elements can veer into the "we should be finding a cure at all costs" territory (and all the furor about stem cell research the last 10 years or so only fueled my concern). LOD mostly steers clear of this familiar plot trapping by focusing on the love and relationship of the two characters as they both slowly realize they want to be together for the long haul. The only scene that I felt dipped its toe into the preachy pool was when Maggie accompanies Jamie to a convention into Chicago and attends a gathering of people with Parkinson's sharing their stories (and it's right across the street from the convention. Convenient plot device anyone?). While I get that it is important to talk about these kinds of issues, most movies don't know how to balance and focus the story between the actual plot and the other human issue they're addressing. LOD delicately and appropriately strikes the right balance.
Is LOD somewhat predictable? Sure. But the story is a lot of fun, and the 1997 setting provides some amusement: I chuckled the first time they talked about Jamie responding to his pager (we still use one at FSU for duty purposes) or when Jamie takes out his cell phone and it's one of the early ones that looks like a door stopper. There's plenty of humor, particularly as Jamie spectacularly fails at selling in the first half hour, but there's also a lot of heart and emotion that clicks. Whatever drug they used to make this movie, write me a prescription because it cures Stale-Movie-Syndrome with no side effects.
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