Love & Other Drugs Review

I went to see the new Jake Gyllenhaal/Anne Hathaway movie called Love & Other Drugs today. It was quite the impromptu screening as I had planned on grading papers all day. Given that I am a total sucker for movie invites, I jumped at the chance when a friend invited me. So here's my lowdown of the movie.


First off, it's a bit long. They spend a loooooong time on the buildup of their relationship. It's clear from the previews that Jake plays a drug sales rep who is what you would call a player. He pretends to be an intern during Anne's doctor's visit. She finds out he's not an intern, gets mad at him, he charms the pants off of her (literally), and they hook up. I also think it's clear from the preview that she is sick (so hopefully I am not giving anything away here). I am not sure why they decide to spend so much time trying to convince us that he sleeps around and she keeps everyone at arm's length, we got that pretty quickly. 


It does follow a predictable path (see A Love Story or A Walk to Remember if you need a memory boost): Boy can't love one woman, boy suddenly falls in love with girl who doesn't want him, sick girl falls in love with said boy, big dramatic ending where we don't get to see "happily ever after". So the story line has been done, though this movie offers plenty of shots of naked Jake and naked Anne (loads of Anne breast if you are into that sort of thing)! There are some very funny scenes, though they were all noticeably given to the men, still funny though. Watch for Jake getting punched in the stomach and for any scene with his brother or his boss. 


The casting was great. Jake and Anne can clearly act, so I applaud them both on that (see Brothers or Rachel Getting Married if you want further proof). Also, being so, uselessly, in tune with who's screwing who in Hollywood these days, it was nice to see a pair of actors on screen who didn't hook up in real life, but had really good chemistry in the movie. I think those two would make an overly adorable couple in real life, but that could just be their awesome acting. :-) Jake's brother, played by Josh Gad, and Oliver Platt provide the comic relief (the scene where Oliver just keeps repeating pussy was *awesome*). Hank Azaria managed *not* to be the comic relief, which personally I found to be a nice change (though I do think he is funny). Gabriel Macht should come with some sort of warning label: Do not look directly at this person for you may go blind from their utter gorgeousness. 


This movie was set in 1997. As my friend pointed out, some of the music doesn't match the year, but I think they may have been trying to push the decade rather than the year. Still fun to see the old phones, you know, the ones that didn't have access to the internet or text messaging, etc. 


So, in sum, movie took too long to build up, story line was blah, casting was great, and there is lots of nakedness from the two main characters. My recommendation is to watch it, though you don't necessarily need to run right out to do so. 

Mini Break is now over

Sad face. But no really, it was totally amazing and exactly what I needed, so I have no complaints at all. I was planning on leaving the hotel around 11, but everyone in the hotel was pretty eager for the free breakfast so I woke up a little earlier. Once I had showered and packed it was around 10, so I just got on the road. I knew the sooner I left, the more likely I would be to be able to see the girls. And as fate would have it, I arrived at Joe and Tanya's in plenty of time to hang out with the girls for several hours. Yay!!!! It was the perfect way to end the break.

Oh wait. Actually, after dropping the rental (a Toyota Corolla for the win!) mom told me she had a Christmas present for me but she wasn't sure if she was going to give it to me or if I would like it. I'm not a huge fan of playing games like this so I just tried to forget about it, but she couldn't. It was apparently eating away at her. So, she gave me a blu-ray player!!!! Yes, you read that right. I am SUPER excited! So yeah, perfect ending to a wonderful trip.

I think I will start this as my new Thanksgiving tradition. Now I need to decide if I want to stick with that hotel or find another cozy location. Well, I have a year to think about it.

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday!

Mini Break Day 3

Day 3 started off with me missing the free breakfast. Of course, I really didn't mind. I missed it because I was sleeping. :-) Ahh, vacation. I check out at 11 tomorrow and make the drive home, with a potential stop over in Columbus to see my girls. I haven't managed to watch any of the movies I brought with me, but I did manage to get a ton of reading in. I've also eaten my own weight in junk food, but that's typical for Thanksgiving right? That's what I'm telling myself anyway. So overall, it's been magical so far. I feel a tradition starting. :-) 

Here are some pictures from the trip so far. This is the view from my balcony.

I told you there were llamas!

It's very rustic here. I love it!

And of course, the mountain/lake view (at sunset).

Mini breaks for the win!

My Thankful Post

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to take a minute or two out of my super busy vacation to make a list of what I am thankful for. A few years ago, mom and I were driving to my brother's house for Thanksgiving and came upon a wreck that had just happened. Luckily everyone was OK, but we spent the rest of the trip listing out things we were thankful for and a tradition was born. I think many people will agree that we are thankful for family, friends, health, and work (although I think most of those come with age). I also wanted to get a little more specific.

I'm thankful:

• That N always starts her sentences with "Excuse me" in the cutest little almost-4-years-old voice.
• That C thinks to call and tell me Happy Thanksgiving because she *genuinely* wants me to have a great day.
• That A is still trying to finish a book we bought together several months ago (she's just like her aunt that way :-) ). 
• That my family didn't give me any hell for taking off during a holiday. Their respect and understanding of me wanting to get away from life and my obsession with traveling (even if it's only 5 hours away) allows me to enjoy each experience. 
• For the beautiful weather today and the ability to sit outside and soak it all up.
• For the men and women who have allowed me to live in a free country and who have fought and died for my rights to live.
• For friends who understand that I am a prickly bitch on a good day and a grumpy ogre on an even better day, and they still stick around. 
• That the grey cloud has disappeared and I feel normal again. 
• That my advisor doesn't call me, ever, and gives me free reign to learn at my pace, my way, and of course, for letting me be away from school for long periods without giving me crap. 

To be honest, I live a very privileged life and for that I will always be thankful.

Mini Break Day 1

The room has a balcony (first floor so maybe it's just a porch?) that overlooks a lake (after you look at the parking lot), mountains in the background, and yes, I did see the llamas. It also has some chair lifts that have been permanently fixed into the ground right next to the llama pen and they are overlooking the lake with the mountains in the background (noticing a pattern?). The room has a refrigerator (should have shopped a little better) and a couch and coffee table. So yeah, just forward my mail here. I'll see if I can't get a job as the llama spit collector or something of the sort.

I packed 5 books, 10 movies, and enough junk food to make anybody sick. So here goes the break...starting off beautifully. :-)

Mini Break Packing List

As I was mentally making my packing list for my mini break (sweat pants, bubble bath, pillow, cuddly blanket), it occurred to me that for Christmas last year the girls bought me a heart covered, fleece blanket. It is one of those super soft delights that you just want to wrap around you and never take off. You know what I'm talking about. I keep it in a plastic container under my bed so that it doesn't get covered in dog hair. If you are a pet owner, you know the consequences of owning anything fleecy. Well, I got so excited at the thought of packing it because 1. it's *super* comfortable and warm, and 2. I will be thinking of my girls while I am in a blissful, stress-free state of mind. This mini break keeps getting better and I haven't even left yet. :-)

This is what vacation should be

Thanksgiving is this week and I'm giving thanks for mini-breaks. :-) I've never been a big fan of Thanksgiving so I thought now was a good time to get away for a little while. There is a particular hotel in Tennessee that I've stayed at a couple times and for some reason, I love it. It's probably the llamas in the parking lot (no joke!). I've never stayed longer than about 8 hours, so I am looking forward to enjoying my mountain view, king size bed, sofa, and 32" flat screen. Add 3 days of bubble baths, reading, and sleeping and I may never come home. In fact, if it snows over the lake, you know, the one the hotel overlooks ( I know!!), and you will have to forward my mail to Caryville.

I'll keep you updated.

Season 5 of Doctor Who

We made it half way through season 5 of Doctor Who last night. I am, at this point, referring to the Matt Smith series. Once we watch the other half, we will be caught up in time to watch the Christmas Special and then start up with the new season in February. This makes me deliriously happy! We started watching this 'new' series (starting in 2005) back in July/August this year.

Here are my thoughts on the doctors so far:
Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor): It took me awhile to like him. In fact, I wasn't sure it was going to happen. But by the end of his season I just knew I was going to miss him, and I was right. In his defense, I was also trying to get used to this very new show. I mean, Doctor Who is not like anything else I've ever seen on TV. It has some of the most original story lines, both creepy and just plain awesome, and that is something that I am not used to. I didn't grow up watching it, so this was all new to me. Now, I look back on Chris' time with fondness. I need to rewatch his season to see how I feel from the beginning this time.

David "Ten Inch" Tennant (Tenth Doctor): My favorite so far, but he was around for the longest so far. He was a perfect mix of crazy, fun, smart, and Doctorish. I loved his energy and his compassion. I may have put him on a Christ-like pedestal a few times, but overall, he was a total blast to watch.

Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor): He's not my favorite. That is not to say I don't like him, but he's a little more abrasive with the people around him. He is constantly telling his companion Amy Pond, to shut up. And I don't like that. Also, I feel like he is sometimes playing David's part and not bringing Matt to the part. Both Chris and Matt brought something unique to the character and so far I haven't seen Matt bring anything different. I am only halfway through his season, so I am keeping an open mind. He had big shoes to fill, so I will reserve full-on judgment until later.

Now on to the companions:
Rose Tyler (Billie Piper; Ninth & Tenth Doctors): I love Rose. It's probably a girl crush, but I don't care. I really liked her. She brought with her a compassion and calm to the people/aliens they met along the way that the Doctor, especially Season 1, was missing. I was terribly sad to see her go and I always look forward to her cameo appearances. I'm glad they gave her a doctor of her own since that was the only time I saw chemistry develop between the Doctor and a companion, mutually.

Martha Jones-Smith (Freema Agyeman; Tenth Doctor): I really wish she had married Mulligan because I wasn't a fan of whiny Ricky/Mickey. That aside, she was awesome. She had certainly had the unrequited love thing going on with the doctor, which made me a little embarrassed and sad for her at times, but overall she was pretty badass. She was not afraid to just jump in, without a lot of questions, and just get to it. Again, she had loads of compassion (supposedly that's the companion's job since they are all women) but she also had guts to make sure the job got done.

Donna Noble (Catherine Tate; Tenth Doctor): I was hesitant about her at first. She is a comedienne and this show isn't (always) a comedy. She also has this habit of screeching, which can get annoying, and there was always the "we're not together" with the Doctor that got annoying. But it didn't take long for her to win me over. She had the biggest heart of them all and was able to ingest humor. I loved the friendship they developed and I think she was a total asset to the show.

Amelia "Amy" Pond (Karen Gillan; Eleventh Doctor): So far she's just OK for me. Her skirts are too short, she tried to molest the Doctor and then asks her fiance to join them on their trips, and she doesn't do much all show until they give her a bright idea at the end (something usually saved for the Doctor). But she's willing to investigate and get dirty, which I can appreciate. So right now, I'm just 'meh' about her. There's still time.

There is a plan to catch up on ALL the old Doctor Who, no matter how crazy people think we are, and I will write my thoughts on those as I get to them.