Yes, you heard right. A chick flick for guys. At least for guys that are capable of actually caring about something other than their own gratification. On the surface, this movie has all of the familiar love story elements: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy realizes what a smuck he is and how empty his life is without her but with a twist. The girl has stage one Parkinson's disease. Of course, the trailer and synopsis fail to mention this very relevant detail. Naturally, it's what makes the story worth knowing about but some marketing wiz must've said, “ How can we possibly sell this movie?” I don't know – try being authentic and genuine which is really what this movie is about. This isn't anything like Love Story or Terms of Endearment where the beautiful girl dies a tragic but eloquent death at the end. There goes that angle. So the marketing angle is charmy, smarmy, self absorbed young Viagra salesmen oozing self confidence and sex, clearly thinks he has women figured out, has no problem getting laid as most women simply cannot resist him. So yes, there are lot's of sex scenes. Are they gratuitous? It's right at the extreme edge perhaps but I did not personally think, “Gee, I just can't stand to see another sex scene”. There was one that might qualify involving his younger brother with a bimbo at the orgy masquerading as a big medical convention in Chicago but that might be because I just didn't really like his character. His role in the movie seemed to be that of comic foil and very few of the scenes with him worked for me. He was more of an annoying distraction than anything. There is still much to like about this movie. Early on there is a brief scene of Jamie having dinner with his family. It's very well done, telling you everything you need to know about Jamie and it's your first clue that this film might have some substance to it. What I like about this film is the authenticity of the people portrayed; the dialogue, the interactions, the motives reflect the way humans really are: complicated and conflicted, the character of Maggie being the prime example here.
Though Jamie seems oblivious to anything other than getting ahead and getting laid, we see that he's really desperate to gain the approval of someone he cares about or is important to him whether it's his parents, boss or the receptionist he needs to bed or win over to make his quota. Then he meets Maggie and after a bad start discovers that they both want the same thing: NSA sex. Maggie is the one who sets the limits and keeps her distance so naturally, he's intrigued and stimulated by the challenge. Maggie doesn't let anyone too close because she assumes once they understand what they're in for they'll leave so she finds a way to get rid of them before any real feelings emerge. Jamie, however, is undeterred not out of a need to win but because he encounters a real human being who isn't playing the same game most people play, including himself. Yes, this movie evokes heartfelt emotions almost note perfect at times. When Maggie tells Jamie as she's leaving him, “You're a better person than you give yourself credit for” and he just looks at her with disbelieve, anguish and gratitude you have to be moved unless you're just totally jaded. Yes, I had tears in my eyes for many moments hereon but not due to shameless emotional manipulation and sentimentalizing love and loyalty. It was the honesty of it. Near the end, he watches a video he took of her lying in bed talking about how happy she is in this moment. She delivers a line to remember: “The way I feel right now - it doesn't matter if they'll be 10,000 more moments like this or just this one. They're all the same.” Wow. He understands the mystical essence of life, that love is the only thing that's real, everything else is just what happens and you have to deal with one way or another or at least I did in that moment. They got lot right in this film so I give it 3 stars. I might've given it 4 if the director had cut some extraneous material with Jamie's younger brother.
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