I am 100% behind the message being pushed in this film (i.e. that pharmaceutical companies put profit above patient health by attempting to change medical doctors' prescribing habits using unethical and manipulative means). Hang on. Just one moment. Isn't this movie trying to do the same thing to the viewer that pharmaceutical representatives do on a daily basis to doctors? Isn't this movie deceiving the viewer into thinking that they are about to watch a romantic comedy? With a tag-line like 'Love is a Drug' and cover artwork including 2 20-somethings in a coy pose, what is the potential viewer to think? And isn't the director an ex-pharmaceutical representative who would be well briefed on such manipulation techniques? Put simply, this director shows a complete lack of respect for the intelligence levels of her audience. Throughout the entire movie, I felt like a doctor who was trapped in her office by a pushy pharma rep. I would have been more receptive to the film if I had been aware that I was about to watch what is essentially propaganda.
Review of Side Effects
