Side Effects

Story Line: Karly Hert (Heigl) is a pharmaceutical rep who is sick of her job but doesn't know what to do about it. She meets a nice guy (McAfee) who helps her formulate a plan to quit, but she finds quitting isn't that easy.

Bottom Line: This formulaic but pleasurable romantic comedy is a very timely indie, tackling the subject of pharmaceutical companies and the questionable practices they use to sell their product (including but not limited to covering up possible side effects of their medications). Recalling recent newspaper headlines about the drug Vioxx, which causes heart problems, Side Effects talks about a drug called Viovex, which causes liver damage—not that the pharmaceutical reps tell the doctors that unsavory fact. What starts out as a reasonably light and funny romantic comedy goes on to address this serious problem, and although there's not really an answer, at least director Slattery-Moschkau (who worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a decade) brings her knowledge and disgust to the forefront. Heigl has a charming screen presence and does a nice job of portraying a character conflicted between an industry she despises and a paycheck she loves. The film cost only $190,000 to make, Slattery-Moschkau informs us at the end of the film, while the pharmaceutical industry spends $25 billion alone per year just on marketing … an interesting fact to chew on.