Side Effects

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer and Director Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau draws from her 10 years of experience as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep and adds a touch of comedy and romance to make the point that there is a constant battle between Profit and Healthcare for the major drug companies. No real revelation there.

What is at least interesting is her approach to telling the story. Katherine Heigl (from TV's "Grey's Anatomy") is perky and sparkles as the Sales Rep torn between the big paydays and her own personal integrity. It is not difficult to understand how one could be seduced into turning a deaf ear to the negative and instead buying into the corporate propaganda. Thousands of dollars in bonus checks and upgrades in company cars are just some of the perks that go along with playing the game.

The issue I have is with the movie-making aspect of this film. It has the feel of a film project, not a quality independent film with an important message. The romantic comedy approach takes away from the expose' of the industry. All of the office politics could take place at Any Office, USA. Total frustration with one's job and company is commonplace in every single office building in the country. What makes the story different is the corporate level disregard for public safety in order to maximize profits. Not enough of the film dealt with this process.

Michael Moore's next project centers on the Pharmaceutical world and my guess is it will provide many more questions on the entire industry than "Side Effects" has. I will also venture a guess and say that Mr. Moore's soundtrack will be nowhere near as cool as the "Side Effects" soundtrack!

The screenplay is beyond clunky and obvious, and sounds as though it were written by a high school freshman. The supporting actors are painfully hammy. The film quality was lacking- out of focus half the time, and it seemed as though it were shot in full screen but being shown wide screen. The concept is there, it's just the execution that kills it all. Katherine Heigel had cute moments, but overall could not overcome the bad material. This is a movie that needed to be made, but should have been made well. The pacing drags, and the "wacky" jokes fall through. Don't waste your money. There are some indies that should never see the light of day, and this is one of them.

I saw Side Effects at the premier in Wisconsin and thought it was a wonderful film, despite a few technical issues. I found it to be enjoyable, informative and relevant. The acting was great, especially the boss-lady, Dorian DeMichele. I would have liked to see more of her on screen as she has a strong screen presence and a great deal of talent. Kathleen Heigl was believable and easy to watch, as was the rest of the cast. I have told my friends about this film and hoped it would travel to NYC where I live, but alas, it has not arrived. I recommend it, especially if you are in any way interested in the pharmaceutical industry. My only criticism was that the kissing scene went on a bit too long!

Side Effects is a movie that really suffers because of its budget. I think with more money there could have been more done to make this movie better. It basically ends up being an OK movie with a good heart and brain.

The movie plays up the ridiculousness of the American pharmaceutical business and does a good job of it. The story is really alright and I only have minor qualms with the script. The acting (aside from Heigl, who was great aside from her strange tantrum scene) is poor at best and some of the shots had me shaking my head. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of closeup shots of actor's faces in this film. I started realizing about halfway through the film how everything felt like it was zoomed in when it was just one person on screen.

The movie's got a good moral to it and I enjoyed the Madison backdrops, but with a little better funding and maybe some better editing and camera work, it really could have been a better film.

5 out of 10.

"Side Effects" has a great story but unfortunately it has its problems that some people won't be able to get past. It stars Katherine Heigl as a young woman working for a pharmaceutical sales company, trying to figure out her professional life and love life. Although its not an original idea, they told the main story very well as they focused on the pharmaceutical sales industry and the moral dilemmas that come with the job.

Trying to run alongside the main story we had a few sub-plots, but these were really poorly done. These side story lines had no end, or if they did, they had no beginning. They really detracted from the film. Adding to this problem were technical issues with poor editing and sound.

I say you should see it if you are looking for a great story. But if you are going to get frustrated by some poorly written scenes and sloppy editing and sound, then skip it.