Movie time! - follow up

Deeper than the typical romantic comedy of 2 main characters, these scenes from the movie Love and Other Drugs tell us the real struggles of living with Parkinson disease.

In the first scene, the symptoms are showing in the main lead actress Maggie Murdock, who at the age of 26, is suffering from stage 1 Parkinson disease. Notice her hands trembling when she pours a cup of alcohol. Not only that, the scene shows how the disease has deterred her from having a normal relationship with the male lead, Jamie Randall. She feels she would be a burden to him in the future if he continues dating her and marries her, and that he is being with her because he pities her state. This is one of the real impact of Parkinson disease, especially for those sufferers at a young age, as Parkinson disease is a long term degenerative disease. It only gets worse, or at the most delayed but it would not get better. This scene mimics how Parkinson's sufferers are unable to cope both emotionally and physically, putting their dreamed, shared future with their spouses in jeopardy.

Scene 1 continues to show us how Jamie Randall came back for Maggie when she broke down, and they went to Chicago afterwards. Maggie attended a Parkinson convention. Although the Parkinson patients took turns to perform a stand-up comedy with their jokes, nevertheless it actually tells us the blunt honesty of Parkinson disease itself. The daily little things that they can't do anymore, and the way the society judges them, and how the disease has led them to have a constant battle to retain some dignity and grace in society,  and how they have to move on and accept themselves with the disease no matter how hard life journey is going to be.

In scene 2, at the refreshment table, Jamie meets a middle-aged man whose wife is in the final stage of Parkinson disease. The conversation that follows after is so real and so saddening and it breaks my heart. T.T

Here goes:

Jamie: You've got any advice?

Man: You don't need my advice.

Jamie: Come on, I am very trainable.

Man: 

Well, my advice is that you go upstairs, pack your bags and leave a nice note...

find yourself a  healthy woman...........

I love my wife... i do. But i wouldn't do it over again.... 

Nobody tells you this disease will steal everything you love at her.. Her body, smile, mind.... 

Sooner or later, she will lose motor control, eventually she wouldn't be able to dress herself.........   then the fun really begins... clean up her shit, frozen face, dementia...

This is the part where it shakes me. We really do not know the real struggles of how a Parkinson patient, the impact on his/her life and on the people that are close to them, their family, spouses and friends. This scene is very impactful as it is so blunt and so true. It is really not easy for them to be able to lead a carefree life. So be thankful for every little thing in your life and be compassionate and patient with the people around you that is suffering from Parkinson disease! 

So.. are you dying to find out whether Jamie and Maggie got together at the end? 

This is for us to know and for you to find out ^^ Not going to be a spoiler!!