Download Our App XoStream

Better Living Through Chemistry

2014

Comedy / Drama

20
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten22%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled38%
IMDb Rating6.21015161

dark comedypharmacisttrophy wife

Plot summary


Uploaded by: FREEMAN

Director

Top cast

Olivia Wilde Photo
Olivia Wilde as Elizabeth Roberts
Michelle Monaghan Photo
Michelle Monaghan as Kara Varney
Sam Rockwell Photo
Sam Rockwell as Doug Varney
Ray Liotta Photo
Ray Liotta as Jack Roberts
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
782.27 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
P/S ...
1.47 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
P/S ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by SnoopyStyle4 / 10

flat black comedy

Doug Varney (Sam Rockwell) is a reserved small town pharmacist. Despite taking over his father-in-law Walter Bishop's store, Walter decides to install a Bishop's Pharmacy sign. He's a pushover for everyone including his competitive cycling wife Kara (Michelle Monaghan). His son Ethan has issues and Kara enables him. Doug starts an affair with Elizabeth Roberts (Olivia Wilde). She's the unhappy trophy wife to Jack Roberts (Ray Liotta). They start getting high on Doug's own supply and planning Jack's murder.

Narration is sometimes problematic. The Jane Fonda narration is not only unnecessary. It is wholly distracting. I wonder if the filmmakers felt a lack of energy and decided to inject the narration to fill out the blank spaces. It sets up a bunch of pathetic malcontents and takes forever to get going. I don't feel it when Doug and Elizabeth get together. Sam Rockwell is miscast and he only shows his true colors when Doug livens up. The early Doug is a fake and it feels like it. It's also noticeable that Ray Liotta is missing for most of the movie. Elizabeth can bad-mouth him as he's shown in a bad light early in the movie. The first half is flat. The movie simply doesn't work.

Reviewed by nogodnomasters6 / 10

BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE

In a small idyllic town, the village pharmacist knows everyone's secrets. Doug Varney (Sam Rockwell) has a fitness compulsive wife (Michelle Monaghan) an unruly child (Harrison Holzer) and an irritating narrator (Jane Fonda). Stuck in a rut he meets rich wife Elizabeth (Olivia Wilde) who breaks Doug out and instills confidence in him through an affair and pills.

The film reminded me of a generic Magnolia indie. Let's throw together some quirky characters, get a couple of names, create an unlikely scenario, toss in a few cliches, an appropriate sound track and stir. There was nothing overly entertaining in the film, yet at the same time I wasn't bored waiting for something to happen. For those who can't get enough of the clever and quirky indies, you might get a quick fix from this film.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. Sex.

Reviewed by kosmasp7 / 10

Starting up

If you never start, you'll never finish. Makes sense, also if you don't break out, you'll stay imprisoned. Both those things do apply to our main hero here (played with much gusto by Sam Rockwell, whose presence alone elevates any and every movie). You also get Olivia Wilde who takes her last name literally ... well her character does.

For a "small" movie that is quite an impressive cast that assembles here and it does show on screen. There are a few things that might feel a bit cliché, but that can be attributed to once cynicism or the fact that one has watched too many movies (I'm mainly talking about myself here). But even through all this the movie has heart and does keep you guessing and rooting for the main (naive) guy ... Sam Rockwell can do that to you (the character he's playing).

Read more IMDb reviews