Side Effects (2005)

11% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
34% of users liked it
(790 ratings)

Side Effects, a semi-autobiographical comedy by neophyte writer-director Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau, stars Katherine Heigl (My Father the Hero, The Ringer) as Karly Hert, an employee for a major pharmaceutical house, who deeply values her position at the firm but gently questions company ethics. She… More Side Effects, a semi-autobiographical comedy by neophyte writer-director Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau, stars Katherine Heigl (My Father the Hero, The Ringer) as Karly Hert, an employee for a major pharmaceutical house, who deeply values her position at the firm but gently questions company ethics. She meets and falls for Zach (Lucian McAfee who works for a week as a sales rep for Karly's firm before he becomes totally disgusted with shaky corporate mores and books it to head out into the country and build his own house. Karly is ready to follow him, until the money starts rolling in. Soon, Karly and Zach run into a head-to-head conflict of values, and Karly is forced to choose between the company and her new beau. Side Effects co-stars Dorian de Michele and Dave Durbin. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 9, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Mar 24, 2009

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
A bad movie on a vital topic.
Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune
Spectacularly lame dialogue, stilted direction, amateurish production values and a soundtrack that distracts from the film as a whole.
Luke Y. Thompson, Los Angeles CityBeat
of all the people affected by big drug company scams, do we really care about the ethical dilemmas faced by gorgeous salespeople?
Mark Olsen, L.A. Weekly
While Slattery-Moschkau is obviously coming from a very earnest place -- a card before the final credits compares the annual budget for the pharmaceutical industry to that of her own film -- it doesn't make the overall effort any less clumsy.
Michele Kenner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
This is an agitprop effort to get viewers to think about the side effects of one industry's profit motive and how that affects consumers.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
It's when the film loses the laughs and turns into a heavy-handed melodrama in the third act that the film sputters.
, E! Online
This scrappy look at the pharmaceutical industry is a hard pill to swallow.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
The material is all there to be a scathing, timely commentary on the pharmaceutical industry - when presented this way, it's a watered down version of the truth.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
With enough material for a nice short, Side Effects is stretched past the breaking point at ninety-nine minutes.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

I don't think this would be for everyone. It is kind of slow, and anyone expecting a usual Katherine Heigl chick flick type movie will be sorely disappointed. However, having been unfortunate enough to have spent some time working in a pharmacy, this really rang true to me… More
I don't think this would be for everyone. It is kind of slow, and anyone expecting a usual Katherine Heigl chick flick type movie will be sorely disappointed. However, having been unfortunate enough to have spent some time working in a pharmacy, this really rang true to me about drug companies and how they manipulate people. It's obviously very low budget, but the acting is good, and it is thought provoking.

Cast

Katherine Heigl
as Karly Hert
Lucian McAfee
as Zach Danner
Dorian DeMichele
as Jacqueline

Dave Durbin
as Dan
Temecka Harris
as Grace

Side Effects (2005)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

Cast

Photos