Post Purdue Pharma and the scandal that was OxyContin, drug reps needed to be smarter about how they infiltrate the market. Inspired by the NYT article “The Pain Hustlers” and book Hard Sell by Evan Hughes, in 2011, Liza Drake (Emily Blunt) is a high school dropout struggling single mom who needs a break, and Captain America (Chris Evans) is just the guy to do it. Evans is the lead salesman for a failing drug company that can’t seem to get doctors away from their biggest competitors. After getting Mary Poppins on board for their drug sales team, the company skyrockets to success (not necessarily legally or morally). Yes this is clearly an exaggerated account but it sure is entertaining. Moira Rose/ Catherine O’Hara plays Blunt’s mom so thats just a plus right there. It’s not long before Liza realizes that when company success rises, people will do just about anything for more. Whether or not you like sales reps, you have to admire the creativity it takes to hustle that hard. I thought this fun and different look at a morally corrupt business and a good break from the serious Big Pharma-related content out there.
Rating: 4/5
Additional Resources:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/02/magazine/money-issue-insys-opioids-kickbacks.html
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