Love is the Drug

Set in the gorgeous Swedish archipelago, director Staffan Lindberg has concocted this bright romantic comedy which won the Audience prize at Sweden’s Guldbagge Awards.

Gorgeous former Bond girl Izabella Scorupco (Golden Eye, 2009) plays Veronica, who falls head over heels for the handsome Mike (David Hellenius), a carpenter who is rebuilding the kitchen in her plush high-end apartment. The sawdust has barely landed on the floor before their first passionate kiss. However, the teenage kids Fanny and Alexander are not pleased and have a hard time accepting the union. Veronica decides that a summer holiday nearby her wealthy parents on the west coast of Sweden is exactly what they all need. Mike, on the other hand, is not so relaxed in these upper-class surroundings. Furthermore, when his own dysfunctional family becomes involved, Mike and Veronica’s relationship is up for a serious challenge.

An ensemble of eccentric characters and awkward situations make this film hilarious as it is charming, as the class-conflict chaos threatens to bring the new couple’s fairytale to an end.