The 5 Best Pharmacy Movie Scenes On Netflix

Although pharmacies and pharmacists may not immediately spring to mind when thinking of exciting topics for TV series or movies, in fact, some great scenes in movie history have featured scenes set in just such a location.

You might be able to think of one or two yourself right now, but just in case you can’t bring any to mind, here’s a rundown of the best five pharmacy movie scenes that you can find on Netflix right now.

1. It’s A Wonderful Life – Mr Gower’s Pharmacy Scene

One of the best pharmacy scenes ever to make it into a movie has to be Mr Gower’s scene in the iconic Christmas-time movie It’s A Wonderful Life. In the scene, Mr Gower gets a telegram that tells him his son has died and goes on to spend the day drinking to excess.

However, rather than go home in his drunken stupor he, instead, carries on working, making up a prescription for a sick child. Our hero, George, sees that the prescription is wrong, and contains a compound that would have resulted in the child’s death. He refuses to deliver the medicine and receives a blow from his employer.

It’s only when he explains why he didn’t deliver them and points out the error that Mr Gower realizes George has saved the child’s life.

The scene is a reminder that even the best pharmacist can make a mistake, and that they’re all human too.

2. Magnolia – Linda’s Visit To The Pharmacy

Linda, played by Julianne Moore, is a troubled character whose husband is dying and who is struggling with her mental health. In this scene, she goes to the pharmacy to get an extremely strong prescription filled however the pharmacy employees, who are much younger than her, immediately judge her and question her need for the medication.

Not only do the employees talk about her but they even make a call to check the prescription is valid while the assistant makes innuendos about drug-taking that are clearly offensive.

Once she has received her prescription, Linda lets rip at the pharmacist and the assistant, unloading her feelings about being judged and making sure they understand the pain they’ve caused her.

The scene is a valid reminder to pharmacists everywhere to be respectful and non-judgmental.

3. Contagion – Looting The Pharmacy

Contagion has been one of the most relevant movies over the past couple of years, documenting the story of a pandemic not unlike the one we’re still going through. With that in mind, the looting the pharmacy scene is especially poignant.

In the scene, fake news has spread that there is a cure for the virus which is being surprised by the CDC. As a result, people stampede into the pharmacy and start looting it in an attempt to get their hands on the rumored treatment.

It’s an interesting insight into human behavior that has been borne out to some extent by events over the past couple of years in terms of misinformation being spread about the virus.

4. Philadelphia – The Pharmacy Confrontation

Philadelphia is one of the landmark movies about LGBTQ+ issues from the 1990s and the pharmacy confrontation scene is an especially important moment since it raises the issue of homophobia in a very public setting. In the scene, Joe is chatting with a student who then asks him out for a drink.

Immediately, Joe reacts aggressively and confrontationally, using offensive language and speaking in a derogatory and prejudiced way to the student. Not only is the scene a vital moment in the movie, but it also goes to show how far things have come over the past few decades.

5. Run – The Medication Reveal

The movie Run is a fascinating horror thriller featuring a severe case of Munchausen’s By Proxy. Chloe is an allegedly very sick girl who has to take frequent medications and use a wheelchair.

As she gets older, she becomes suspicious of her mother’s intentions and visits a pharmacy to find out what the pills she is taking actually are. In the pharmacy scene, it is revealed that the pills aren’t designed for human consumption at all, but are muscle relaxants that are given to dogs.

The pills contain lidocaine which causes her legs to be numb, hence her need for the wheelchair. It is this scene that is central to the revelation that all is not as it seems in Chloe’s world and it’s also a reminder for pharmacists out there that strange situations really do happen in the world of pharmaceuticals!