50/50 Review

This is really kinda late, but no one else posted this and I have to write a review for a film in current release for a class anyway so I decided to post this.

We all know the saying, "You have to laugh to keep from crying." I have a feeling that this sentiment, along with the fact that this was a true story, was one of the main inspirations for this film. 50/50 tells the story of a likeable 20-something guy named Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who finds out, pretty much out of the blue, that he has cancer and his odds are 50/50. He's stunned. He runs, he eats well, and has always refrained from smoking. How could a young, healthy guy like that get cancer? Well, shit happens. His relief is his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogan). While Kyle tries to keep it together and act tough for the both of them, you can tell he's hurting inside. Adam's other relief is his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), but she proves herself to be not so trustworthy and Adam breaks up with her. Immediately afterwards, Kyle adopts the attitude that Adam could use his cancer to pick up dates.

When Adam isn't spending time with Kyle, he's either getting his weekly chemo treatments with two of the hippest old guys on the block, Alan and Mitch (Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer) or he's seeing the hospital-appointed psychiatrist Katherine (Ana Kendrick). It is during these meetings with Katherine that we begin to see Adam's true feelings about his disease. He's aloof at first, bu the more the innocent and inexperienced doctor probes, the more he reveals his fears. These scenes during their meetings are some of the best in the film, and some of the most honest scenes in recent cinema.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt does an outstanding job as Adam. If he isn't nominated for Best Actor at the upcoming Oscars it will be a crime. He does such a great job of conveying all the different emotions that Adam is going through. Seth Rogan is his usual self when he's being funny, but he has a couple of serious moments as well and pulls them off beautifully. Ana Kendrick is as cute and charming as any actress I've ever seen. Anjelica Huston plays Adam's neurotic mother with the skills that only a seasoned actress like herself could pull off. Her neurosis is not without cause, either. Not only does her son have cancer, but her husband (Serge Houde) has Alzheimer's.

The most wonderful aspect of this film is that it perfectly blends drama with comedy. I have to admit I was a little skeptical when I went in to see the film. Knowing that Seth Rogan was a big part of it and that the story was based off of his best friend and writer of the film, Will Reiser, who had cancer and beat it. I was unsure if they would be able to balance the drama and the comedy, or if it would turn out to be a run-of-the-mill Seth Rogan comedy. My fears were dashed, however, because 50/50 is just as funny as it is heartfelt and I can't remember a film in recent memory that's like that. If there are any cliches in the film, and I counted few, the superb acting, the skillful direction, smart screenplay, and the onscreen chemistry between all of the characters more than makes up for them. One of the best films I've seen all year. CHYEAH!