In most cases, cancer is not a laughing matter. Nevertheless, when Seth Rogan appears in a flick about a terminal illness, the morose topic receives a comical light.
Inspired by a true story, “50/50” is a poignant and amusing film that portrays laughter as the most effective medicine. Script writer Will Reiser retells his experience with cancer through this tear-jerking but hilarious movie about friendship, love, and health.
Although Rogan appears as the same lighthearted, crossing-the-line comedian as in “Pineapple Express” (2008) and “Knocked Up” (2007), “50/50” briefly shows his sensitive side.
Likewise, the film features Levitt as the same love-sick, hopeless kid as in “500 Days of Summer,” but instead of centering on dating problems, “50/50” shows Levitt battling far more important issues.
Balanced with emotional bits and comic relief, “50/50” is a perfectly relatable, inspiring, and comical flick for adult audiences.
Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a tense, nail-biting, and emotionally detached local radio producer. Adam works with best friend Kyle (Seth Rogan) and is romantically involved with the attractive and artistically mediocre Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard).
When Adam is diagnosed with a rare type of cancer through which a tumor forms in the spine, his simple lifestyle is complicated in every realm.
The overly-cautious young man finds it difficult to believe that he could have gotten such a severe disease. After all, the 25 year old hadn’t even gotten a driver’s license because of the statistics proving that it was the fifth leading cause of death. Ironically, cancer is the first.
“A tumor? Me? I mean that doesn’t make sense,” Adam questions upon hearing the doctor’s discovery. “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink… I recycle.”
Soon, Adam breaks the news to Rachel, Kyle and his parents. Though good-intentioned, Adam’s worrisome mother irritatingly calls every day in attempts to take care of her ill son.
Meanwhile, Kyle begins to use Adam’s disease as a pick-up line and a gateway to medicinal marijuana and Rachel finds a coping mechanism in infidelity.
To find ease in the midst of all this madness, Adam begins seeing Katie (Anna Kendrick), a 27 year-old student working on her psychology degree.
Although Katie’s amateur therapeutic techniques are bothersome to say the least, her insight proves wise as Adam begins to come to terms with his family, friends, and illness.
“You can’t change your situation,” Katie says to Adam during a session. “The only thing you can change is how you choose to deal with it.”
Levitt and Rogan’s contrasting characters play off one another in a clever manner.
Rogan’s crude humor balanced with Levitt’s timid, meticulous persona provides for a paradoxically hard-to-believe friendship that has a plethora of laughable moments.
This film demands more refined acting than others which feature Rogan and Levitt.
This time, Rogan not only portrays the witty stoner but also the compassionate friend who sits in the waiting-room and reads books titled Surviving Cancer Together.
Moreover, Levitt’s talent shines as he shows the psychological struggle of battling a fatal disease while his world crumbles around him. In a tear-jerking scene, the young actor exquisitely conveys his character’s emotional breakdown as he realizes what cancer could take from him.
This film shows that, despite inadvertent circumstances, humor can be found in the most unlikely situations. Despite Adam’s illness, he was still able to share laughs with Kyle and fellow cancer victims whom he met between chemotherapy sessions.
“50/50” inspires acceptance of life’s obstacles. Although Adam’s condition is rare, everyone can relate to the frustration that arises when things don’t go as planned.
Though life does not come without its flaws, one must understand that it is magnificent nonetheless.