50/50

Director: Jonathan Levine
Writer: Will Reiser
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
Release Date: September 30, 2011
Length: 1 hour 40 minutes

First time screenwriter Will Reiser was inspired by his own personal battle with cancer, to write the truly authentic film 50/50, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Reiser’s good friend Seth Rogen. Levitt plays Adam, a twenty seven year old radio program writer, who has a beautiful girlfriend named Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard), and works with his immature best friend, Kyle (Rogen). When Adam goes to his doctor to figure out what is causing his annoying back pains, he is bluntly told he has a rare form of cancer of the back and he will have to go through chemotherapy to attempt to get rid of the tumor. While in a state of shock, Adam is assigned to a twenty four year old training psychologist named Katherine (Anna Kendrick), to help him get through the straining experience. Adam goes through an emotional transformation not just from the cancer, but also from his overbearing mother (Angelica Huston), his distant girlfriend, his determined best friend and his friendly inexperienced therapist. He humorously continues all these normal relationships in his life, while he simultaneously attempts to beat the intense cancer that has hit him from nowhere. Premiering at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival this fall, 50/50 left everyone with an indescribable feeling of bitter sweetness that has yet to be created before. Basing Adam’s story on his encounters with cancer, Will Resier creates one of the most authentic scripts of all time. Not many people think that cancer and comedy can possibly go together, but Reiser shows that a film about real people does not need to be either or. His film is neither a serious and depressing cancer drama or a satirical goofball comedy. 50/50 is the perfect example of a film that does not need to fall into a specific genre and wins you over by hitting you in all the right places. At least for me, it’s the films that are funny, and sad and romantic that I enjoy the most because they are the most effective. When you enjoy the comedic or romantic parts of this film, you can’t help but feel like you are watching something extremely genuine to life experiences and not inappropriate for a film about cancer. The rare realism this film holds is only that much more amplified by the incredible cast. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic as Adam, a complex character who we see goes through multiple changes with every hit and blow he experiences. Starting off as a simple nice guy, Gordon-Levitt shows Adam become a much more layered character, letting fear and confusion change much of his personality in good ways and bad. Gordon-Levitt carries the movie beautifully nailing both the comedy and drama of the story, while his co-star Seth Rogen wonderfully does the same. Almost all the laughs of the film came from scenes between Rogen and Gordon-Levitt, as they share an immensely hilarious friendship with the contrast of Kyle’s crude nature and Adam’s more polite behaviour. There was no doubt that Rogen could perform well in a little bit more of a dramatic genre than he is used to, simply because he’s naturally a great actor and proves so in 50/50. Under all the offensively funny comments Kyle constantly gives, he has a deep loyalty and worry for his best friend that Rogen perfectly portrays to the audience. He is not the only one though to share an enjoyable chemistry with Gordon-Levitt, though. The relationship between Adam and Kendrick’s character Katherine is just adorable and not in a cheesy way, but in a truly sweet way. This is partly just because Kendrick’s character is adorable and we are happily engulfed by her charmingly awkward eagerness. There is another lovable contrast in the film where Katherine’s positivity butts with Adam’s unwillingness to participate in therapy, believing he is fine. Kendrick’s performance is fantastic and highly enjoyable, making Katherine a character we look forward to seeing on screen. Bryce Dallas Howard keeps on getting the role of the bitch with this summer’s The Help and now as the careless girlfriend Rachel in 50/50. Howard however, gives a great and often very funny performance in the film, making the festival’s audience literally cheer when her character leaves. The oddball in the cast of actors is well-known actress Anjelica Huston who is absolutely wonderful as Adam’s loving neurotic mother, Diane. Director Jonathan Levine effectively uses improv with the cast to make the relationships even more entertainingly realistic, including the funniest scene in the film, when Adam and Kyle shave Adam’s head. This is one of those films that has a great cast, a great director and great screenwriter, but when you put them all together, you end up with something extraordinary. The completely original film amazingly makes you laugh just as hard as you cry, leaving you at your most vulnerable to all emotions. The film doesn’t take an unnatural dramatic turn. Rather, the reality of Adam’s cancer presents itself more and more toward the end. The charming 50/50 is a rare, one of a kind film that cannot be skipped.