50/50

For anyone who has stumbled on my humble blog without knowing me personally, I should note that my own experience with cancer at age 25 made me particularly susceptible to being interested in this film. My odds were significantly better than Adam’s, but humor was still the key to the healing process.

Part comedy, part drama; part fact, part fiction. Based on writer Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer in his early twenties, 50/50 is a film that deals with cancer the way people do - with highs and lows, humor and honesty. Adam’s a straight-edge, clean cut, independent guy who works in radio with his best friend when his back pain is diagnosed as having been caused by a malignant tumor on his spine. It’s the kind of diagnosis that not only reveals what you’re made of, but on whom you can truly rely.

There are many reasons to like this movie. The truthfulness of the script, the hilarity that ensues, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the most adorable young Everyman ever, Seth Rogen finally getting to act his age, medical marijuana jokes, drama without melodrama - and while 50/50 may initially come across as a “coping with cancer through comedy” workshop, the film’s humor comes from its truth, and its insight goes one step further by revealing the different ways in which friends and family cope as well. One person may not cope at all, another though misguided advice, another with pot-laced macaroons, while still another will join a support group.

Some indie actors make unfortunate choices to do weird or supposed-blockbuster films while establishing their careers (I’m looking at you, Ryan Gosling and Lee Pace), but Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one actor whose credit is indicative of quality work. As Adam, Levitt is in almost every scene and his trademark honesty serves him well here. His passion, frustration, drive, humor, and despair are palpable. Rogen takes a step back from his recent foray into leading-man territory to play the best friend, a role likely written with him in mind. The irreverence and loyalty shared by Seth Rogen and writer Will Reiser was instrumental to the crafting of Reiser’s very smart script. No wonder some scenes feel like insights to Rogen’s college days. Screen veteran Anjelica Houston took on a role usually played by Marcia Gay Harden (Whip It!) or Allison Janney (Juno), a an adoring, worry-laden, overbearing mother. For a relatively new director, Jonathan Levine wisely keeps both Houston and Rogen reined in - if either role gone too far in any particular direction, the whole film would have been thrown off balance. Instead, Levine carefully crafted himself a hit film.

50/50 has a uniquely youthful zeal, despite its serious subject; that said, I saw the film with my dad and we both enjoyed it. That says a lot. By providing a broad view of one young man’s diagnosis and the lives it effects, 50/50 has something for almost everyone. Genuine performances and a heartfelt script are symptoms of a really great film. Recommended dose: at least one viewing.

Notes:
- Yes, Will Reiser is related to Paul. They are cousins.
- Check out this interview with Will Reiser from the Toronto Film Festival: http://www.tribute.ca/tiff/index.php/2011/09/13/will-reiser-interview-5050
- In the video mentioned above, Reiser mentions that Joseph Gordon-Levitt had a week to prepare for the role. Levitt was a last-minute replacement for actor James McAvoy.
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt pulled a Natalie Portman by actually shaving his head during filming. (Portman did this for the film V for Vendetta.)