[6]

The title of this movie refers to the chances of survival for its main character, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Adam’s life and all his relationships are turned upside down when he learns he has cancer. I’m glad the movie is more about the relationships and less about the prognosis, though the film doesn’t shy away the realities of cancer. Some characters and certain relationships don’t survive, and the final twenty minutes, when Adam’s friends and family wait out his life-or-death surgery, are pretty harrowing. I view films about cancer much the same way I do films about war and other true-life tragedies. I don’t like them to be sentimental or emotionally exploitative. Thankfully, 50/50 is honest, sincere, and respectful, and anchored in a strong performance from Gordon-Levitt.

The film is billed as a comedy, but I don’t agree with that categorization. I think it was marketed that way to improve its box office chances. Seth Rogen appears on the movie poster along with Gordon-Levitt, but his part is a small, supporting one, and Rogen is not his usual irreverent self here. It’s a little bit more of a dramatic turn for the actor — he does a decent job. Bryce Dallas Howard is good as the girlfriend who isn’t quite strong enough to stick through the tribulations with Adam, and Anjelica Huston is remarkable as Adam’s beleaguered mother. The rest of the supporting cast includes Anna Kendrick, Matt Frewer, and Philip Baker Hall.