"50/50" Review

Although I haven’t had the chance to catch a lot of movies this year, 50-50 has to be in the top tier for movies I have seen in 2011. It’s not entirely my fault that I haven’t been able to see that many new releases in 2011. I spent the first quarter in Korea, and then everyone who knows me knows summer blockbusters aren’t my favorite kind of movie. 50-50 has been on my radar since late 2010 and I was very excited for the first of my anticipated fall and winter movies. I am a fan of Joseph Gorden-Levitt and of Seth Rogen, so I was very excited to see this duo to hit the screen.

The trailer suggests this movie leans more toward comedy than drama, but the movie does a great job combining both. The drama and comedy don’t conflict with each other but rather enhances each other through contrast as well as seamless meshing. When the drama begins to become dense, the audience is bailed out when the film shows that awkward moments in life can be full of humor. The comedy in the film is grounded by the drama giving it a sense of believability and something to work off of. This movie is what Funny People tried to be, but much better.

The movie is based on the life of Will Reiser, who wrote the movie. Reiser is a friend of Adam Goldberg (Producer) and Rogen who also helped produce the movie and plays the role of Kyle. In the movie, a 27 year old Will is diagnosed with cancer and is given a 50 percent chance of overcoming the cancer. The movie follows him around as we witness how this cancer affects his life and the lives of the people most close to him. Although not all of us can relate to what it feels like to have cancer, the movie does a great job of showing us how each relationship is affected, and relationships are something we can relate to. The audience is given an opportunity to find a bond that they can relate to whether it be the relationship to parents, friends, or intimate partner. The movie also gives us some insight in the psychology of a cancer patient. It makes sense that the movie is founded on true events because it’s easy for people to relate to the movie.

Another aspect the movie did a good job of showing the audience, while keeping the humor, is the interactions between patient and doctor. The film shows us that too many times people are often one dimensional. In the movie, mirroring real life, we see that doctors are very knowledgeable, but lack the general communication skills, or skills to speak in the layman, to clearly communicate with patients. With the therapist, played by Anna Kendrick, we see that her overly zealous textbook approach doesn’t quite work either. We see that when she applies textbook theory in a fluid and interpersonal fashion, the relationship and work with the patient is greatly improved. The movie also does a great job showing that when someone battles cancer, it not only affects them, but the people around them immensely. Without giving away too much, I felt this aspect was best shown in the film when Will drops off Kyle after a drunken night to find a book in Kyle’s bathroom (You’ll have to see the movie to fully understand).

I highly recommend this film, especially to fans of Seth Rogen’s humor. The humor is not lost in the attempt to tell a great story. As mentioned in the introduction, the comedy and drama are evenly weaved throughout the movie and perfectly timed. Great movie to kick off fall.