The Movie Maestro’s Reviews: 50/50 (2011) dir. Jonathan Levine
Comedy-dramas can be a tricky thing. Challenges always arise from maintaining a balance of comedy and drama inherent to the form (duh), and execution is key. With these considerations in mind, 50/50 ought to be taught in film school as a perfect modern example of this fickle sub-genre, as it checks every box neatly and with genuine heart.
Based loosely on Will Reiser’s own battle with the disease, 50/50 tracks Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character Adam as he comes to grips with and battles a rare form of cancer that leaves his chances of survival at an even 50/50 break–not very good odds. Throughout this battle, Reiser’s script weaves a low-key but complicated tale of a young man growing into a new stage of awareness of the people around him and the effect he has on them, most notably the awkward distance he keeps between himself and his mother (I can unfortunately relate…time to change that), and the slow rapport and affection that develops between him and his inexperienced emotional therapist Katherine, played sweetly by Anna Kendrick. Above all however, is Seth Rogan: while his usual crass self is off-putting to many older viewers and he sticks close to that personality, revelations about his motives at the beginning of the final act paint a tear-jerking picture of the power of friendship when done right, and Rogan owns these moments like he wrote the script himself.