an inspiring journey of life and the surprises that come out of nowhere

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2012)

There have been a good number of films in the past that involve a lead character being diagnosed with cancer; tear-jerkers, inspirational dramas, chick-flicks. These usually are the genre titles for these movies. However, the new film "50/50" is a little more than these usual tags, a little less sappy, and just as moving.
"50/50," the new comedy/drama about a 27 year old named Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is diagnosed with cancer, is not your typical cancer diagnosis movie. Of course, it is typical to say that a film just feels real when you enjoy it, but this is one of the only cancer films in memory that gives a close to life portrayal of a battle with the disease.
This may be credit to the young man who wrote the script, Will Reiser. Reiser, who wrote the screenplay based off his own experiences when battling and beating cancer, offers a refreshing look at the genre. He doesn't hide away from the pain of the situation, but he adds in the humor and awakening that seems common place with the diagnosis. Every moment of every day is not complete despair for Adam, and Reiser's script allows for this humor and laughable moments to be used as comic relief, but, more importantly, a way to connect deeper with the character of Adam.
After Adam is diagnosed, he spends much of his time with his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen). Kyle may seem a little selfish and unreliable at times (he tries on multiple occasions to hook up with girls by using Adam's diagnosis as an in), but Kyle struggles with the diagnosis just like Adam.
This can also be said for Adam's girlfriend Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard), his mother (Anjelica Huston), and even his young therapist (Anna Kendrick). Each deals with the situation in their own manner, some hurting Adam and some helping him, but the film does a nice job of including these stories to give a full perspective of the pain one diagnosis can cause.
Adam's family is anything but sound. His father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and can't remember Adam is even his son at times, and his mother coddles and worries about Adam to a degree that Adam actually can't stand it. He doesn't return her calls or give her updates on his condition because he can't stand having to talk to her about it. She isn't trying to hurt Adam ("I smother him out of love" she says later in the film), but the deep care causes a barrier to come between the mother and son.
Adam's girlfriend Rachel ends up hurting Adam the deepest, but tries to excuse her mistakes for the stress and pain she has been under the last few weeks. "You don't know how hard it's been," she tells Adam, as if the guy who actually is losing his life has had an easier time. Adam may struggle with this the most because the pain she causes also brings on loneliness and wanting from Adam who feels like he is battling the disease alone.
The film brings out an interesting degree of realism to Adam's character in his discussions with his therapist Katherine. She is young and inexperienced (Adam is her third patient ever) and Adam struggles with the idea that she is trying to help him when it feels like she doesn't know what she is doing at times. But Adam starts to open up as the cancer continues to fight his body and eventually he has a moment with Katherine where he tells her how sick he is of hearing that he will be fine from everyone. Adam just wants people to tell him the truth; he is dying and there is not a lot he can do about it.
The late portions of the movie become very emotional for the characters and the audience alike, but it is never to the gooey, 'we are trying to make you cry' degree. The pain and despair Adam has seems real. The fear his friends and him share is heartbreaking, and the hope Adam is losing is torturous. We have come to know Adam and care for him deeply. We may not know him personally, but he is just like so many we may know and love. And even though cancer is terrible to have at any age, it hurts even more that Adam is so young; "I've never been to Canada. I've never even told a girl I love her."
The performances of all the actors in the film are powerful and the construction of the story and script allows for these characters to seem more than two dimensional. These aren't just characters on the screen. This is the friend you know that wants to get laid; the mother you have that treats you like a baby when you are an adult; the selfish partner that thinks her situation is worse than yours; the people that care for you and tell you that you will be fine. This is you and the struggles you would or have dealt with when battling cancer.
"50/50" has its comedic and humorous moments, but it probably falls in line with a film like "Knocked Up;" that is a film that adds a more real and comedic element to a serious subject. The laughs are not forced, the struggles are real, and the result is extremely effective. "50/50" is a film that may seem too care free at times, but that is Adam's journey. It is a journey with laughs and tears, joy and fear. But, above all, it is a journey of life and the struggles that take you by complete surprise within it.
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