Equal parts humor and melodrama combine for a decent flick about a young man living with a cancer diagnosis

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2015)

This is a well thought out well executed movie. Joseph Gordon Levitt's character is a boy scout of a person who doesn't smoke, drink or even walk across the street unless the traffic signal is green. Despite this behavior he gets cancer and is given the titular 50/50 chance of survival. So begins a fine balancing act between heart warming comedy and weepy, tear inducing melodrama. There are some cries and some chuckles along the way. The movie steers clear of the really deep, dark, depressive places that one might dwell. This whole endeavor has that 'Average Joe' sort of feel that really works for this narrative. Seth Rogen does an excellent job as the slacker best friend who embraces his friend's plight but also isn't above trying to use his condition to score with the ladies. The only part of the story that is hokey and flimsy is the love story. Within seconds of meeting all the players you know exactly how the love story angle will turn out and the part played by Bryce Dallas Howard seems more caricature than actual character. This is mostly a good story though that quite deftly walks the line between the sadness and hardship of such an endeavor while also capturing the humor that still remains even in the face of death.