Make you laugh and will definitely make you cry

Rating: 9/10 (3 April 2012)

'50/50' tells the tale of a young, healthy man being given the shocking news that he has cancer of the spine despite not smoking, and taking care of himself in general.
This film really surprised me, I did expect it to be funny which it was, but I didn't expect it to be so powerful emotionally.
It's based on writer Will Reiser's experience alongside Seth Rogen when he found out he had cancer. The acting in this film is pretty good. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent, he provides a lot of laughs and can evoke so much emotion from the audience it is unbelievable. As the film reaches its end emotions heighten and he really out-did himself with this performance. Seth Rogen was also great, he of course had real-life experience of the story and you can tell. His character is really funny and is a real strong point for this film. Anna Kendrick and Bryce Dallas Howard both act very well in this too though it would be nice to see Kendrick have more of a chance to show her capabilities instead of playing nearly the same character in every film, she performed very well however. Angelica Houston's character is one of the best ones in the film and she acts superbly. Having to deal with her husband who has a form of Dementia and her son who has cancer is a very difficult role to perform and she did so very well and put a lot of effort into her performance.
The script is really funny, there are moments where you will cry with laughter and other points where you will simply cry. I think the reason this comedic angle of cancer works so well here is because Will Reiser experienced it himself and knew exactly what points could and would be comedic and which points to really highlight and to show how difficult the subject is, with people suffering from similar illnesses dying around him.
Overall, I would really recommend this. It is a prime example of how films that deal with this subject should be able to provoke the right reaction from the audience. It will make you laugh and it will definitely make you cry.