Poignant yet funny.

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2013)

It's really hard to believe that "50/50" is a comedy about a guy with cancer. Not many find this topic particularly funny, but director Jonathan Levine has got it all figured out - he's made a film that is genuinely moving and surprisingly zany. He hasn't employed anything special to make it so affecting, but the script here by Will Reiser, who had been diagnosed with a malignant spine tumor some years ago, is wondrously perfect. Reiser has based the story on his battle and subsequent victory over cancer, which means that we can expect an accurate insight into its potency but first he makes you laugh till your sides hurt before, delicately and discreetly, placing it in a territory wherein you can see the darker, austere side of it.
Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young public radio journalist who lives with his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard). One day, he decides to see an oncologist concerning a serious back pain he has been experiencing for the past few days. The oncologist tells him that he has a rare form of spine cancer and that the tumor has been growing steadily over the past few days. Reluctant to embrace the fact at first, Adam learns that he needs to somehow prepare himself for the worst, considering that his chances of survival are strictly divided. He turns to his best friend and co-worker Kyle (Seth Rogen) for help to deal with it. He also lets on the news to his overbearing mother Diane (Anjelica Huston), who wants to move in with him and take care of him along with his father Richard (Serge Houde), who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Though Adam downplays the seriousness of his cancer, he finds himself getting increasingly obsessed about learning more about it. He decides to undergo chemotherapy, where he meets two older cancer patients Alan (Philip Baker Hall) and Mitch (Matt Frewer), who advise him not to stress himself much about it. He also decides to see a recommended though inexperienced therapist Katherine (Anna Kendrick). As the cancer worsens, Adam finds his relationships slowly deteriorating. His ensuing struggle with the disease helps him to discover more about himself and about the people around him.
Of the many films that have recently come out and that have discussed cancer as a subject, there hasn't been a single film as acerbically honest as "50/50". And that is why this film, with the stark neatness of its script and the superlative performances, gets most of what it wants to say hit the bullseye. The writing is delightfully funny in parts, an example of which is the scene where Adam takes his first chemotherapy session. Hall's rendition of Alan, an old cancer patient, cheerfully tells Adam that his cancer is in its fifth stage, and then mocks him when he learns the absurd name of Adam's cancer. There are moments like these scattered all over the film where you can't help but feel for them but Hall and Frewer, who are both absolutely terrific in their roles, infect you with the candor they bring to their characters. I was thankful that the hint of romance between Adam and Katherine was not left half-baked after the film settles into a serious drama mode in its second half. Levine handles it with infallible matureness, making sure that the prime story is not taken over by it. Reiser's script is deliciously candid, giving us a peek into the brusque life of a cancer patient and invariably portraying it with unflinching realism. In one supremely well-written scene, Adam chides Katherine because of her optimistic approach, saying he'll feel a lot better if someone was actually honest into telling him how serious his condition is. I was surprised how frank the moment was, because we've been so used to dying people being really strong in the face of death in the movies that, for a moment, we had forgotten that courage may fail some in the same situation. And the film so clearly tells us that that is no big deal.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is spectacular in the role of Adam, nailing both the sides to his character with astonishing ease. It's easy to sympathize with his character. Rogen's interpretation of Kyle is a triumph, bringing the much needed laughs and energy to the plot. Kendrick is immensely likable as Katherine and Huston is wonderful in a role that could've been a blunder had it not been played the way it has.
There is nothing really wrong with "50/50". It's a resolved appraisal of cancer and not at all a sombre one, if that's what you're thinking. But, like all films on this subject, it makes its share of compelling arguments. It's intelligent and searingly honest in its approach, and eventually makes its point heard loud and clear. You won't walk out of it unaffected.