Excellent

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2015)

What a good movie. I laughed a bunch of times as well as tearing up a couple times, too. The subject matter is heavy: cancer, and the story looks the problem right in the face without flinching. The characters keep their humor and humanity throughout. This is not a movie that is trying to place blame, correct a rotten system or go for cheap laughs...well maybe it goes for one or two cheap laughs, Seth...it's just showing people dealing with a bad situation the best way they can. The film is really well done, hitting both high notes and low ones. I recommend it highly. Along with his movie "The Lookout," Joseph Gordon-Levitt is building a nice filmography.
My only complaint with "50/50" is that the peripheral characters behave a little too conveniently. Realistically, there would've been much more turmoil with the ex-girlfriend and father. The movie wasn't overly long, so a bit more depth and friction around those two relationships could have made a good movie even better.