Quite Funny and Moving!

Rating: 9/10 (27 April 2013)

50/50 is probably the only movie I have ever seen that took a very serious topic such as cancer and turned it into a comedy or I should say dramedy. It works because there is a nice balance between laugh-out-loud comedy and very sad, serious moments. I laughed incredibly hard in some scenes and even shed a few tears in others. I liked the tone of the film because it has that off-beat, quirky, non-mainstream feeling to it.
Jonathan Levine's film is about a 27-year-old guy who is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. Because of his disease, he truly finds out what kind of person he is thanks to all of his family and friends supporting him such as his wise-cracking friend, over-concerned mother, and his shy, quirky therapist.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt certainly has his acting chops on hand. He proves he can still star in indie films such as this after appearing in big blockbusters like he did with Inception. He brought a certain charm to his role. I was surprised to see Seth Rogen in a movie like this. This is probably his best role he played to date. Anjelica Huston goes over-the-top as the freaked-out mother. Anna Kendrick is just the right person to play the therapist with her quirky personality.
Overall, this is a very good film that brings out the lighter side of the disease. It has a central theme that suggests people to be optimistic in times of disease and peril. I'm glad they didn't make a very serious movie or I'll be shedding tears nonstop. Jonathan Levine has a great career ahead of him after this movie. I rate this film 9/10.