Trying to See the Best of a Bad Situation - 50/50 review

Posted @ Feb. 20 2012 10:35AM by Shawn - arts-entertainment

Loosely based on the experiences of the film's screenwriter, Will Reiser, 50/50 is a touching account of Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a radio journalist who is shocked to learn he's diagnosed with a rare cancer located in his spine. Like most people might respond to a diagnosis this life changing, Adam's hearing goes from able to understand every word that his doctor (Andrew Airlie) says to ringing in his ears, like life just detonated a grenade nearby or gave him such an incredible uppercut to leave him stunned and breathless on the mat. It doesn't help Adam that his doctor doesn't have a shred of bedside manner, distancing himself from his patient by throwing medical jargon at him while also managing to avoid every chance he could have of eye contact.

To make up for that there's Adam's mother (Angelica Huston). Taking care of Adam's father who is slowly but surely losing his memory to Alzheimer's disease, she smothers Adam, asserting that she wants to move in with Adam to take care of him, after all, Adam doesn't drive so how will he get to his doctor appointments? The idea of his mother moving in with him is as appealing to Adam as having the cancer in his life. Grudgingly stepping up to bat, Adam's girlfriend, Rachael, (Bryce Dallas Howard) offers to be the caregiver for Adam, something of a jump from only gaining her own drawer at Adam's house in the very beginning moments of the movie.

Adam starts to see a young, inexperienced therapist Katharine McKay (Anna Kendrick) who makes him feel like a lab rat when she tells him she wants to write her dissertation on his experience, changing his name to keep doctor/patient confidentiality, of course. Even though admitting that he's feeling fine, Katharine starts trying therapies using music to help relax Adam. Meanwhile Rachael tries to help him by buying Adam a retired racing dog named Skeletor (which is an awesome name no matter how you slice it). Once Adam starts his chemo treatments he becomes friends with Alan and Mitch (Phillip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer, respectively) who he bonds with, sharing anecdotes on life as well as pot brownies (which segues into one of the movie's funnier moments where a high Adam walks through the halls of the hospital in a giggle fit over anything and everything he sees, for good or bad). Add onto that Adam's coworker Kyle (Seth Rogen) using Adam's illness as a pick up line to meet women, mostly in Kyle's favor. It's understandable after a while that Adam might find Kyle an ass for using those methods, yet like the title suggests, there's still more to some of these characters than the initial impression.

50/50 doesn't wallow in self pity or the darker sides of what a cancer diagnosis might bring. It also doesn't try to be funny to make light of it's subject matter. With a cast that normally are synonymous to off beat comedies like Judd Apatow or Jason Reitman might direct, it's surprising how no one in this movie tries to play for laughs, with the exception of Seth Rogen's Kyle being every Seth Rogen character in every Seth Rogen movie to date. Though, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. While Gordon-Levitt's Adam is stoic, being the man who's weathering the storm of cancer and his life is being turned upside down, Rogen helps to even out Adam by adding some lighter moments, like the simple guy-time moments (the head shaving scene from the trailers).

Like Adam being the eye of the storm of 50/50, Joseph Gordon-Levitt anchors 50/50 in a way that's equal parts exasperation, denial, empathy and humanity, delivering another nuanced performance, reminding me of why I feel he's one of the best actors of his generation. Gordon-Levitt's Adam isn't asking for sympathy. He's just hoping to find the light at the end of the tunnel or wake up from the bad dream that he's living, whichever metaphor you prefer. But, just like that old proverb about the journey not being about the destination but about the journey, Adam's journey does turn him into a character that you hope will see better days once this chapter of his life has ended and the next begins.

While it's understandable that a movie based around the main character's battle with journey might not be the most appealing way of spending a night at the movies, 50/50 somehow manages to pull it off in a surprising way. With it's mix of comedy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Adam Lerner adding an everyman likability to the lead, 50/50 does surprise in it's entertainment value.