50/50

Greetings again from the darkness. The great Richard Pryor had a portion of his act dedicated to having a heart attack, based on his real life experience. I guess if he can generate laughter from a coronary, there is no reason writer Will Reiser and director Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) can't view Cancer as Comedy. There is little doubt that the subject matter of this film will limit its audience, but for those brave souls who give it a shot, I believe you will find it funny, touching and insightful.

The film introduces us to Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is a very nice, very normal, very low-key guy who works at a radio station as a writer ... a very conscientious radio writer. Adam experiences a nagging pain in his back, which is unusual for a healthy 27 year old. After a few tests, the emotionless doctor informs him that he has a rare spinal cancer ... also very unusual for a healthy 27 year old. From this point forward, the film borders on brilliance at times.

Adam's girlfriend is played by Bryce Dallas Howard; his mother by Angelica Huston; and his best friend by Seth Rogen. Each reacts in different ways to Adam's diagnosis, but what's really interesting is not just how these people react, but also how Adam reacts. He moves forward in his meticulous manner, but all the while we know the emotions are brewing. We see this in his sessions with his therapist-in-training played by Anna Kendrick.

Seth Rogen's character is basically a carbon copy of his act in 40 Year Old Virgin. He spews profane one-liners faster than our ears can process. Despite the aggressive front, Rogen's character is a friend with a heart ... and one who doesn't hesitate to share his medicinal marijuana.

So while Rogen's character generates much of the laughter, the real treasure of this film is in the subtleties of each character in certain moments ... and each character has their moment. Many will compare this to Adam Sandler's film Funny People, which also starred Seth Rogen. But this movie has infinitely more depth and substance than that one offered.

My warning: brace yourself. My theatre was filled with tears and sniffles, with significant laugh out loud moments mixed in. This is an emotional, self-reflective film that will confound you as you inexplicably laugh while listening to cancer talk.

A light hearted touch on a depressing subject ..loved it ,

Most movies don't know how to handle cancer. Heck, most people don't know how to handle cancer — and I'm not talking about the patients. Cancer, or any other terminal illness for that matter, almost always plays some kind x-factor in a film — that is when a film even dares to enter a realm often deemed depressing and "not for the movies." Most often, scripts will position cancer as a tearjerking emotional turning point in a film or as the initial spark of some banal "live life to the fullest" comedy.

"50/50" puts an end to that. Written semi-autobiographically by cancer survivor Will Reiser, it would seem it takes one to write one. Although cancer drives the entire story, the story doesn't fixate on cancer or melodramatize the terrible truths we already know about potentially fatal illness. Perhaps you could tell as much from the trailer thanks to some typical Seth Rogen antics, but the injection of contemporary R-rated humor is neither irreverent, insensitive nor an attempt to simply put a positive spin on a depressing subject. Life — believe it or not — doesn't stop for cancer. People don't sit in the hospital the entire time and then lie at home in bed the rest. Reiser's story provides a mostly unforced and honest depiction of a young man's diagnosis and treatment for potentially fatal spinal cancer, one where cancer isn't the conflict in and of itself, but the way it so dramatically changes the behavior of the people whose lives it enters and positively and negatively alters relationships.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues his spree of playing absolutely lovable main characters as Adam, a play-it-safe 27-year-old who after the initial shock handles his diagnosis in stride, keeping his ups and downs internal other than when the script cues him to let it out a bit. The more external symptoms come from Adam's girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) and mother (Anjelica Huston).

Other than focusing on these relationships, director Jonathan Levine ("The Wackness") puts particular emphasis on character perspective, which will change instantaneously at points throughout the film. In one terrific sequence, Adam enters the hospital for his first chemo treatment and gets bummed out by all the sick and ailing people in the hallway. After the older men he meets while getting treatment (Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer) give him some marijuana-filled pastries, he leaves down the same hallway high as a kite, suddenly elated despite the same negative images lining the hall. Levine understands that so much of how you deal with cancer relates to mood and perspective at any given time.

Levine coaxes brilliant and thoughtful performances out of his actors. Even though Rogen exerted his usual shtick a bit more than needed, he handles his character as written, someone who wants desperately to help his best friend but hides behind shallow self-centered form of support that many men turn to because they can't communicate emotions all that well.

The women of "50/50" also deliver if not more so. Howard's character is an unlikable mess but she gives her performance convincingly. Anjelica Huston perfects the ideal on-screen mother, the best since Melissa Leo's Oscar-winning mother in "The Fighter." Anna Kendrick also continues to blow me away with her talent. She plays a psychiatrist working on her PhD who receives Adam as just her third patient. She gives such lifelike quirks to her characters and Katie plays right to her strengths.

But in a drama/comedy about cancer, the key lies in tone and for that Levine should become an A-list director. "50/50" could have easily turned into a Hollywood hack-job like the various comic-toned cancer films before it, a film that either overplays the dramatic or overcompensates with the humorous, but "50/50" might be one of film's best balancing acts between the two. The shifts feel completely natural between moments of deep sentiment and moments of levity. Those who can't help but fixate on this being a movie about cancer will likely have to remind themselves to feel serious when "50/50" just wants you to simply absorb it as you would any other film.

Other than some predictable moments and plot devices to give the film a nicer Hollywood sheen, "50/50" provides a genuine and heartfelt movie experience, one that neither goes for the emotional sucker punch nor the sugarcoated version. Instead of making us look at cancer in a specific way, it makes us look at the way we look at cancer — or any uncomfortable subject — the way we talk about it or don't talk about it, the way we interact with those who live with it and the way we cope with it ourselves. That way when someone we love has a serious problem, we can ultimately do what's best for that person.

~Steven C

Visit my site, moviemusereviews.com!

Just saw this at an Advanced Screening 2 hours ago in Huntington Beach

This film doesn't have a title nailed down yet. It used to be called I'm with Cancer but IMDb has it listed as Live With It. The title we were shown in the film and the title that was on the invite was Get Well Soon. They asked us our opinion of the titles (Also include was the title Bright Side) but no one really liked any of the titles. So for the sake of confusion I'll call it Get Well Soon.

Get Well Soon is the very believable story of Adam, a 27 year old nice guy who waits at cross walks at 5:30 in the morning when nobody is on the road and other joggers have already trotted past. Adam writes stories for radio programs and seems to genuinely care about the stories and the people who are listening to them. After persistent back pain, Adam goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with Cancer. He is assigned Katherine, a doctorate student who is getting experience for her dissertation, to talk to about his new problems.

This film will immediately draw comparisons to 2009's Funny People which unfortunately can't be ignored. But fortunately, aside from the fact the main character is diagnosed with a terminal illness, this is a completely different film. Where Funny People had a lack of connection with its main character, due to Adam Sandler being a prick to everyone and being rich on top of that, Get Well Soon's Joseph Gordon Levitt is the everyman that everyone can relate to. He does a fantastic job expressing the feelings of calm fortitude as well as isolation. You can see it in his face. It's the little things that make a film feel authentic. Levitt's performance is heart breaking and uplifting at the same time. He maintains a steady calm for most of the film that just feels real. You know this is a dark comedy when there is a Patrick Swayze joke in the first 20 minutes of the movie. I'm not sure if that one's gonna stay in the final cut though lol. This film is very funny throughout. All of the people in the after film focus group said it maintained a perfect balance of comedy and dramatics. I saw Love and Other Drugs and liked it but this film is much more streamlined and has no extraneous scenes.

Seth Rogen is absolutely hilarious. I'll be the first to get my opinion out that Rogen is great in everything he's in but he really killed it again. Weed smoking is given a fantastic treatment by this film, like director Jonathon Levine's previous work the very amusing The Wackness. There are two scenes that are a creative and effective way to show the effects of marijuana. I love the way they shot a conversation between Adam, Rogen and two of Adam's older cancer friends. Anna Kendrick plays a similar role to the one she played in Up in the Air. She does a great job in this too. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Adam's girlfriend and Angelica Huston is his over bearing mother.

I rated this film an "Excellent" which is the highest possible rating and which 18 of the 30 people who stayed after agreed with. 11 said "Very Good" and 1 said "Good." I really enjoyed the film. It didn't really do anything wrong. It might have a bit too much profanity for the older crowd but its central story is so appealing. On that note actually, there were several people who said they would not have come to the screening if they knew full well that it was about cancer. I feel that is so extremely narrow minded that no one should even admit that to a group of people. Please if you are on the fence and "don't want to go to a depressing movie" get over it and see a fantastic, hilarious film in Get Well Soon.

As someone who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago (non-small cell lung cancer--and a nonsmoker to boot!) I've been through the gantlet, from 4 different kinds of chemo, several surgeries, and a wide variety of medical care from indifferent to deeply caring. So, trust me when I tell you, that this movie gets it.

It gets what it is like to receive a horrific diagnosis out of the blue, the numbness and shock of dealing with it, the well meaning friends and acquaintances who say the stupidest things ("every time I feel sorry for myself, I just think of you..."), and those friends who really become your rock as you go through the miasma of treatment and try to still make your life have meaning. Again, this movie gets it.

Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen deserve high praise for the honesty that they bring to their performances. There was not a false note anywhere. The rest of the cast is terrific as well. I plan to see it again when it is released in a month.

This is a quiet film but it packs a great deal of power. I thought the humor was wonderfully placed, because without humor, life with cancer is unbearable. As too many folks know so well. Go see it and be entertained and learn a bit and rejoice in life even with cancer.