Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Anna Kendrick. Seth Rogen. These three are the key ingredients of a fantastically funny indie comedy-drama by the name of “50/50.” Set in Seattle, the movie depicts the mundane life of 27-year-old journalist Adam Learner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Despite his relatively healthy lifestyle, Adam is told he is suffering from a malignant spinal tumor, a rare form of cancer called schwannoma neurofibrosarcoma.
With his hilarious best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) by his side, Adam faces the cancer with a casually collected mindset. He originally gains support from his attractive artist girlfriend, but their relationship falls short of secure as she begins to break down and lose hope, focusing more on her needs than Adam’s.
Enter Katherine McCay (Anna Kendrick), Adam’s young and inexperienced therapist. Her curiously endearing awkwardness and Adam’s calm state of mind offer an interesting juxtaposition of the typical roles of therapist and patient. Upon finding out that he has a fifty-fifty chance of surviving, Adam initially shuts down emotionally. Naturally, he encounters a vast array of feelings – fear, anger, resistance and finally acceptance. Katherine encourages him to talk about what he is going through and tries to assure him that he is not alone, despite his feelings of alienation and futility.
As Adam patiently endures the chemotherapy treatments, he befriends the elderly gentlemen being treated alongside him for various types and stages of cancer. Their witty banter, reminiscent of the light-hearted barbershop conversations often seen in older films, keeps the movie going in a more positive direction. It’s difficult to imagine a movie about cancer being funny or upbeat in any way, but director Jonathan Levine somehow managed to ace it.
Things go downhill from there when Adam finds out that his girlfriend has been cheating on him. After promptly ending the relationship, Adam begins spending long hours sitting alone on the couch, purely existing, numb to the world around him. Kyle, the ever-faithful best friend, keeps Adam’s spirits high by helping him shave his head in order to not feel like a victim, aiding him in the decimation of his ex-girlfriend’s paintings as an outlet for all of his pent-up frustrations and suggesting that Adam use his illness to pick up women.
One of the funniest scenes in the entire movie is when Adam and Kyle show up at a bar, and Adam takes Kyle’s advice to hit on every female in sight. Clearly inept at flirting with women, Adam awkwardly starts every conversation with, “Hey, what’s up? I have cancer.” The humor behind it lies within Adam’s carefree personality and subtle amusement at his own failures. And, of course, any movie with Seth Rogen in it is bound to be utterly hilarious.
Despite the seriousness of the plot, “50/50” remarkably combines laughter and tears. The characters’ foibles are heartwarming, and you can’t help but smile at the obvious chemistry between Adam and Katherine, Kyle’s blunt, obnoxious jokes and Adam’s overbearing mother and whiny, clingy ex-girlfriend.
“50/50” is not a sad story; it is a portrayal of hope, love and the things that really matter in life. The night before Adam’s big life-or-death surgery, he realizes all that he has to lose. Having never gotten his license, Adam decides that his dying wish is to drive a car for the first time, and he does. He calls up Katherine and tells her he wishes she could have been his girlfriend. He expresses his love to his heartbroken mother and his mentally unstable father. It’s a beautiful, complex depiction of life and all that it has to offer. It’s a testament to the idea that hard times should be faced with hope and a positive attitude, and that sometimes, everything works out just fine in the end.
