50/50 Reviews

(MU) Touching last season of a cancer condemmned young man, accompanied by his best pal Seth Rogen (a world apart in the film), possesive mom Anjelica Huston and a theraíst friend. The comedy aspect is selfrepressed...

2011 was, in my opinion, one of the most disappointing years in cinema and, fortunately, after watching many and many movies released that year, it is reassuring that I still manage to find (still very rarely though) a decent feature released at the time. Anyway, this movie was definitely one of these fine exceptions. Since it sounded pretty good, I was quite eager to check it out and, for once, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it is a really solid and satisfaying mix of comedy and drama. To be honest, not everything did work. For example, Bryce Dallas Howard's character was just terribly annoying. I mean, I don't think we should blame Howard, she was just as charming as usual, it's just the way this girl reacted was so predictable, it was just a drag everytime she was involved and it was just a relief when he finally got rid off her. Concerning Anna Kendrick, I'm still not sure. I mean, she gave a fine performance but it is as if the main character absolutely needed another love interest, some kind of substitute for the other bitch when it was clear that the movie was actually about something else. Indeed, it was above all about the bromance between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen and that worked like a charm thanks to some really strong performances by those 2 guys. To conclude, I really liked this movie and I think it is definitely worth a look.

There’s nothing terribly funny about cancer, chemotherapy or all of the terrible side-effects that occur. Somehow being poisoned to kill cells that are slowly eating away at you just doesn’t scream comedy. Neither does losing your hair. And yet, here was have 50/50 a movie which makes you laugh until you cry, and then just cry. How it manages to slowly finesse that fine line between making jokes about a serious topic and engaging drama is pretty wonderful. That it never delves into poor taste is even better.

I think, and pardon the wording, it’s a 50/50 split between the script and the acting that makes the film so fulfilling. Remarkably free of a Hallmark-like sentimentality, which could have easily bogged down the whole film, and gloriously free of self-pitying, 50/50 hits that uncomfortable and awkward “real” place. Whenever our main character tries to pity himself or lash out against the world, his friends, family and therapist are there to explain that he has every right to feel these things and it’s normal, healthy even, but it’s also not anybody’s fault. Hell, there’s a scene late in the film in which he rages against his best friend’s seemingly self-centered and aggrandizing behavior and attitude. How could his friend not care about his impending possible death and just think about trying to get in one last party? As it turns out, his friend has been reading, highlighting and bookmarking several different books about dealing with cancer and how to help your loved ones get through it.

It’s the small touches like that which really speak volumes about the characters, their relationships and the real-world that they inhabit. There’s a very real plausibility that Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character may not make it to the final scene. (Granted, since it’s based on the writer-director’s real-life struggle, the chances of him dying are remote. But enough setbacks, complications, and a supporting character’s death occur to remind us that dealing with a disease in reality is not the same as the glamorous suffering so often seen in the movies.)

And I cannot speak highly enough of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor. His charm and sophisticated good-looks make him leading man material, but he continually seeks out challenging films to be a part of, with an occasional detour into mainstream movies like Inception. He’s like a reverse movie-star, living in independent cinema with sporadic breaks for the huge budgets and tentpole franchises. He manages to make a very OCD, anal retentive character and make him charming, and with emotional precision taking us along every complicated step along his journey. His moments of darkness and light are given masterful treatment by Gordon-Levitt.

And, shockingly, he’s given perfect support from Seth Rogen, an actor I’ve never cared much for before this. But I was pleasantly surprised by his work here. It’s still very much in the “Seth Rogen-type,” but his buffoonery is given a deeper context in later scenes of the film.

The rest of the cast is nothing to scoff at either. Anna Kendrick continues to surprise me with her choices post-Oscar nomination for Up in the Air. She has a warmth and intellect that I appreciate, and she uses them effectively here as the green therapist who is in over her head. That her character will eventually become a love interest is the lone nit-pick I had with the film. I don’t feel as if it was required, and that it was just shoe-horned in at the request of the studio. But she and Gordon-Levitt make an attractive and appealing couple. Bryce Dallas Howard continues her streak of bitchery, but, mercifully, isn’t the moustache-twirling super-bitch of The Help here. And the always welcome and uber-talented Anjelica Huston delivers a touching, neurotic and needy performance as the mother who makes everything about her, somehow. But Huston, and the script, gives us several small windows into her soul and we see where the hurt and neediness is really coming from.

I went in to this film thinking it was going to be a “cancer comedy” and left it moved and confused as to my emotional state. Was I laughing because it had charmed and moved me, or was I laughing because I didn’t want to start crying in front of everybody? It’s the profoundly human-scale hurts and triumphs that made the movie so special. It was the honesty and the humor, the sometimes questionable jokes that still somehow range true. And, of course, the odd couple pair at the heart of the film that proves that sometimes the best way to deal with the shit in life is to have a best friend to make you laugh through it all.

Jeśli ktoś szuka dobrego filmu, przeplatanego wątkami dramatyczno-komediowymi, z ciekawie ujętą historią i poprawnie skonstruowanym scenariuszem, przyjemnym, gitarowym brzmieniem i udanymi kreacjami aktorskimi, to na filmie "50/50" się nie zawiedzie.

Pierwsze kadry filmu prowadzą nas wraz z głównym bohaterem wzdłuż wybrzeży Seattle (jakby nie było, mekki dobrej, garażowej muzyki) i mogą wprowadzać w błąd, że oto mamy przed sobą kolejną, lekką opowieść o młodym człowieku zagubionym wśród wyzwań dorosłości; taka papka, jakich wiele wśród amerykańskich produkcji. Scenarzysta (Will Reiser, który luźno oparł całą historię na własnych doświadczeniach) szybko jednak zaskakuje zwrotem akcji, bo już po 10 minutach filmu. W ten sposób Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), przeciętny dwudziestosiedmiolatek jakich wielu, musi przewartościować swoje życie i "zatańczyć" ze śmiercią. Jak wiadomo, w takich momentach sytuacje często same się klarują. Okazuje się, że niedawno podarowana szuflada przez Adama swojej dziewczynie Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard) wcale nie jest już potrzebna. Bo przecież "tyle o sobie wiemy, ile nas sprawdzono". Dlatego przyjaciel Adama – Kyle (Seth Rogen), choć zdawałoby się nieudolnie, za mało empatycznie, a za bardzo humorystycznie, ciągle przy nim jest. Wątpliwości w jego szczere intencje rozwiewa przypadkiem odkryta w jego mieszkaniu książka pełna podkreśleń i strzałek pt.: "Razem pokonamy raka". Dlatego matka, choć wydawałoby się despotyczna, narzucająca się, okazuje się jednak potrzebna. A terapeutka, młodsza od Adama o 3 lata doktorantka psychologii Katherine (Anna Kendrick), okazuje się pomocna pacjentowi dopiero poza gabinetem. A to wszystko, paradoksalnie, zdarza się Adamowi, człowiekowi zachowawczemu, który nie przebiega na czerwonym świetle nawet jak nic nie jedzie, nie pali i nie ma nawet prawa jazdy.

Trzeba przyznać, że obsadzenie w roli Adama Josepha Gordona-Levitta było strzałem w dziesiątkę. Aktor jest znany chociażby z "500 days of Summer" (2009), gdzie także w sposób przekonujący wykreował postać pełną wewnętrznego ciepła, naturalną, poszukującą w życiu przede wszystkim miłości. Towarzyszący mu Seth Rogen wprowadza wątki komediowe, które przeplatają się w rozmowach, zachowaniach i reakcjach Kyle'a. Jeśli ktoś jednak szuka rozrywki, to jej w tym filmie nie znajdzie. Humor pojawia się tylko tam, gdzie trzeba, żeby opowieść była pozbawiona zbędnego bohaterstwa i patosu oraz gwałtownego szamotania zakończonego depresją. Dzięki temu zabiegowi film nie przytłacza, co więcej, można w tę historię uwierzyć i ją polubić. Doceniam ewolucję w grze Anny Kendrick, która nie straszy tak nachalnie swoim pustym, nastolatkowym śmiechem i stylem gry znanym z sagi o Belli i Edwardzie. Wykorzystała swoją szansę na zasygnalizowanie, że potrafi więcej. Dodatkowym atutem "50/50" jest jego zakończenie. Film kończy się tak, jak trzeba i w odpowiednim momencie, bez zbędnego przedłużania. Finał jest klamrą, a akurat do tej historii, z tym bohaterem, inny po prostu by nie pasował.

Jednym zdaniem: film "50/50" to aktorstwo na dobrym poziomie, interesująca fabuła, ciekawe i nowatorskie ujęcie tematu, a wszystko to na tle przyjemnej muzyki. Film, do którego się wraca.

"Inspired by a true story, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis in this new comedy directed by Jonathan Levine from a script by Will Reiser. 50/50 is the story of a guy's transformative and, yes, sometimes funny journey to health - drawing its emotional core from Will Reiser's own experience with cancer and reminding us that friendship and love, no matter what bizarre turns they take, are the greatest healers."

Just watched this film. I gotta say that this is easily one of this year's best. Although Joseph Gordon-Levitt's wonderful performance was ignored by the major awards functions, I still think it to be an injustice from their part. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was great in 500 days of Summer, even more so in Inception but he just raised the bar. As for Seth Rogen, who is also one of the producers and a good friend of the director, was perfect. He plays the part of Adam's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) best friend in this film. At times I felt that Rogen's character was not captured correctly. He always talked about getting laid to Adam. Adam thought that he was using his cancer thing to get laid himself. But it was towards the end that I realized that he was just trying to make Adam happy no matter what. He himself was unhappy but he doesn't show that (That point is proven when Adam finds out that he has been reading a book on Cancer, probably suggested by Adam's therapist herself).

As the synopsis tells, friends are the greatest of the healers. Adam had Seth Rogen as his best friend but there is also Katherine, his therapist and a very subtle character. Adam didn't like interacting with her sometimes but eventually she also becomes one of his best friends (Or more than that I guess towards the End) The actress who played Adam's mother also requires applause. She truly convinced me of a worrying mother. The screenplay was brilliant and the film's filled with nice one-liners (Profanity included). This film's not suggested for kids though.

On the conclusion, the film was not only about curing cancer, friends or family, it was about curing yourself too. 50/50 is extremely simple and very direct. Still, it's quite... I don't know... different? And that's one of the reasons why this film is great. And yes, the films title may suggest you that it's based on chance (Because the people who got this cancer had 50% chances of survival, hence the name) but the writer is trying to convey us a beautiful message that when you have friends and family, your chances of survival is high but when you try to ignore them, it can get low. I loved this subtle message very much...

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"See, but... that's bullshit. That's what everyone has been telling me since the beginning. "Oh, you're gonna be okay," and "Oh, everything's fine," and like, it's not... It makes it worse... that no one will just come out and say it. Like, "hey man, you're gonna die.""

It's not often that you hear the words "cancer" and "comedy" in the same breathe. After all, cancer is a heartbreakingly serious illness, and it would be insensitive to mine the topic for cheap laughs. Enter 2011's 50/50, a wonderful film which manages to extract humour from situations that occur due to cancer while at the same time treating the delicate subject seriously and with utmost sensitivity. How is it possible to make people laugh without being insensitive? How can tears be wrung without being mawkish? How can filmmakers make people laugh and cry without feeling calculated? It's such a daunting proposition that even the most skilled writer wouldn't even dare to try it. And yet, 50/50 - which was written by an actual cancer survivor - succeeds at these ostensibly impossible goals, making the process of combining honest-to-goodness laughs with fatiguing emotion look incredibly easy.

Public radio writer Adam (Gordon-Levitt) is just a regular young guy; he exercises frequently, he avoids drugs and smoking, and he generally lives his life in a straight and sensible fashion. Dating beautiful modern artist Rachael (Dallas Howard) and not even thirty yet, Adam becomes numbed with shock when he's diagnosed with a form of spinal cancer which requires chemotherapy. As his intensive treatment begins, Adam seeks comfort from slacker friend Kyle (Rogen) and student therapist Katie (Kendrick) while Rachael finds herself ill-equipped to deal with such a tragic state of affairs.

On the surface, 50/50 sounds like superficial movie-of-the-week territory - the type that disregards subtlety to jerk as many tears as possible without earning the privilege. But writer Will Reiser and director Jonathan Levine eschewed such easy routes, deciding against stereotypes and intrusive musical cues in favour of a more effectively understated approach, trusting in the saddening reality of the situation and the sympathetic, endearing characters to give the film its emotion. Yes, 50/50 makes you cry, but the emotional responses come as the result of real heartbreaking events rather than a heavy-handed score. Nothing is more affecting than playing on the universally relatable love between mother and son, or the daunting reality check which comes when an amiable person dies. As Reiser based the script on his own experience with cancer, the picture possesses a phenomenal lived-in quality that's rarely matched. Yet, the film is also able to skilfully navigate from pathos to unforced comedy. And none of the humour is cheap; laughs are gleaned as a result of genuinely witty character interaction. All of the laughs are well-judged, with Levine and Reiser maintaining a bright spirit amid the sadness, capturing both the light and the dark of this depressing situation.

Admittedly, 50/50 could only end one of two ways and it has a few clichéd surface details, and this fools us into perhaps thinking that the film is less skilful than it is. But it's the storytelling and Reiser's screenwriting which allows the film to feel entirely believable rather than a retread of familiar territory. Adam's mother (Huston) overreacts to everything, Adam's father (Houde) suffers from Alzheimer's disease and there's a love interest subplot, yet all of it fits into the story naturally and nothing is overplayed. Indeed, the dramatic structure is practically invisible. It's also fortunate that Levine's direction is perfectly-judged. 50/50 is not a drab, one-note drama - unexpectedly, it's eminently enjoyable and watchable all the way through; a testament to Reiser's engaging writing and the agreeable tone devised by Levine.

In the lead role of Adam, Joseph Gordon-Levitt again shows that he's one of the best young actors working in the industry today, and he comes across as the most human he's ever been in a movie. Gordon-Levitt was up to the challenge of tackling every aspect of this multifaceted character, effortlessly mixing detachment and vulnerability to play a regular guy unexpectedly confronted with his own mortality. The actor's dramatic scenes are especially raw and heart-wrenching. Fortunately, Gordon-Levitt shares excellent chemistry with Seth Rogen, who was friends with writer Will Reiser for years and was literally asked to play himself here. Rogen never stretches his abilities as an actor here, yet he's never been more believable and mature on-screen, proving that he can handle both serious and comedic material. The banter between Rogen and Gordon-Levitt positively sparkles, too. In the supporting cast, Anna Kendrick is sweetly endearing as nervous young therapist Katie, and Bryce Dallas Howard makes for a believable Rachael. Anjelica Huston is another scene-stealer as Adam's mother, and anyone with a mum will be amazed by how authentic she seems. Small joys are also derived from Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer playing a pair of cancer patients who befriend Adam in the hospital.

Instead of leaving you worn out and depressed, 50/50 will leave you with a good feeling. And it doesn't achieve this through cheap, manipulative methods; it's earned with honesty. The film is both a powerful drama that'll make you laugh and a skilful comedy that'll make you cry, but it at no point feels tonally schizophrenic or uneven. The cast is flawless and the writing & direction is superlative, showing that it's possible to make a thoroughly engaging picture about a lead character with cancer.

9.5/10

I like when it's approached a dramatic theme with a dose of comedy, showing a relaxed and optimistic side without overdoing it and falling in very improbable. It makes rethink how to handle difficult and unexpected problems when you add a little levity.

I don't really like Seth Rogen, but he fulfilled the role of comic relief and to represent the friend who use disappoints at times, but you can count on him. Even with the impression that he was playing himself, was surprised to learn that in reality is Seth's best friend Will Reiser, in whose life the film was based.

It was daring the bar scene in which Adam tries to lure girls saying he has cancer. It's so strange and compelling as to be original, when instead of masking the problem, takes advantage of it as a differentiation and as a point of interest.

Anna Kendrick is highlighted once again playing the role of a more mature for her age, in a more contained than in Up In The Air. She can be annoying and adorable at the same time.

Gladly in the end there wasn't the kiss between the two. The film finished with a taste of expectation, making unnecessary to show the novel is finished, since it was already clear there was involvement between them.

You can not stop commenting on the soundtrack that worked well as a whole. In particular, it was great to hear High and Dry and Yellow Ledbetter.

Everyone was sobbing! It was beautiful to hear/feel/cry.
The story is pretty simple but the acting is amazing... even though Joseph is amazing and Seth is a great side kick, for me, it was Serge Houde that made the movie really worth it :)

This movie has everything. It makes you laugh, cry.. or at least I did tear up alittle, it has a really great story-line and ending. This film is very touching, and the characters are very well developed. I really enjoyed it.

To begin with, 50/50 perhaps became the strangest and most forbidden motion picture to date due to the eccentric mixture of the emotional suffering and frequently deadly disease of cancer and the laughs and joys of comedy. However, considering this is a very unorthodox combination and will effect it’s audiences in a variety of ways, it turned out to be an absolutely fantastic film that is both deeply inspiring and has plenty of laughs! In fact, there perhaps will not be a more inspiring film than 50/50 in 2011 as it is genuinely a friendly comfort for cancer victims and their friends and family.


As far as the style of comedy is concerned, there were perhaps a few particular moments within the film that were aiming to be a joke, such as when talking about Patrick Swayze and his condition which is humour at its lowest although there are some people who would chuckle at that or will become deeply affected by it. So, at the same time of being a light-hearted comedy, it is quite a dark one as well.


50/50 is both a comedy-drama that tells the story of Adam (Gordon-Levitt) who lives with his girlfriend Rachael (Dallas Howard). However, when he finds out he has a rare form of cancer within the spinal area, that all changes and leaves Adam with a 50-50 chance of surviving this condition. He gains support from young GP Katherine “Katie” McCay (Kendrick), his girlfriend and his over-protective parents, Adam’s best friend Kyle (Rogen) uses his condition to gain popularity from the ladies and to get laid.


Originally, James McAvoy was the number one choice for the role of Adam, but due to personal difficulties, blossoming actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt replaced him. Gordon-Levitt who previously appeared in romantic-comedy (500) Days Of Summer for which he received a Golden Globe nomination and in Christopher Nolan’s Inception, goes into a role where there was perhaps a lot on his shoulders as he plays a young cancer victim who is in deep desire to cure his condition but to also try and live life to the maximum if he’s not got long left. There are so many young people around the world are like this and as a result, Gordon-Levitt provided a performance to remember! Seth Rogen could quite easily have been the poison, so to speak, of the film that could have totally killed its tender and personal message but Rogen provides a performance that is beyond anything that he’s ever done. Of course, he was adding the humour and liveliness of the film and often feels familiarised by his performance in Knocked Up. So his performance in 50/50 is quite possibly his most serious role since then.


Anna Kendrick stars as young psychology student Katherine “Katie” McCay and like Gordon-Levitt; she is becoming a young shining star in the world of Hollywood. Kendrick’s characteristics provide an innocent and very cute nature to Katie which is what Adam really needs at this difficult time. The relationship between the two is very sweet but at the same time, it’s forbidden in a film like this because it is aiming to be more about a young man’s journey with cancer rather than a love story. Bryce Dallas Howard makes a short supporting appearance also as Rachael, Adam’s girlfriend and delivers a good performance too.


Jonathan Levine needed his breakthrough film throughout his 5 feature films that he has worked on so far, and he has managed to achieve this and delivers a film that is mixed of balanced emotion. We have previously seen films involving medical conditions of a protagonist and their struggle to deal with it in order to survive (e.g. Philadelphia by Jonathan Demme in 1993 starring Tom Hanks). Nevertheless, 50/50 and Adam’s condition and friendship with Kyle is based upon the screenwriter of the film, Will Reiser, who was diagnosed with cancer in his early 20s and was almost like a best friend to Seth Rogen himself at the time. So, for Rogen, it’s happening all over again and to be able to act as well as co-produce the film, and for Reiser to write the screenplay of his own story is beyond inspiration and that takes real courage! He balances it to be as friendly as possible as well as being as serious as possible without it being too depressing. So, as a result, Reiser rightfully deserves an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.


Overall, 50/50 is a genuinely heartfelt and funny motion picture that will bring tears to your eyes but will make you laugh at the same time. Having said that the film can be rather sensitive and affectionate to its target audience, which happens to be everybody, it is a beautifully crafted story that expresses reality and the heart-breaking emotions from the victims of cancer and the people around them. Plus, it could lead you to tears but it will leave you at the end with a grin on your face, it’ll make you feel uplifted by the story and will aid you at looking and understanding cancer from a whole new perspective.