"The least she could do is fellate you"

50/50         14/12/11

Director: Jonathan Levine       Writer: Will Reiser

2011

Funnily enough, with the title 50/50, this is a film where its success depends on balance. The film has to avoid being overly sentimental, as this would diminish its status as a comedy and push it dangerously close to the realm of TV drama. However it deals with some of the heaviest subject matter that a film can, and must do it justice. That said if it always stayed in the middle ground it wouldn’t be worth watching.

            In my opinion the balance was as close to spot on as you can get, and I think this is because of writer Will Reiser basing it on his cancer diagnosis, and co-star Seth Rogan helping him through it. Apparently it was Rogan that pushed him to write the screenplay, and Reiser told him of his diagnosis while Rogan was on the toilet (IMDB). That scene was left out, because Will Reiser wrote a screenplay that would make a good film rather than a simple autobiography, good move considering this is his first feature film.

            As for Seth Rogan himself, he is unsurprisingly perfectly cast, and in his comfort zone. He seems slightly pulled back from his usual performances, and that fits with the film. Joseph Gordon Levitt took this role two days before shooting began but looks like he had all the time he needed to prepare. He is naturalistic, unlike his intense lead in Brick (2005) and has more going on than in 500 Days of Summer (2009). There are two main female roles, the girlfriend of Gordon-Levitt played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who has a thankless role given that we end up hating her but manages to make her character three dimensional. The much more likeable role of Gordon-Levitt’s therapist was given to Anna Kendrick who has impressed me in this and Up In The Air (2009) and could have a decent career once her time isn’t taken up by sparkly vampires. So all round it is a good, young cast with good material and it would be shocking if they had messed it up.

            Gordon-Levitt plays Adam. Adam doesn’t drink alcohol, smoke, or even drive (it is the 5^th leading cause of death). He is jogging and has back pain. That pain is a tumour in his spine and his odds of survival if chemotherapy doesn’t work are about 50%. Kind of a shitty deal if you ask me. The scene in his doctor’s office is infused with documentary style cinematography (Adam goes out of frame as he stands) and there is no dramatic build up to the scene, it feels real and is therefore more scary for an audience. However effects are then used so we experience Adam’s mind diverging from reality, Jonathan Levine makes sure we feel the impact of the news.

            I found it interesting that when it comes to telling his friend Kyle (Rogan) and his girlfriend (Howard) the scenes come in after the fact and we get their reactions, Kyle is all about the upside and injecting humour and Rachael says she won’t bail on him. In contrast we see the whole scene where he tells his parents, who he isn’t close to. His mother tries to make green tea as she hears it decreases the chances of getting a tumour. With the sadness infused comedy that defines the film Adam remarks that he already has cancer.

            The treatment and mortality is never quite the focus here, it is more important how being a cancer patient changes your relationships and the way people look at you. I think this film is less about Adam facing his mortality than about other people having to. His Mother becomes smothering, and he distances himself from her. His girlfriend thinks buying him a retired racing dog may help in some way, his work colleagues make him feel awkward, and Kyle wants to get him laid. Without spoiling too much I can say that Adam breaks up with his girlfriend (Rogan helps him out and is hilarious) and tries to substitute that emotional support with hooking up with a girl at a bar but he can’t enjoy the sex because his back hurts. Due to the cancer he has lost his girlfriend, feels alienated from his family and can’t have fun with his friend. What could actually make you feel better in that situation? Therapy? Medicinal marijuana?

            Both of these options are available. His therapist is going her graduate thesis, and Adam seems unimpressed by her, it seems as if he is asking more about her in their first session. At his first chemo session the older patients offer him some drug infused cookies, and he makes friends. One high as a kite trip through paediatrics later and things could be looking up. But there is always something around the corner in this film and I did question when we would see Adam’s breaking point. When we do Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows how talented he is.

            Pretty much everything in this film is done as it should be. Give it a watch.