Review for the movie 50/50
Synopsis: Diagnosed with spinal cancer, 27-year-old Adam navigates the road to recovery with the sometimes overbearing support of his crude best friend, his smothering mother and an inexperienced therapist. Inspired by a true story.
Rating: R for language throughout, sexual content, and some drug use.
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Director: Jonathan Levine
Dvd Extra’s: Commentary, Deleted Scenes, The story of 50/50, Life inspires Art, Seek and Destroy.
Nudity Factor: A sex scene that does not contain direct nudity.
Of Note: Joseph Gordon-Levitt actually shaved his head during filming. He and Seth Rogen were improvising in character while the cameras kept rolling, since the scene was not in the script.
Recommendations:
I was not sure what to expect with this film. You have Seth Rogen playing Kyle. Kyle is best friends with Adam. Adam is working on a big journalist piece on a volcano, he has a girlfriend, and things seem great. Until the day he is told he has cancer. A rare cancer that only 50% survive from. That is when he learns who really cares about him, who his friends are, and how much strength it is going to take to overcome this. The story gives a good glimpse into the fight that one must take to be able to overcome cancer. Having had my mom overcome this as well as my mother in-law I have seen the impacts of cancer first hand. I appreciated the inside look at this battle. We also get to see how cancer impacts the people around them, from the smothering mother, to the best friend, to the hesitant girlfriend. I really appreciated Seth Rogen playing Kyle, the best friend. I hope everyone that goes through what Adam goes through has a friend like Kyle. The story has a fairly high level of emotion, that intermixes with some humor. It is serious but puts enough of a spin on it that it is not too overpowering.
Overall, I enjoyed this film. I enjoyed the way the whole process is handled. It might have a different level of emotion having lived thought family members fighting this same fight. The film develops nicely and keeps things moving, not dwelling too long on any one section, again this was a good way to keep this just light enough. Both of the main actors do a great job and though it might not be one that I will watch often, it still is worth watching once, even more so if you have a connection to cancer.