50/50 is the most heart-wrenching and hilarious movie you'll ever see, and one of the top films of 2011. (Summit Entertainment/aceshowbiz.com)
Perfect. It was perfect. And that’s how you sum up 50/50 in a matter of a few words. From the stellar cast, to the excitement I had learning about this coming out a few months ago, to the articles written recently about the “controversy” of making comedy from a cancer story….all of that doesn’t mean much of anything now. They scored not just a hit, but a possible classic in this movie, and the fact that it’s based from a true story makes it that much better. The balancing act needed to make a sure-fire winner between comedy and heartfelt, realistic drama is a tight act for sure, but they seemed to walk it with ease.
A subject that everyone knows about but can’t really understand to a full level – cancer. The stages of shock, grief, anger, depression, acceptance…they may have affected family members and friends of ours, but to actually have cancer, now that is something not everyone knows about and grasp in any true sense. The fragility of human life, of our lives, is shown so brilliantly in this movie, as are all the stages along the way. There is no doubt that it tugs at you, perhaps because we all know people very close to us that have gone down this road before. Or perhaps because it just feels like real life hitting you right in the mouth. Either way, it’s an emotional knockout, with family dynamics, friend dynamics, and what it would mean thinking your life might end.
The drama is serious. It’s genuine and just heartbreaking to watch unfold. But the comedy, that a lot of the characters take a part in, is mixed in seamlessly. The bizarre transition from almost crying to laughing hysterically is something that certainly comes up more than once in this movie, but it all feels very, very natural. To that, I lend credit to the writers, but mostly to the cast. Everyone in this movie was terrific, but there are a few that carried huge loads of acting responsibility and nailed it. Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, and Anjelica Huston are amazing. But there is one star, one actor who should get at least a nomination in the Oscars and that’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Everything he did turned to gold. Everything he did was as if you were sitting in a room in real life, watching this unfold. It was, as I said to start the article, pure perfection.
50/50: 
(out of 4)
Filed under: Movie review Tagged: | 50/50, Anjelica Huston, anna kendrick, bryce dallas howard, cancer, Jonathan Levine, joseph gordon-levitt, Seth Rogen, Will Reiser
Mixing humor and painful subject matter is, naturally, very difficult. The beauty of this movie is that it does so with ease, especially with such good actors in these roles as well. Good review. I hope this at least some Oscar nods, but it doesn’t seem like it will actually happen.