50/50

The movie 50/50 is a dark comedy that deals with an extremely serious issue, cancer.  The young and talented Gordon-Levitt portraits an 27 year-old radio journalist, who is diagnosed spinal cancer.   Adam sees his world falling apart after the news.  The odds were against him, he lived his whole life making sure to follow the right path, eating the right food, avoiding dangerous habits, and yet the disease got him.

Seth Rogen is in charge of most of the comical situation from the picture.  In fact, the actor is real-life close friend to the movie’s screen player, Will Reiser, who had faced cancer himself.  So basically, the movie is an autobiographical attempt to humor such tragic fate.

The movie flows almost awkwardly, switching from Rogen’s character ridiculous attempts to cheer up his best friend, to Adam’s realization of his disease.  The director tried to deal with the subject as light as possible, bringing up the “bright side” of cancer, as Kyle said, for comedy sake.

The relationships portrayed in the film gave the viewer an idea of how cancer not only affects the diseased, but also, the close ones.  Rachel, the unfaithful girlfriend, did not know how to handle the situation, choosing to hide away her real feelings, than actually breaking up with her boyfriend.  Kyle, the best friend, hid under his jokes in order to stay positive for Adam.  While the journalist’s mother chose to seek help in a specialized group, since her son kept pushing her away from his disease.

In general, the movie may make you shed a tear or two, and may leave you uncomfortable to laugh at some dark situations.  However, it grows on you.  It may not be a successful comedy film, but it successfully makes you wonder about life.