Synopsis: An otherwise healthy twentysomething has a comically early midlife crisis when he gets slapped with a cancer diagnosis and a 50-50 chance of survival. But what's the meaning of life when you're not sure how long yours will last?
Review: Dramedies have always been a genre of film that I have always enjoyed especially when they can do both things which is bring comedy and drama to the screen and make them mesh well with one another. 50/50 is definitely one of those that does the job perfectly and effectively. When I originally saw the trailer for 50/50 I had a feeling about this film and how it would turn out and it actually met my expectations. What I mean by that is that it's not overly funny to the point where it makes it goofy, but it's not overly serious as well. It is also one of the most intelligent films I have seen in awhile as well.
The plot basically takes a much more believeable stance on someone having cancer and how they go about dealing with it. Being someone who has seen family members go through cancer like Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has it touches base quite well and helped me to look at what they went through. While this film can be a tear jerker at times it does help to have funny man Seth Rogen on board as Kyle who is Adam's best friend to break the tension. Along the side of the drama and comedy there is a love interest in there to add more to this film.
One very alluring part of this film was the cast, for me just seeing Joseph Gorgon-Levitt as the lead role drew me into wanting to see 50/50. He has been one of my more favorite actors since I first saw him in the TV series 3rd Rock From The Sun back in the 90's and his occassional role in Roseanne. Along the side of him you also get Seth Rogan, Anna Kendrick (Scott Pilgrim VS The World), Anjelica Huston (The Witches), Philip Baker Hall (Magnolia), and Matt Frewer (Senior Trip) to list a few. To me I found about every character to be quite enjoyable except that of Rachael who plays as Adam's girlfriend which in real life would be a very unappealing, but I think that is the point with her character and Bryce Dallas Howard did an excellent job at playing her.
One last thing I must add is that I personally found a quote on the back on the cover of this release to be kinda misleading because it says "50/50 is consistently, uproariously funny" which in my eyes makes this film seem like it's going to be a laugh fest when in fact it doesn't really go in that direction as much as that quote would let off. Overall this was a very well crafted film that deserves all the appraise it gets!
Video: 5/5,
Audio: 5/5,
Film: 5/5,
Special Features: 4.5/5
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Jonathan Levine
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Blu-ray/DVD Release Year: 2012
Theatrical Release Year: 2011
Time Length: 100 mins.
Company: Summit Entertainment
Website:
www.summit-ent.com
