Movie Review: 50/50

Movie Review: 50/50 (2011)
Director: Jonathan Levine
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston
Plot: Adam (Gordon-Levitt) has a nice job in radio, and is dating a very attractive / artistic girlfriend Rachael (Howard). His best friend, Kyle (Rogen), is a notorious ladies man. One day Adam goes into the doctor, complaining of back problems that have been plaguing him for a while. Turns out the back pains are being caused by a tumor on his spine.

A quick internet search reveals that his chances of survival are 50%.

This movie chronicles the unraveling of Adam’s world, and shows him that when death is staring us in the face it’s time to figure out how we truly want to live.

This movie was powerful on so many levels. The performances from all the actors is top-notch. Bryce Dallas Howard does an amazing job showing a range in her performance I’ve not seen before from her in a flick – and I thought she had talent BEFORE I saw this movie. But the movie is carried by the interactions between Seth Rogen and Joe Levitt. Both of these actors shine in this movie, giving a diverse performance that runs the gamut of emotions – as you would expect in a flick like this.

Inspired by a true story, this movie captures the priorities one faces when they face the very real possibility of death.

I watched this movie with Beth, who was in tears for the last half of the movie. I won’t spoil the ending, but Beth and I didn’t see it coming (but let’s be honest, you have a 50/50 change of guessing what happens). The movie does have a lot of predictable parts, unfortunately, but that didn’t really take away from my enjoyment. Again, the performances carry this flick and they keep you glued to your seat.

Despite the heavy themes, the movie has a lot of comedy. There are a lot of funny moments throughout the flick, which again helps keep these characters well rounded and relatable. Angelica Hudson puts in a surprisingly strong performance as an over-concerned mother, and there are some moments in there between her and Joe Levitt that are generally heartwarming.

Overall, I really dug this movie. I wouldn’t watch it over and over again (hell, I was almost in tears by the end of it…but I blame that mostly to the fact that Beth had been crying for the last 20-30 minutes), but it generally was an emotionally fulfilling flick to see.