50/50 – Film Review

When it comes to serious comedies, it’s really tough to balance off the humor to make sure the tone of the film isn’t too dour for an audience member to care about the main characters. It is a huge credit for Jonathan Levine and Seth Rogen for producing this film together to make such a strong romantic dramedy. This film compared to 2012’s ‘Funny People’ works because that film was too sad and serious where it wasn’t funny anymore. Joseph Gordon Levitt gives one of his strongest performances of his career in this film. The chemistry between him and Rogen shows in balancing the two tones of serious and funny.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays the initial love interest turned enemy in this film which she does her standard job. Anna Kendrick is charming as ever in this film as the main love interest. The way the film handles the love interest I applaud because it was never about them being in a happy slapstick relationship it was about getting to know and appreciate someone who is good to balance you out to better yourself. Anjelica Huston does a solid job at being the mother to Levitt.

Because you’re his girlfriend, you cheated on him, and he has fucking cancer, you lunatic!

Matt Frewer was a great supporting player as someone who was also suffering from cancer. Seth Rogen’s character of Kyle, I appreciated how he was portrayed as a strong support system to his best friend. Rogen has been usually portrayed as a worse person in other films with similar roles. I did appreciate how this film handled the tropic of cancer and how you have to face the facts of life where we all are destined to die and how we have to come to terms with death. I had wished we had seen more of Levitt’s characters life before the cancer diagnosis but I digress.

I would definitely recommend people check this film out, it is currently available on Amazon Prime to stream. This film was on my watchlist for a while and I’m glad I was finally able to get around to watching it. It definitely is a pleasurable film to watch with some darker undertones.

8/10