Sometimes you have to experience the worst situations, to be able to appreciate the simple things in life.50/50 is truly a heart-breaking movie that is loosely based on the life of the film's screenwriter, Will Reiser. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam, a recently cancer stricken man and Seth Rogen as his close friend, Kyle.I think that the film-makers did a good job of selecting the cast, because they seemed to fill the roles appropriately.50/50 is a drama/comedy, but the comedy only serves to stop the tears from free-falling out of your eyes. The laughs were only at intervals, and generally only generated a chuckle or a smirk out of me.Regardless, the comedic relief was gladly welcomed. I feel like the show would have been an overly boring and depressing one if not for the occasional laugh.
Plot
Adam is an introverted guy who doesn't have many friends. He doesn't have many friends solely because he thinks he doesn't need or want them.He is perfectly content with his life and the way it is, even though he is not wealthy or especially successful in any particular way. He has parents, an attractive girlfriend, and the same best friend since high-school.One day, while visiting the doctor about a back-pain he had been having, the doctor informs him in quite a nonchalant manner, that he has a rare type of cancer. His girlfriend doesn't take it well, but insists that she is fine with it and will stick with him through his 50/50 odds.His mother reacts just as he expects her to-she freaks out. She is already taking care of a husband (Adam's father) who can barely remember who she is because he suffers from alzheimer's disease.
His best friend Kyle is scared by the news, but being his regular clownish self-he makes the joke, "If you were a casino game you'd have the best odds!"Adam has to go through quite a lot stress from this point onward. He sees an attractive, inexperienced shrink at the hospital. Without him admitting it, she helps him through his problems by, at the very least, serving as someone to talk to.Dealing with his situation and emotions very well throughout most of the film, there is a point in which Adam must break-down. In the end he does have to face the fact that he might actually die.50/50 is one of those films that makes you think about what you would do in a similar situation. Personally, I would prefer to have one friend like Seth Rogen's character (Kyle), rather than hundreds. It really made me re-evaluate who my real friends are. Needless to say, I enjoyed the movie. It is definitely worth a viewing.
