50/50 is a story about much more than cancer. Adam is a normal guy with a normal life: he has a girlfriend, a job, a best friend and regular parents. Everything changes when he is diagnosed with cancer and given a 50 per cent survival rate. While it is true the film is about Adam’s trials and experiences with the cancer, it’s also about what life is and what life should be.
The film’s storyline is loosely based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s own life. Upon learning this after seeing the film, I came to appreciate the comedy of the film even more. Putting jokes about cancer in a film is risky and could have gone south quickly, but perhaps because of Reiser’s own experience with the disease, he is able to approach the subject with wit, sensitivity and great timing. 50/50 at times seems to be teetering on the edge of what is and isn’t acceptable, but it never crosses the line.
The main character of Adam must have caused the casting crew quite a few headaches. It takes an extraordinary actor to be able to portray a cancer patient with feeling, compassion and depth. Joseph Gordon-Levitt manages to do all this with incredible finesse, while also managing to stay true to the storyline and its harsh realities.
Seth Rogen’s character of Kyle, meanwhile, is an amazing foil to the character of Adam. While Adam is in a committed (if unhealthy) relationship, Kyle is a bit of a womanizer. Adam is law abiding and overly cautious, while Kyle is more of a risk taker. Adam is more reserved while Kyle is outspoken. At first glance, it seems unlikely the two would even be friends, but as the film progresses, their friendship provides proof that opposites do attract to form one whole. There can be no positive without a negative, no Adam without a Kyle.
One of the aspects of this film I appreciated most was its tendency to work from the surface and then dig deeper. The transformation of the characters, their relationships and their perspectives is brilliant. Adam’s relationship with himself, with his parents and with Kyle endures some incredible tests. By the end, he has finally realized that just by being alive, he has had a ripple effect on the people nearest to him; he begins to realize the value of those people.
The film helps us to understand that cancer doesn’t just affect one person; it transforms our relationships with everyone. Some relationships might deteriorate, while others hold strong; we finally realize the value of those people who are truly there until the end. Once this becomes apparent, Adam begins to see the world through a different lens. His ordeal and the people around him have shown him that life should be about living, not just surviving.
While the film is about a group of people going through a terrible ordeal, it is also peppered with seemingly normal, everyday occurrences most of us have experienced ourselves. Most of us can’t relate to Adam’s situation because we’ve never experienced it. The makers of this film, however, more than make up for that with the inclusion of the small human moments that connect us to the characters at a much deeper level.
If you could only see one movie in your lifetime, which one would it be? 50/50 is exactly the type of film that makes you ask these sorts of questions. It has everything you could ask for: heart-felt self-discovery, irony, sarcasm, the perfect combination of character portraits and impeccable comedic timing. This film pulls you in and holds you there. Like a good friend, it guides you through the good and the bad with understanding, some laughs and unwavering loyalty.
