50/50
100 minutes
R
Director: Jonathan Levine
Writer: Will Reiser
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen,
Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston
Serge Houde, Andrew Airlie, Matt Frewer
'Everyone dies, you know.'
-Lowell (KINDERGARTEN COP, 1990)
Well, we knew this day would come; alas, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is no longer playing high school kids.
Adam (Gordon-Levitt,), 27, works at a public radio station. Best friend, Kyle (Rogen) works there as well. Working ever so diligently on a volcano story; until some important news erupted in his face: he has a malignant tumor. Kyle has a 50 percent chance of dying.
Eventually, you may see this movie on VH1—because this is a 'movie that rocks' (get it, with the volcanoes)
Rachael (Howard), his girlfriend is an abstract artist, Before he had cancer she didn't seem too attached to him. On one occasion, she was late picking him up from the hospital.
Abstract art, public radio, I know what your thinking, no, this doesn't take place in Milwaukee. They filmed this in Vancouver, but it genuinely looks like Seattle, really. I'm not sure if they built a life size replica of the Space Needle, or if it was stock footage.
During his chemotherapy sessions, he befriends a couple of much older patients: Mitch (Frewer) and Alan (Hall), old. The first time they met, they all got high on pot brownies.
Katherine (Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR, 2009) is a therapist-in-training, she isn't a doctor yet. Just 24 years old, she seems detached, disinterested, and impersonal. Adam is just a character in her dissertation. Underneath it all, she understands the importance of her role in this particular situation.
One night, Kyle spots Racheal at her art show, she is making out with some Jesus-looking dude. He takes a cell phone picture of the two, and confronts her at Kyle's place.
Adam: You should go.
Rachael: [Kissing him] I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you.
Adam: No, seriously... you need to get the fuck off my porch.
In one scene, Adam and Kyle take bong hits and watch TV all day. It seems Seth Rogen is always playing stoners. In this movie, he is just a guy who recreationally smokes pot, from time to time...everyday. Oh yes, there is absolutely a difference.
Normally, I would expect a movie about having cancer to be depressing. The people in this film are real characters, with real character. You should rent this when it comes out.
So, what is 50/50?
Answer: One.
Final Verdict: 88 out 100 
Sidenote: I refrained from making an Angels in the Outfield reference, having already done so in my previous review.