50/50

Viewer Rating:Eoghan Bolger has rated 50/50 rating: 4 Star

50/50

50/50 is a comedy drama, directed by Johnaton Levine about a young man who finds himself afflicted with cancer, the film's title is derived from his likelihood of survival. It examines his evaluation of his life and how it impacts on him and his loved ones.
The movie is 100 minutes long and stars Seth Rogen and Joe Levitt.

This is a rare beast of an US comedy and one of those film that would have been easy to dismiss and I wasn't sure about James Mcavoy being chucked from the cast either.
50/50 had me laughing for the full 100 minutes of its runtime, the comedy is sharp, amusing without needing to go into slapstick and the dialogue is strong. The drama aspect is there and its touching without overbearing or overwhelming the movie, its never cheesy or sentimental. The romance feels like part of the movie rather than being there for the sake of it and the characters are more than just devices and props.
The protagonist looks like the typical meekling at first but we see him go fairly realistically what a lot of people go through when they have cancer, rather than angst for two hours he's a smartass, tactless, laughing his way around it all. His friend played by Rogen who is solid in a semi-serious role much like the characters in this film is seen from a number of sides, we invest in these people.
The protagonist is sympathetic, but also brave, his reactions to his girlfriend cheating on him are believable but somewhat cruel, while his friend though concerned has a self centred angle to him. The unfaithful partner herself regrets what she has done and is under considerable stress, while the therapist is caught between her feelings and profession.
That's a fair bit more depth already than the typical US comedy.
This was well executed stuff and for once a comedy caps off with a worthwhile finale and doesn't mess about too often, it wraps itself up well.
It probably could have been more emotional and I would've preferred Mcavoy but those are mild complaints in an excellent film.

Verdict: ****

Review published on the 25 November 2011 23:33