‘50/50’ Delivers Genuine Catharsis

There is simply no actor in modern American cinema more likable than Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He has what Heath Ledger had: An inherently magnetic appeal, a complete disinterest in star-making marketability and a thirst for taking risks with projects he truly believes in. Though these risks have gotten him involved in a few misguided messes, they have nearly always paid off. 

It would be easy to claim that Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal of a 27-year-old fighting cancer in 50/50 is the best of his career. Yet the truth is that ever since he left “3rd Rock From the Sun,” the actor has been turning in Oscar-caliber work in a wide variety of diverse roles. From the audacious teenage noir of Brick and the thrilling suspense of The Lookout, to the heartrending charm of (500) Days of Summer and the brutal honesty of Mysterious Skin, Gordon-Levitt has gradually built a formidable body of work which easily rivals that of anyone his age.

What makes 50/50 such a standout in his marvelous career is the way it showcases the actor’s comedic and dramatic chops in equal measure. This is a very funny picture, but none of its laughs are designed to trivialize the seriousness of the subject matter. Screenwriter Will Reiser based the script on his own experience of getting diagnosed at a young age and battling the illness with the help of his friends. One of those friends was “Da Ali G Show” co-writer Seth Rogen, who persuaded him to write the script. 

While Rogen is credited solely as a producer and co-star of 50/50, his fingerprints are felt throughout the script (and I have a sneaking suspicion he ad-libbed much of his dialogue). Whereas Rogen’s classic high school satire Superbad was about the hell of adolescence, 50/50 is about the hell of living with a degenerative disease. Both films are ultimately cathartic because they combat their respective hells with insightful comedy and endearing warmth rather than self-pitying melodrama. 

Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, a writer for the airwaves who’s informed with coldly clinical precision by his doctor that he’s developed a rare form of spinal cancer. This sudden revelation devastates his girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), who desperately wants to keep their relationship separate from the hospital room, and his mother (Anjelica Huston), whose maternal instincts are already heightened by her husband’s Alzheimer’s. Yet Adam’s buddy, Kyle (Rogen), remains hopeful. When informed that his friend’s disease has a 50/50 survival rate, Kyle replies, “If you were a casino game, you’d have the best odds.”

With his girlfriend quickly fading from his life, Adam reluctantly turns to a young counselor (Anna Kendrick) for emotional support. Her friendship proves to be more healing than her meditations tapes and awkward attempts at care giving. When she attempts to supportively pat Adam’s arm, he replies, “I feel like I’m being slapped by a sea otter.” Such seemingly improvised quips are typical of Rogen’s distinctive brand of humor, which subverts clichéd moments with unexpected nuances and a stubborn resistance of sentimentality. 

Director Jonathan Levine (The Wackness) brings an emotional gravity to every scene, enabling various moments to be simultaneously rib tickling and tear jerking. Levine treasures the intimate power of a close-up on an actor’s expressive face, which if done well allows the viewer to experience the character’s emotions firsthand. This film has an abundance of great faces: Huston’s doting, calculating eyes masking a bottomless well of despair; Kendrick’s neurotic tics and clenched teeth that conflict with her sunny disposition; Howard’s icy features that betray the contrived sincerity of her tears; and Philip Baker Hall’s craggy mug that suggests a lifetime of hard-won wisdom. He plays the cancer patient who invites Adam to sample the numbing ecstasy of weed.

Throughout it all, Gordon-Levitt goes through the various stages of coping without hitting a single false note. His agony and fear are never played for laughs, and one could easily imagine the actor in a straightforward drama about the same subject without altering his performance one iota. This is largely because Reiser’s script is anything but flippant about its subject matter. Just as Rogen’s Superbad greatly benefited from its semi-autobiographical nature (it was loosely based on the high school experiences of Rogen and co-writer Evan Goldberg), 50/50 is clearly a labor of love spawned from Rogen and Reiser’s own friendship. Even Huston has admitted in interviews that she found catharsis in playing her role, after losing her husband to a sudden disease. Though Huston’s screen time is relatively brief, she delivers her best work in years. 

Audiences initially repelled by the premise of 50/50 will most likely find themselves falling in love with every frame. Unlike most Aptowian bromances, which tend to drag their feet toward the final act, this film moves at a briskly entertaining 99 minutes. Only the final scene seems extraneous, tying up the loose ends a bit too neatly. If the picture had ended a scene earlier, it would’ve had one of the best final lines of dialogue in recent memory.  

50/50 opened Sept. 30 at the AMC Showplace Village Crossing 18 and Regal Gardens 1-6 in Skokie. It opened at number 4 behind Dolphin Tale, Moneyball and The Lion King, earning $8.8 million according to Box Office Mojo. It is rated R.

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