50/50


2/4

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Angelica Huston, Bryce Dallas Howard, Philip Baker Hall

Rated R for Language Throughout, Sexual Content, and Some Drug Use

“50/50” is an attempt at making a bittersweet comedy about a young man afflicted with cancer (the title comes from his chances for survival).  It’s got the cast to accomplish this; Levitt is a criminally underrated actor, Rogen is a hilarious comedian, and everyone else is known for their versatility.  The problem is the script.  Despite coming from writer Will Reiser's personal experience, the film lacks the depth necessary to involve the audience.

Adam Lerner (Gordon-Levitt) is a researcher for a radio station who has been having back pain.  When he goes to the doctor, he is told that he has a rare form of cancer.  Needless to say, this stuns him.  His overbearing mother, Diane (Huston) wants to coddle him, his best friend is trying to use his cancer to get them both laid, and his girlfriend (Howard) says she’s in for the long haul, but she may not be that devoted.  He’s also beginning to see a therapist, Katherine (Kendrick), to help him through it.  But can he pull through?

Reiser used his personal experience to write the screenplay, and I believe it.  The situations that Adam finds him are believable.  The problem is that the characters are two-dimensional and director Jonathan Levine doesn’t explore them sufficiently enough.  In many ways, it feels like “Contagion,” a sampling of everything that can be included in this storyline.  But the Steven Sodebergh film had a story that gripped us enough to see it through to the end, even though it lacked any semblance of character identification.  “50/50” has all the dramatic heft of a sitcom.  Did I care if Adam pulled through?  Not really.  And that’s the film’s biggest problem.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an immensely talented actor.  He proved that in “The Lookout,” a little seen thriller from the great Scott Frank.  But here, while we understand that bouts of anger that he goes through and why he sometimes acts like a jerk, we feel no empathy for him.  Seth Rogen is his usual reliable self, and while there is some evidence that he can handle drama in this kind of a setting, he’s not given much of a chance to show it.  Kendrick, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Up in the Air,” gives the best performance in the film.  Of all the characters in “50/50,” she’s the one we feel for.  Huston is over-the-top, and Hall is underused.

It’s a shame that this film doesn’t work.  It has the potential to really tug at the heart, and maybe draw a tear or two.  But in the end, it’s just a forgettable dramedy.

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