50/50 Review

Justin and I just got back from seeing 50/50 on October 1, 2011. This was a very good movie!! Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character Adam is diagnosed with MS, a severe form of spinal cancer. The movie follows his relationships with his parents (The mother was played marvelously by Angelica Huston) and his friend Kyle (which was an excellent performance by Seth Rogen). His character is 27 years old and he is struggling to deal with the fact he has cancer. Add on top of that his bitch of a girlfriend cheats on him with a random hippie guy as soon as he is diagnosed and he basically feels lonely as if he doesn't have a support system. Kyle is always by his side to help try and cheer him up and I really liked that aspect as he tried to keep his mind positive and that is really what a support system is supposed to do. Anna Kendrick played his therapist who was working on her doctorate and she was great in the role getting to know Adam's character and they grow a bond through the therapy sessions. During his chemotherapy, he befriends two older men who both have severe cancer. One scene that was extremely powerful is when one of the older men dies from his cancer the night before and Adam witnesses the funeral. After that he starts getting angry and he basically has a melt-down. He needs to get a very serious surgical procedure done in order to try and quell this tumor. I was getting emotional at times during this movie. However, the ending is positive and this was apparently based on a factual story (I think from Seth Rogen's life as he and Evan Goldberg wrote it). I firmly believe that Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance. I can see them giving a best supporting actress to Angelica Huston as well. I know how tough this must have been as I have learned from personal experience with my family. I will give this movie a 4/5. I recommend this and Rogen definitely helps to lift the audience's spirits throughout which I liked.