Review: Fifty Fifty

Summit Entertainment

There are critics who love this picture and I can’t imagine why. It’s possible that the lack of impressive films in the fall “noteworthy movie” season has led them to embrace it, even though it is pretty much like any cancer movie you have ever seen. Guy is having a normal day, feels a twinge, finds out he has cancer, family and friends freak, they rally, they are inspired and full of hope because of his brave struggle. Or something like that.

50/50 doesn’t introduce anything new into this conversation. If you have ever dealt with cancer, either as a patient or as a supportive family member or friend, you will not learn anything from this film, or come away with an altered perspective.

Which is not to say it’s a bad picture. As cancer victim Adam, Joseph Gordon-Levitt does credible work even though his part is badly underwritten; he’s so low key we hardly ever get a handle on what he’s like or how all these events are affecting him. There are a lot of moments in the film where the camera focuses on his face while he … thinks, I suppose, or maybe he just feels sleepy. You start to wonder if the filmmakers have run out of things to do.

There are bright moments, mostly when Ann Kendrick is on screen; she plays Katherine, Adam’s therapist, but she’s young, new to the job, interning at the hospital while she works on her PhD. She screws up a lot but she tries hard to find her way, and you see in her expressive, intuitive face how intently she is trying to break through Adam’s stoicism. Kendrick is a remarkable actress, even though her small stature and slightly off kilter face make her a natural for odd ball supporting cast roles, she always carves out something new in her characters. You would never mistake Katherine for Up in the Air’s Natalie. Angelica Huston also has a few, pitch perfect moments in the film; she plays Adam’s overbearing mother but you have nothing but sympathy for her.

The elephant in the movie, of course, is Seth Rogen, playing the stoner buddy he always plays. It’s comforting to watch the friendship between his character and Adam become a source of support for the poor dude, but Rogan doesn’t do anything new or different here, he’s just the stoner buddy. If you enjoy his act, you’ll have a pretty good time watching him. Or you could just rent Pineapple Express. 50/50 is playing around the country, doing decent box office. B-