Movie : 50/50
Release Date : September 30, 2011
Studio : Summit Entertainment
Director : Jonathan Levine
Screenwriter : Will Reiser
Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Philip Baker Hall
Genre : Comedy, Drama
Official Website : 50-50themovie.com
When I first downloaded the just-released poster for the upcoming movie 50/50 (left), the image came up on my phone screen jumbo-sized. The only thing I could see was Seth Rogen’s face/classic stupid expression. It made me chortle. But when I zoomed out and saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays a 20-something cancer patient struggling with his diagnosis, shaving his head and clearly having an emotional moment, my face fell. I think that’s pretty representative of what my reactions will be throughout the entire movie.
Tackling cancer with humor requires a tricky balance. The Big C does it very elegantly, but what particularly interests me about 50/50 is that Gordon-Levitt and Rogen are going to attract a younger crowd, who, much like the characters in the movie, don’t often view cancer as a threat to their age group.
Prior to working at EW, I was writing feature stories for a newspaper near my home town. One day, I found myself working on a story about an uninsured 20-something guy who was battling Leukemia with the help of his family and closest friends. In the time I spent with them — in particular, his knuckle-headed group of buddies — they often swapped stories about their many adventures before their friend was sick, the time when they thought they were invincible. But after his diagnosis, they had to learn how to grow up and help their friend with sometimes awkward tasks like going to the bathroom or bathing. The best way to get through it was with humor, they said.
I was reminded of these guys and their late friend upon looking at the poster today. The moment captured here happens more often than I once realized, and it never hurts to make people more aware of illnesses that can plague anyone of any age. The fact that 50/50 comes with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bonus — that’s awesome.
Summit Entertainment has released the first trailer for the dramedy 50/50. Screenwriter Will Reiser based the story on his own battle with cancer. The trailer is fantastic and does a great job of balancing some funny jokes with the gravity of a guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dealing with cancer.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the first images along with Steve’s thoughts on the film. 50/50 is directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), also stars Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Angelica Huston, and Phillip Baker Hall star. It opens September 30th.
Steve recently saw the film and while he’s embargoed from writing a full review, he thought all the performances were great and said “the film does a fantastic job telling a realistic story about cancer. Also, 50/50 never tries to Hollywoodize the story, which makes everything more powerful. Finally, like The Wackness, Levine uses some great music including one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs. Definitely recommended.
Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. Rogen also serves as producer, along with Evan Goldberg and Ben Karlin. Jonathan Levine directs from a script by Will Reiser. “We worked with Will on Da Ali G show, and it was shortly after that we learned he was sick.” Rogen recalls. “As shocking, sad, confusing and generally screwed up as it was; we couldn’t ignore that because we were so ill-equipped to deal with the situation, funny things kept happening. Will got better, and when he did, we thought the best way to pull something good out of the situation was to get him to write a screenplay. Ideally we wanted to make a film that would be as funny, sad, and hopefully as honest as the experience we went through. As soon as the script was completed, it quickly became a passion project for all of us. It helped us come to terms with Will’s struggle as well as our own experiences.” 50/50 is the story of a guy’s transformative and, yes, sometimes funny journey to health. 50/50 draws its emotional core from Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer and reminds us that friendship and love, no matter what bizarre turns they take, are the greatest healers.
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