50/50

I know you might not think you are ready for a comedy about cancer, but this is more than just another comedy.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Adam - a fastidious, hardworking radio producer in Seattle who suddenly is diagnosed with cancer.

He's a young man, but, as he finds out, Adam only has a 50/50 chance of beating this particular form of the disease. Facing the loss of someone they care about, his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen), family and therapist, Katherine (Anna Kendrick), are ready to help him get through the rough patches.

Will Adam make it?

See Willie with Seth Rogen and Will Reiser on DC50tv's NewsPlus around the 19 minute mark

50/50 is a hilarious movie, but I worry it is not getting its due as a serious, emotional look at friendship, family and the other bonds we rely on in life to get by, whether it is surviving the bad times or the good. Don't come into the theater thinking this is some comical farce. 50/50 has more depth and complexity than that, even if the commercials don't show it.

Writer Will Reiser (whose own battle with cancer, and help from his buddy Rogen, inspired the movie) wonderfully captures the competing emotions going on throughout this battle and movie. The dialogue shows us the awkwardness of how other characters interact with Adam as they struggle to find the right thing to say, manage their sadness, try to lift up his spirits and more. Some the hardest dialogue to write is when the character doesn't know what to say, but Reiser captures those rhythms, awkward pauses and more as if you were eavesdropping on conversations happening in hospitals and living rooms all over the world.

Also, Reiser and Gordon-Levitt perfectly demonstrate Adam's conflicting feelings. He doesn't want to be seen as a ghost or some precious, pitiful, easily breakable china doll. Adam wants to be himself, but Gordon-Levitt truly shines in those quiet, scary moments where Adam realizes he is staring his own mortality in the face as he displays the anger and fear the man is confronting. From deftly being a funny guy to sinking his teeth into the dramatic stuff, Gordon-Levitt puts in an Oscar-worthy performance I hope is remembered at nomination time.

The supporting cast is excellent as well. We know Rogen is funny, but he gets some moments to show a deeper side as Kyle worries about his friend and does what he can to support him through this time by treating his pal like he always has, as well as trying to understand Adam's plight. Kendrick is adorably cute as the therapist who doesn't have the kind of experience one would hope for, but brings a compassion to Katherine that is admirable and lovable, and Anjelica Huston is fantastic as the harried, flighty, overly protective mother who springs into action, if Adam would just let her. She's funny, heartbreaking and the highlight of every scene in which she appears.

50/50 is one of the best movies I have seen this year.

50/50 is rated R for language throughout, sexual content and some drug use.