50/50

One of the most underrated aspects of commercial film in the last decade has been the ability by studios, directors, and actors to create organic heartfelt comedies.  This feat, which started way back in the thirties (see ‘It Happened One Night’ and ‘Bringing Up Baby’), seemed to disappear in the sixties and seventies to an extent with the counter-culture film movement and the revelation of teen comedies.  We saw a return in the nineties with lighter rom coms (mostly starring Tom Hanks) but the revolution of the last ten years has been something new entirely.   Example, ‘50/50’.

This phenomenon, which I to refer to as the Apatowan Effect, blends a cruder side of humor with classic comedy situations.  The difference in the Apatowan Effect and your basic new era crude comedy (‘Dude, Where’s My Car’ unfortunately that was the first example that came to my head) is Judd’s ability to interject realistic heartfelt human emotions into his story lines.  In that breadth other directors have begun to use variations of his formula to continually create box office hits that can combine laughs and tears, exactly what director Jonathan Levine has done with ‘50/50’.  This is Levine’s first large studio effort and it is a great debut.  He does well to borrow from such films as ’Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ and ‘Knocked Up’ from a pacing standpoint yet adds his own comedic touch in the delivery (this is also conducive of first time screewriter Will Reiser).  ‘50/50’ downplays the overbearing gag moments that Apatow films rely on and focuses heavily on the awkwardness, irony, and ignorance of its characters.

For those of you who haven’t seen the trailer or haven’t heard of the film it’s a film about a mid twenty something that gets cancer and how it affects his personal relationships with his best friend, girlfriend, and parents.  Pretty cut and dry.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam (the canceree) and he is joined with great performances by Seth Rogen (best friend Kyle, Rogen is also a producer), Bryce Dallas Howard (girlfriend Rachel), Anna Kendrick (his therapist/romantic interest Katie), and Anjelica Huston (mom Diane).  Gordon-Levitt has a knack for choosing characters he can play with ultra-average-guy realism (‘500 Days of Summer’, ‘Hesher’, ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’, and although I liked him in ‘Inception’ he felt somewhat out of place), something he does maddeningly well.  Gordon-Levitt does well to not overplay Adam, humming a pitch perfect emotional melody.  Rogen is great as always in his sidekick role and hones his softer side we saw throughout the progression of ‘Knocked Up’.  Dallas Howard and Huston definitely have their moments but are overshadowed by the awkwardly sweet Kendrick.  Kendrick, in a role similar to her character in ‘Up In the Air’, plays Katie with quiet confidence, relying on the moments she isn’t talking to shine.

Following the same critical success as the similar ‘Bridesmaids’ from earlier this year, ‘50/50’ seamlessly shifts between jokes and drama to create a perfect environment to analyze the effects of a life threatening illness, the end result being somewhere safe enough for us to laugh and real enough to relate, great film.

Grade: A -

Oscar Chances:

Best Picture: Possible (either this or ‘Bridesmaids’ should make it, this is my pick)

Best Actor (Gordon-Levitt): Possible

Best Supporting Actor (Rogen): Long Shot

Best Supporting Actress (Kendrick): Possible

Best Original Screenplay (Reiser): Highly Likely