50/50 (2011)

Directed by Jonathan Levine

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick

Inspired by true events, a man is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. With the help of his best friend, his mother, and a therapist, he learns who and what the most important things in his life are. 

Ahhh yes, do you smell that? The smell of a really good film with the perfect balance between drama and comedy! It's so hard to find movies like this nowadays. Most of them just either make you laugh or cry. 50/50 impressively does both.

There are some movies that handle serious, terminal issues like cancer well and then are some that don't. This movie handles cancer perfectly in a realistic sense. I guess it takes one to know one, since the film is actually based on the life of the screenwriter, Will Reiser, who was a cancer survivor. It's nice to see that the whole movie wasn't fixated on just the fact that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character had cancer. It focused more on his struggle to overcome the disease and how it dramatically changed the behavior of the people around him. Levitt's performance was definitely one of the highlights of the film. His acting didn't look forced or unnatural at all. The rest of the cast did great, as well. Seth Rogen was his typical, funny self but in a way that wasn't too much for a semi-dramatic movie. 

There were parts where I laughed and there were parts where I cried really hard and that's when you know you've watched a good film. I recommend everyone to watch this, whether you're in the mood for some comedy or drama. You will definitely not regret watching it.

Rating: ★★★★★