Rated R for language, sexual content and drug use.
Directed by Jonathan Levine
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan, Anna Kendrick
50/50 is a strange assortment of things. It is largely a story about a young man, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who is diagnosed with cancer and told that he has a 50% chance of surviving treatment. It is no surprise that Adam is crushed by the news, but for a time he goes on with his life like normal. It isn’t until he starts chemotherapy that things start to fall apart; Adam’s girlfriend leaves him and he is unable to return to work. In the span of a few short months, Adam loses everything that he thought was important in his life and he is forced to accept the fact that he very well may lose his life as well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt handles this phenomenally; 50/50 is his best performance to date.
As you would expect, 50/50 is heavy on the drama and gloom. But somehow, the movie is often able to be surprisingly upbeat, without losing the seriousness of the subject matter. Most of this is shown through Adam’s interactions with his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogan). Now if the thought of Seth Rogan in a serious cancer drama sounds weird to you, you wouldn’t be wrong. Seth Rogan is everything you would expect him to be: vile, inappropriate, nasty. I think that alone will stop people from seeing this movie, and I can’t say I blame them. But truthfully, Kyle is what makes this movie different from any other cancer drama that you’ve ever seen. His candor and earnestness are fitting considering the situation, and while what he says isn’t always funny, his relationship with Adam provides for some lighthearted scenes to contrast the heavy drama.
More important to note is that as gross and offensive as Kyle is, he is also incredibly supportive. It is heartbreaking to watch Adam’s life collapse around him, but it is even more so to watch as the few people who really care about Adam struggle to shoulder some of the weight with him. That’s really what makes this movie and why I liked it so much. The characters are flawed and broken, true, but so are all of us. And like us, the characters in 50/50 (most notably Kyle and Adam’s parents) find the strength to put aside their brokenness to come together to help each other through the pain and turmoil that life sometimes brings.
Is 50/50 for everyone? No. But I was blown away by its depth and heart. And I came away from it more appreciative of the people in my life.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
No…casual drug use, lots of language, and Seth Rogan.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
50/50 is about loss, and what we hold on to when the things we thought were important are taken from us.
Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
It is important to always remember that no matter what our circumstances, God is with us. He is always guiding us, always near; he shares in our happiness, but he is also with us in our grief. Deuteronomy 2:7 says it this way:
The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
God doesn’t promise that it will always be easy, but he assures us that he will always be there to support us and carry us, especially when we have given up.
Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
What do we put our faith in? (Does our faith and security lie in our popularity, our grades, or the number of friends we have?)
The scripture above says that God “has been with you” through these tough times. What are some ways that we see God’s presence through tough times?
The verse also says that we haven’t lacked anything. What does this mean?
If you look around at your life right now, what do you see of God’s provision?
What are ways we can remember to see God’s provision during times of pain?
