93% 50/50

All Critics (147) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (137) | Rotten (10)

Still, it's Gordon-Levitt's choices that continue to impress. Sure, he owned one of the most jaw-dropping sequences in last summer's blockbuster Inception. But the actor remains drawn to profoundly human-scale hurts and quiet triumphs.

Gordon-Levitt is an agreeably undemonstrative actor who plays well opposite the burbly Rogen.

Chances are about 90/10 that you'll enjoy 50/50.

Scene by scene, 50/50 can be both amusing and moving, with the tightly wound Gordon-Levitt and the boundaryless Rogen forming an oddly complementary pair. But as a whole the movie never quite coheres.

In other hands, Adam might well be hard to take. But as the comedy in 50/50 turns darker, Gordon-Levitt, who's maybe the most natural, least affected actor of his generation, makes prickly plenty engaging.

An everyman tale with plenty of heart and honesty, the serious subject matter is regularly enlivened with jolts of genuine hilarity, some of it in delightfully questionable taste.

It's refreshing to see a movie that embraces the ugly side of what happens to complicated personal relationships. Its quite uncomfortable at times, and the frank exploration of the cancer patient journey makes the comedy even funnier.

It is tough to make a comedy about cancer, since it touches us all. It is not funny. When you have Seth Rogen in a film, however, anything can be funny.

The elements of 50/50 that do work are strong enough to carry the film along and affecting enough to bring losers like me to tears in their cinema seats.

Tackles a distressing subject with a healthy dose of humour, thanks to a sharply observed script, well-rounded, likeable characters, astute direction and a trio of terrific performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick.

There couldn't be a more serious subject, yet Gordon-Levitt and especially Rogen (who co-produced the movie) make the comedy seem both spontaneous and organic.

Nimbly switching gears between heartful drama and uproarious comedy, 50/50 tackles the near-impossible and makes a film about cancer that'll have you crying like a baby one minute and laughing so hard your sides hurt the next.

Jonathan Levine directs a film that may be one of the year's best but still makes one yearn for the serious and uncompromising films of the 1950s and 1960s.

Yes, cancer can be funny. Sort of.

Films about cancer aren't generally this funny. And while this movie isn't a comedy, beyond its generous dose of realistic humour, it has a smart, personal script that dares to face a difficult situation head on.

Life is hard. Cancer is hard. Relationships are hard. Family is hard. '50/50' managed to find the power in all of those things and give us plenty of laughs so we're not simply in a ball crying.

A near-great movie made out of the hardest-to-thread, most oxymoronic genre imaginable - "cancer comedy."

a good movie with a moderate sense of daring that ultimately spends too much time telling the wrong story

With its excellent cast and emotionally intelligent script, 50/50 isn't necessarily a feel good movie about cancer, but is an exceptional telling of one man's story, mixed with a perfect balance of sympathy and laughs.

Interesting commentary on how we deal with difficult situations, and makes a strong case for our desperate need for each other -- especially when the odds are stacked against us.

... surprisingly funny, while also honestly poignant and dramatic.

...one of the unexpected pleasures of the fall movie season.

"50/50" is a tear jerker film that has me calling it one of the best films of 2011.

Add 50/50 to your want to see list. And then make an appointment for your annual physical with your doctor.

Even with its flaws and age limits, 50/50 isn't half bad.

50/50 is noble in its own way but not especially affecting. In its homey style and jokiness it's as comfortable as an old shoe, and I don't know that a movie about cancer should be comfortable.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/5050_2011/

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