Anna Kendrick sped through the early stages of her career. Her first two feature films, Camp and Rocket Science, earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. A couple of subsequent television roles and smaller films were soon followed by a part in the Twilight saga, launching a sensible level of stardom that has shown no signs of slowing. With major highlights early on, like Twilight and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Kendrick is largely known for her comedic parts. Pitch Perfect put her vocal skills on full display, and turns in Into the Woods, The Last Five Years, and the Trolls franchise have kept that streak going.
It’s not always completely lighthearted for Kendrick, however. A Simple Favor, the dark-comedy / psychological thriller that pitted Kendrick against co-star Blake Lively, finally has a sequel in the works. Moreover, her directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, combines true crime mystery with an introspective dramatic lens and currently holds a cozy 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The only film to top it is one of her absolute best performances, and it’s also her highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes. 50/50, which deservedly sits at 93% on the Tomatometer, is just as worthy of a watch over a decade after its release.
What Is ’50/50′ About?
50/50 takes the tragedy of an unexpected illness, conveying it in the most digestible, down-to-earth way. Joseph Gordon-Levitt leads as Adam, an unassuming late-20s journalist who leads a simple, relatively healthy, and uneventful life. That is until a doctor’s visit to investigate some back pain reveals a rare form of cancer: schwannoma neurofibrosarcoma. He does what all doom-ridden millennials do — scours the internet, heading toward the inevitable pessimism it offers. Hit with the revelation that his diagnosis comes with a 50/50 chance of survival, Adam turns to his girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard), his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen), and a resident hospital therapist in training, Katherine (Kendrick), none of whom are properly prepared to carry the burden, despite their best efforts.
Anna Kendrick Was Fresh Off an Oscar Nomination From ‘Up in the Air’
In the grand view of Kendrick’s career, the somber tone of 50/50 is a departure from the usual, lighter tone in which she thrives, but it’s not entirely outside the norm for Kendrick to venture into the more serious side of things. 50/50 came on the heels of an Academy Award nomination for Kendrick. Up in the Air, the 2009 film by Jason Reitman, was an Oscar darling across the board, earning nominations for Kendrick, George Clooney, and Vera Farmiga, and nods for Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. In that film, she played the spearheading initiative-taker that shook up Clooney’s comfortable — if not unorthodox — life. Kendrick could not have made a smarter choice for herself, playing a higher caliber card before the franchises and blockbusters stacked the résumé. 50/50 continued in the realm of grounded drama but with a much more tepid and doe-eyed character.
Adam, Gordon-Levitt’s overly sincere and impossibly endearing protagonist, comes to Kendrick’s Dr. Katherine McKay when she’s early in her career and following her educational guidelines with biblical devotion. Every emotion Adam feels has a corresponding identifier from her training, and Katherine is adamant about audibly pointing them out in every instance. Adam, who is barely able to juggle his world-shattering news between his distant (and unfaithful) girlfriend, his overbearingly unhelpful parents, and his well-intentioned yet naive best friend, finds himself accidentally accommodating Katherine’s apprehension and nervousness because that’s just the kind of guy he is. Naturally, the good-natured sides of Adam and Katherine gravitated together, and they find themselves juggling romantic attraction in the most not-okay setting for such an escapade.
’50/50′ Uses Comedic Actors to Strike an Emotional Chord
Every member has dipped their feet into more serious roles over the years, but 50/50 is built around faces more commonly recognized in comedic settings. One of 50/50‘s greatest strengths is its willingness to jovially tackle a lived-in, real-world matter often made with a certain solemn aura in on-screen depictions. Rogen, speaking with Entertainment Weekly, aptly acknowledged how this makes the film a unique entity, setting it apart from other dramas centered on an ailment as awful as cancer. “I know for a fact that some people are appalled by this movie,” he said, commenting on 50/50‘s exclusion from Oscar recognition. “I think it must be people who have very, very personal connections to the subject matter and just can’t emotionally disconnect from their own experience. I respect that. But what we found for the most part is that people like to laugh at tragedy. It makes them feel better.”
This piece won’t tread into spoiler territory, even though a revelatory outcome isn’t quite the point of 50/50. Heartache is an expected factor in any film juggling cancer as a subject, and 50/50 most definitely deserves a watch — especially for anyone who thinks they’d better stomach the matter with a touch of humor. It’s in excellent hands with Kendrick, Gordon-Levitt, and Rogen, who give us the rare chance to laugh as much as we cry in one sitting.
50/50 is available to watch on Max in the U.S.
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