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Although director Jonathan Levine’s film is billed
as a comedy and co-stars Seth Rogan, do not be deceived
by the label. There are laughs aplenty, but there will also
be tears, tears that this film comes by honestly. The film’s
title comes from the odds for survival of 27 year-old Adam
Lerner, stricken with a rare form of spinal cancer. Amidst
co-star Rogan’s usual profanity and sexual comments, you
will encounter a tender, deeply moving drama of a young
man struggling with and adjusting to the severe treatment
of the disease, with loving support from best friend Kyle
(Rogan) and numerous persons in and out of his family. ***
Screenwriter Will Reiser based his script on his own
battle with cancer (and the support he received from real
life friends such as Seth Rogan), so the story is authentic
and free of the usual weepiness of such medical dramas.
Adam is wonderfully played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and
Anjelica Houston is his protective mother, also burdened
with the care of her Alzheimer-afflicted husband. Seth Rogan
is his usual raunchy self, but in several tender moments
we see him as the kind of loyal friend whom we would want
beside us if we had to go through chemotherapy and related
treatments. Although not a religious man, Adam learns what,
and who, is important in his life—and just how precarious
everything can be (note his last name). Hitherto his life
as a writer for an NPR radio program had been idyllic, and
then comes the day following his physical exam for the cause
of his back ache when his doctor gave him the lab results,
coldly telling him that he had cancer and that his chances
are 50/50. The medic’s concern was that of a mechanic informing
a customer that he needs a new carburetor.***
Not all persons can cope with the heavy demands of living
closely with one undergoing cancer treatment, and live-in
girlfriend Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard) turns out to be
one of these, despite her initial promise to stand by Adam.
Fortunately, there are plenty of others besides Kyle and
Mother who render support, including two fellow members
of a cancer support group, beautifully played by Philip
Baker Hall and Matt Frewer. Most meaningful, however, is
Katherine (Anna Kendrick, who delighted us as George Clooney’s
naïve assistant in Up in the Air), his therapist. At first
their relationship as therapist-client is played for comedy.
When he comments that she looks too young to be a therapist,
she admits to being an intern, a candidate for her doctorate
and that he is just the third patient she has dealt with.
As they continue to meet, she begins to lose her detachment
because of the suffering he is going through. Adam, I observed
earlier, learns what is important in life. This is often
the case of those thrust into painful situations beyond
their control, and who survive the ordeal.
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