50/50

A 27-year-old radio writer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer; the movie’s title comes from his odds of overcoming it (not to spoil anything, but Will Reiser’s script is based on his own experience, and he’s still around). Our hero must cope not only with his chemotherapy, but with the varied reactions of his best friend (Seth Rogen), his shallow girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), his hovering mother (Anjelica Huston), and his inexperienced shrink-in-training (Anna Kendrick). “Cancer comedy” may sound like an oxymoron, but that’s what this is, and it’s surprisingly funny, while also honestly poignant and dramatic. Under Jonathan Levine’s light-fingered direction, the cast is at its best, including Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer as Gordon-Levitt’s fellow patients.