50/50Movie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 72 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 OK for kids 17+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Arizona Republic | Bill Goodykoontz

    50/50 is a tremendous movie. It's also a really funny one, which doesn't mean it won't make you cry. Read full review

  • 100
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Every performance in the film is flawless. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    A movie handled with this kind of care is a rare gift. Refusing to hide from pain or bow to it, 50/50 makes its own rules. It'll get to you. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Like another recent feel-good film about the disease, Gus Van Sant's "Restless," it creates a comforting myth. That's one of the things movies are good for. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    The result is a duet of outstanding loveliness between Kendrick and Gordon-Levitt, also an actor of nuanced control. Read full review

  • 75
    ReelViews | James Berardinelli

    There is a wealth of authenticity in the feel of the movie, as if Levine and/or his writer have endured some of this stuff. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    As a comedy about a young man with cancer, it needs to be serious enough to be real as well as light enough to be funny. Though it falls off the wagon at times, it maintains its balance remarkably well. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Justin Chang

    Will Reiser's semiautobiographical script initially prescribes too artificial a story treatment for its characters but is rescued by a genial, low-key vibe that builds in sensitivity and emotion up through the final reels. Read full review

  • 60
    Village Voice |

    Although it veers maudlin in its final act - 50/50 mostly succeeds as a movie about a young man fighting cancer that doesn't give in to sap or sentiment. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    A feel-good and slightly bad comedy-drama about a young man's fight against cancer, aims to put a tear in your eye and a sob in your throat, if not for long. Read full review

View more reviews for 50/50 on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 17+ Cancer patient questions his life in mature dramedy.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this fact-based dramedy (co-star Seth Rogen's real-life friend, Will Reiser, wrote the movie based on his own experiences) tackles some pretty heavy themes -- particularly the idea of facing the specter of death before the age of 30 -- that could overwhelm young teens attracted by the film's stars: Rogen and (500) Days of Summer's Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Expect plenty of strong language (including "f--k," "s--t," and more) and some sexually charged talk and scenes (including partial female nudity), plus drug use (both medicinal and recreational).
  • Families can talk about how the film deals with the subject matter of chronic illness -- in this case, cancer. Is Adam's reaction believable? Does it seem at all exaggerated?
  • Did you notice any sexism or stereotypes in the movie? How do the women in this movie compare to those in other Seth Rogan movies? Is this movie more or less crude than Rogan's other films? Do you think that has something to do with the subject matter?
  • The movie is based on the writer's own experiences. How true to life do you think it actually is? Why do writers/filmmakers sometimes change facts when they're making movies?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: The movie's main message is that adversity need not break you; cliched as it may sound, it can make you confront yourself and those around you as you seek a more fulfilling (and healthier in more ways than one) life.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Adam is resilient in the face of a shocking, scary diagnosis. Despite this, he's able to care for others (though he does have blind spots) and be generous with his time and friendship. And he finally learns to value himself and embrace life as he faces the possibility of death. His friends and counselor also learn from being around him. Women portrayed stereotypically.
What to watch for
  • violence false1 Violence: A guy curses out a woman and calls her derogatory names in front of someone else. Other examples of strong anger directed at a female character.
  • sex false4 Sex: A man and a woman are shown having sex (breasts are visible, but genitals are not). Frank discussions between two men about how to hit on women and get them to have sex with them. A woman is caught kissing a man who's not her boyfriend.
  • language false4 Language: Frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "d--k," "c--t," "c--k," "p---y," "a--hole," "ass," "motherf--ker," "oh my God," and more.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Some name-dropping and labels on display, including iPod, The View, Jeep, Dwell magazine, Facebook, Toyota, Rite Aid, and more.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some social drinking. Medicinal and recreational drug use. Bongs are visible; weed-laced brownies are shared.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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