DVD tip "50/50"

I braced myself for a whole range of terrifying emotions I'm unfamiliar with. It's not that I wanted to be miserable for two hours, per se, but I wanted "50/50" to be so good it would put me front and center with the misery and absurd humor that a 20-something-year-old might live through when he's diagnosed with a pretty nasty cancer. I guess I willed Hollywood away and hoped for a stripped-down, motion-picture experience. But while Joseph Gordon-Levitt is both adorable and talented and Seth Rogen dependably endearing, "50/50" just didn't do it for me. The characters weren't well fleshed out, which is funny, considering the movie is based on a true story. I didn't ever really feel like Adam, the main character, was seriously ill. And maybe that was the point. He was fine one day and diagnosed with cancer the next - how to catch up to the reality of the situation when it doesn't even feel real to the person living it? There are nice moments, usually involving the two older men Adam befriends from chemo. But I could have done with less emphasis on the annoying girlfriend and attentive-but-distant mom storylines.

- JENNA CHO