So, I’m sort of a pop culture fanatic. I am also a harsh critic of most movies and television shows. Though I seem to hate everything I watch, I continue to consume my life with Entertainment Weekly, Tuesday $5.75 movies, and various blogs associated with obscure television news.
Today I saw “50/50,” which you may know as the New Seth Rogan Movie With The Guy From “Inception.” This movie is the reason I continue to subject myself to all the terrible images that fill our silver and small screens.
The movie is about Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, Adam Learner, a 26-year-old who refuses to walk on the wild side. Early on in the movie he is diagnosed with a critical form of spinal cancer. He has a best friend, Kyle (aka Seth Rogan) who is that spitfire kind of guy who wants to get laid and drink a lot of beer, and a rookie therapist who is only 24.
Anyway, throughout the movie, Adam transforms from this meek sort of guy to this strong man- who just happens to have cancer. Though the movie may sell itself as a light hearted comedy about survival… it isn’t.
Adam learns (writers are so punny) to appreciate the relationships
around him. From his suffocating mother, his Alzheimer’s plagued father, to the elderly gentlemen he befriends over chemo and weed macaroons- Adam really begins to love the people who surround him- no matter how brash or crazy they are.
As someone who is normally not emotionally afflicted by movies- let me tell you… I cried. I cried like the little bee-otch I am. And when the movie was over, I had to sit for a second.
Did a Seth Rogan movie just make me bawl like a 6-year-old?
The answer, sadly, is yes. It did. And I loved every goddamn second of it.
The first thing I did when I left the theatre (by first thing, I mean after I bought a pack of cigarettes and smoked two and drove around listening to “Ashes of American Flags” by Wilco) was call my best friends and my mom. I called to tell them how much I really appreciate all of them- how lucky I am to have them in my life, and that I really love them with all my heart. That they’re the best friends I have ever had.
My mom didn’t answer, since she was busy being a great parent at my little brothers parent-teacher night, but I will be sure to call her later and tell her she has been the greatest influence in my life. And I know she’s going to read this and probably cry. Sorry, Mom, but it’s true.
But really, there is a point to my rambling. We’re human. Relationships are how we comprise and define ourselves. We often take them for granted, and it isn’t until a tragedy (in Adam’s case, cancer) that we really take the time to step back and take a look at how lucky we actually are. You really are loved by many people- cared about by even more than that. So instead of waiting for something terrible to happen to give your Grandpa a call and tell him how much you love him, why not do it today?
Seth Rogan movie or not, “50/50” really did stick with me. And I’m glad I was able to learn from Adam’s misfortune and not my own. And I know I ask a lot of favors of the people who decide to read my little blurbs but… do me a solid? Give your mom a call.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oswego chapter.