Adam runs along the lakeside, catching a nice breeze to cool him off as he jogs into the city. At a traffic light, he just misses the “walk” symbol and begins to jog in place waiting patiently for the sign to change. He waits. And waits. And waits, even though there are no cars around. Another man crosses and breaks the law. Yet Adam still waits admirably. Finally, the light changes, and he briskly ventures on towards whatever the next bump in his day might be. Thus opens the film “50/50,” which I was lucky enough to catch at an advanced screening this summer.

Not your typical dramedy, “50/50” stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (JGL) as Adam, a young and motivated man working at the local radio station who is forced to face the discovery of a rare form of cancer in his spine. His odds are slim and and the film sometimes takes an emotional turn, yet still manages to have you laughing throughout the entire journey. Credit is owed to Will Reiser, the writer of the film, and Seth Rogen, who plays Adam’s best friend. The film is actually based on Resier’s life: Rogen suggested to his buddies that they write a screenplay based on their friend’s trials and tribulations after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Kyle, Rogen’s character, is essentially Rogen himself, and that’s probably why he strikes gold with every joke. Rogen has played so many quirky characters that it’s about time he gave us a bit more personal and layered performance, which he delivers. As distant and touchy as he may seem, Kyle cares deeply about Adam–he just isn’t the type of person to show it. Rogen’s moments of poignancy are just as moving as Adam’s plight. Great comedians such as Bill Murray, Jim Carrey, and Robin Williams have all ventured away from their eccentric characters and given us brilliant dramatic performances in the past. Hopefully Rogen will be joining these men soon enough.

However, more so than anything else, see this film for Gordon-Levitt’s heart-wrenching performance. The man has handled a variety of roles that range from an investigative high school student in the neo-noir film “Brick” to the blissfully blind Tom Hansen in “500 Days of Summer.” Here, he has surpassed all his previous roles. Gordon-Levitt subtly underscores Adam’s pain with a meekness that isolates him from the rest of the world. He tries so hard not to show his fear that he ends up clearly exposing it to us. While I don’t picture the performance garnering Oscar buzz, it still should draw a substantial amount of respect and recognition, especially for such a young actor.

My main (but not major) objection to the film is the slightly too cheery relationship between Adam and his therapist, Katie. To deal with the trauma of his cancer diagnosis, Adam stays as close as he can to his detached girlfriend Rachel (Bryce Dallas-Howard). When this fails, most of his emotions are poured into his not-so-pensive therapist Katie (Anna Kendrick).  I personally felt it is out of place, but hey, it’s a true story. Sometimes that’s just how life works out. Plus, I saw an advanced screening.  Who knows what will be altered by the time the film is actually released–and from the looks of the new trailer, a few more jokes were added that weren’t there before.

“50/50” tackles a lot of tough issues and a very serious subject matter. Yet, it still constantly seeks the bright side of life. I read somewhere that in one of the advanced screenings, the producers of the film asked the audience what they thought.  Most people said that they didn’t realize the film was about cancer and that if they had known, they would have skipped the movie entirely. Personally, I don’t understand why. Here’s the first film this year that gives you a story worth telling and really tries to make you care about the characters, while allowing you to laugh alongside them. I wish there were more films like this being released. I would go to the movies more regularly.