Movie of the Week (9/30/2011)

50/50
Director: Jonathan Levine

Mostly, 50/50 is just terribly funny and sad and beautifully acted and terrifically feel-good for being, you know, a cancer comedy. Considering that any one of those elements could have scuttled its fragile mix of drama, comedy and life-and-death stakes, it beats the odds with modest, utterly winning ease. 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.