Cancer comedy is an odd genre — I spent the whole of 50/50 in a strange unimmersed state. The most noteworthy thing about the film is the very deliberate timings between serious melancholy scenes and the silly joke scenes. The film only comes alive when it crashes the two together.

The story follows Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a healthy man who has gotten cancer at a very young age, and his changing relationships with his friends and family — mostly focusing on his best friend, Kyle (Seth Rogen).

Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are funny in their own ways, but the chemistry between the two on screen is sketchy at best. This is primarily because 50/50 is a film where Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam Lerner and Seth Rogen plays Seth Rogen.

But in truth, there’s nothing stopping you from enjoying this. There are ample moments in the film which match the comedy level of the excerpts used in the trailer (although few scenes are funnier), and, thankfully, cancer is dealt with in a realistic manner rather than wallowing in tragedy.

There are tragic elements, though — it seems almost perversely tragic that Adam’s father has Alzheimer’s. It’s not directly dealt with, giving the feel that it fell victim to the editing floor, leaving behind a side story that is nothing more than a casually depressing reference.

50/50 spends most of its time preparing you for Adam’s death and survival in equal amounts, and I’m not sure whether to commend it or loath it for finally landing on one of them and then hyperactively changing its mind and choosing the other one instead.

Unfortunately, 50/50 serves more as a method for some lighthearted cancer jokes rather than establishing any characters. This is especially prevalent with the female characters who are easily boiled down to one word descriptions (“bitch” and “awkward” come to mind).

Having said all this, I did laugh on many occasions. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does, as always, a good job. 50/50 is a damn sight better than much of the other films released this summer, despite running back and forth between sad and funny like a shoddy bi-polar impersonation.

Universal Pictures/Apatow Productions
146 min., dir. by Judd Apatow with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann

Whether you’re able to catch Funny People in the theater or wait for its release on DVD, my advice remains the same: watch the movie, laugh your guts out, and then never think about the film ever again. Perhaps more so than any other film in the Judd Apatow series, Funny People attempts the difficult challenge of combining laugh-out-loud hilarity with “real life” seriousness. But like many other films before, the drama steals run-time for the comedy, while the same effect occurs vice-versa. The result is a hypnotic cinematic experience that causes you to believe the film is excellent while viewing, but upon later reflection you may realize how residual laughter from prior scenes had distracted you from the obviously poor writing in others.

However, Judd Apatow’s third film (indicated by the movie poster, as if fans can’t count that high for themselves) delivers a large amount of positivity in spite of its flaws. First of all, Seth Rogen has yet to overstay his welcome in the comedy world, even with the high doses he’s been administered to audiences in the last few years. I’ll admit, I was pretty worried after Observe and Report that the Rogen flame had completely burned out, but his efforts in this latest role have completely restored my faith and respect for the 27-year-old actor.

Secondly, for any of you who might’ve been growing tired of Leslie Mann’s repeated bitch routine we’ve seen over and over from Big Daddy to Knocked Up, Apatow has finally returned Mann to her sweeter side, reminding us of the actress’s versatility and range. In fact, Mann has not portrayed such sweetness since her portrayal of Robin in 1996’s The Cable Guy. On the same note, if you were thinking you couldn’t stomach another shy and introverted character from Jason Schwartzman, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Schwartzman has fun wandering over to the opposite side of coin, playing Rogen’s arrogant yet hilarious roommate who you’re guaranteed to love to hate.

Lastly, and most importantly, Funny People marks the best Adam Sandler movie since…you know, I can’t even remember. Finally, a Sandler movie that doesn’t place him in a wacky situation (oh man, a remote that controls time!) or as a troubled individual in a melodramatic “think piece” who mumbles every line to show his sensitive side. Instead, Funny People lets Sandler be exactly who he is: himself. Perhaps one of the best treasures in this near two-and-a-half-hour comedy epic is actual footage from Sandler’s early years, the time of his career that consisted of flamboyant impressions, funny faces, and childish sounds. And somehow we even get the sense that Sandler is perfectly aware of what he has lost as his career has “matured.” We see George Simmons, Sandler’s character, regaining a lost part of his life’s joy as he returns to stand-up, meanwhile staring emptily at the TV as it airs his own ridiculous films (which include him playing a merman and a man with a baby’s body).

So with those points mentioned, you could do worse than spend the longer-than-average viewing time on this film. (Unless you purchased the extended director’s cut DVD. If the theatrical run time was nearly 150 minutes, I’d imagine the uncut version would be nicknamed Lord of the Funny People.) And let it be perfectly clear that Apatow could’ve done far worse as well. Even during the moments when it ceases to be funny, Funny People never fails to be fun. I would only suggest to Apatow that he remember his strengths, and to be comfortable with the knowledge that he’s not Woody Allen. I would hate to see, a few years down the road, an Apatow trailer and think, Oh yay, another comedy that teaches me about how difficult life is and how to be a good person.

Make us laugh, Mr. Apatow. Because as of right now, there’s no one better at it in the business.

I think Judd Apatow is the modern recreation of Midas. Everything he touches is comedic gold. Breaking out with The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Apatow has proven that he knows comedy. Lending a hand as a producer for Superbad, Apatow lets veteran TV director Gregg Matolla helm this one. Add Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as writers to the mix, a few well-placed cameos, and you have the recipe for one of the summer’s funniest, if not crassest, comedies. Even I, as a 30-ish male, can see parts of myself in each and every one of these characters. While not having had quite this outrageous of an adventure, I have had nights that resemble this in my younger days.

First and foremost, I have got to talk about Jonah Hill. The boy is a rising star and steals almost every single scene that he is in. Next up is Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s McLovin, er, Fogel. This kid is the epitome of dorkiness and yet seems to have the best time out of all the kids. Who wouldn’t have fun hanging out with cops, drinking and shooting guns all night long? Out of the three main characters, Michael Cera seems to be the weakest link. For most of the movie he comes off as an effeminate little boy who needs to show some courage, and while that is what the movie is about, he never really does it. Things just kind of end up working out for him by the end of the film. How can I review this film without mentioning Seth Rogen and Bill Hader as two cops who just want to be cool. Well, they are extremely funny, but all of their antics took me out of the movie for a bit. Extremely un-policeman-like behavior that would never fly in the real world.

Superbad is a twisted coming of age tale that just may be the comedy of the summer. If you enjoyed The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, you will most likely enjoy Superbad. Films like these truly speak for themselves and Superbad sure says it loudly between brays of laughter.