50/50

Last night I snuck out of the house, left Steve with the babes, and met my sister and a friend at the movie theater.  Luxury!!! 

We saw the movie 50/50 and I would definitely recommend it. It's a really poignant look at a 20-something guy diagnosed with cancer and how he and those around him deal with it.Yeah, it's got some teary moments but there are also a lot of laughs.

Everyone around Adam (Joseph Gordon Levitt) flails, to various degrees, in their reaction to his cancer diagnosis but it's Kyle (Seth Rogen) who steps up and even further into their friendship. And that's what I really loved about this movie (besides the fact that Anna Kendrick is fantastic once again). Kyle's methods, using his friends sickness to pick up girls and joking about everything, may feel calloused and  juvenile but it's real. And Adam finds that his support, both conventional and unconventional is the best link to his real self in his new world. It's not often we see really REAL male friendships on screen that go beyond surface jokes and sports. But this friendship? It's the real deal.

While watching this movie, I was reminded of a moment in my own life. My world had just collapsed and I was reeling. My friend and I had planned a shopping date before everything had blown up around me and that Saturday we met anyway. My new reality hung over us but, instead of quizzing me, coddling me or sitting me down over coffee to talk it out, we shopped. We shopped and laughed and talked about clothes and shoes and I was blessedly relieved of the need to process anything beyond the fit of jeans and color of a sweater. When we parted ways she gave me a hug and I thanked her for letting me be normal that day. It was a gift that I will be forever grateful for.

That is the friendship I saw on screen. It's rough and awkward and navigated blindly in a new landscape. But, it's also generous with time and emotion and ready to give what is needed in the moment. It's a space where tears and laughter can mingle.