Sunday I spent the entire day hungover and lying on my brand new couch that was delivered the day before (my first big adult purchase!). I finally had time to get caught up and watch my Netflix rentals that I've been sitting on for weeks. Turns out, they're both critically acclaimed movies that are supposed to be darkly humorous. And their plots both deal with cancer.
The first one I watched was 50/50. The previews for this movie made it look funny and quirky, even thought the plot is about a young guy getting cancer. It seemed like pretty much all of the funny parts were in the previews, because the movie itself was little more depressing. On top of getting a rare form of cancer at 27 (my age, yikes!), this poor guy has questionable taste in best friends and girlfriends, along with an overbearing mother and father with Alzheimer's. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good movie, just don't watch it if you're looking for something funny. It's been nominated for a lot of awards, including the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical. I loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the lead (he was nominated for a Golden Globe) and Seth Rogan as his seemingly self-involved best friend. Anna Kendrick from "Up In the Air" was charming as his psychologist-in-training. Anjelica Huston is making a comeback these days, first playing the mother in this movie and now a leading role in the over-hyped TV series "Smash."
The movie I watched after that was "Beginners." This dark comedy (that is at heart a love story) is inspired by the writer/director's real relationship with his father. Ewan McGregor (love him, why has he not been in more recently??) plays a son who not only finds out that his father has terminal cancer, but also after a very long marriage is actually gay. Christopher Plummer plays the charming father with such warmth and light that I think he's well-deserving of all the awards his winning (Golden Globe, Critic's Choice, a nomination for an Oscar). McGregor is trying to understand his father's choices while falling in love with a French actress (played by the charming and beautiful Melanie Laurent who I recognized from "Inglorious Bastards"). The movie's shot in a unique way, with flashes of people and objects representing a change in time. Somehow this movie is depression but uplifting, about being lonely and in love. Plus there's a really cute Jack Russel Terrier.
I would recommend seeing both of these movies, just not in a row. In a row, it gets to be depressing. And now I feel like I should see a doctor to make sure I don't have cancer.
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