50/50: a very dishonest comedy about cancer

It's possible to find humour in almost anything although, as a recent episode of 'Family Guy' demonstrated, it can be challenging when the subject is something as sensitive as domestic violence.
The same goes for life threatening illnesses like cancer.
As anyone knows who's suffered from it or had friends or family with it, there's precious few laughs to be had in dealing with a disease which can debilitate, disfigure and kill. All of which makes 50/50 a gutsy proposition.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in this black comedy as Adam, a 27 year old radio journalist diagnosed with a rare and potentially lethal form of cancer in his spine. Seth Rogen is Kyle, his immature, foul-mouthed best friend. Kyle is convinced that cancer is a chick-magnet and persuades Adam to shave his head to better play the part of a terminally ill young man looking for a little female sympathy and company in the bars and nightclubs of Seattle.
Everyone has their own way of handling to life-changing situations and there is no right or wrong way to respond to a diagnosis of cancer.But as someone with a close friend currently battling a very serious cancer what irked me about 50/50 is it's dishonesty in its portrayal of the situation. It treats cancer as something that's barely more serious than a broken bone, and is no more of an inconvenience to the pursuit of daily life than an arm or leg in a cast.
Sure, Adam is shown vomiting after his first chemo session, and he finds himself too tired to stay out all night with Kyle chasing women, but beyond that the film doesn't so much gloss over as completely ignore the other side effects of the disease and its treatment. He shaves his head before his hair starts to fall out but at no point does he look like someone whose body is under relentless attack from within. There's no weight loss or any of the other indignities the disease can visit on the human body.
And don't get me started on the finances! Adam is employed by Seattle's NPR radio station but he appears only to be working on one short documentary feature which has no deadline, giving him buckets of time to hang out with Kyle and visit the hospital for treatment. At no point is the ugly subject raised of how he's going to pay for all this healthcare, while also covering the rent/mortgage on his very attractive house and all the other costs associated with life, like food. In return for minimal working hours Adam is apparently in receipt of America's most generous health insurance benefits. No wonder NPR is forced to run so many fundraising drives every year! Cancer may be ravaging his body but in this version of the United States it leaves his bank account and life savings untouched.
While 50/50 is to be commended for its kid-gloves free approach to the issue of cancer and, in particular the delicate subject of how to relate to the person with the cancer, it's a great shame that it has to sacrifice so much of the reality of the situation in the process. The absence of schmaltzy sentimentality is refreshing (although the ending makes a disappointingly predictable foray into this sugary territory) but the selective portrayal of the subject matter is insulting.