Summit Entertainment has released the first trailer for the dramedy 50/50.  Screenwriter Will Reiser based the story on his own battle with cancer. The trailer is fantastic and does a great job of balancing some funny jokes with the gravity of a guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dealing with cancer.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the first images along with Steve's thoughts on the film.  50/50 is directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), also stars Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Angelica Huston, and Phillip Baker Hall star.  It opens September 30th.

Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.

Steve recently saw the film and while he's embargoed from writing a full review, he thought all the performances were great and said "the film does a fantastic job telling a realistic story about cancer.  Also, 50/50 never tries to Hollywoodize the story, which makes everything more powerful.  Finally, like The Wackness, Levine uses some great music including one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs.  Definitely recommended."

Here's the official synopsis for 50/50:

Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. Rogen also serves as producer, along with Evan Goldberg and Ben Karlin. Jonathan Levine directs from a script by Will Reiser. "We worked with Will on Da Ali G show, and it was shortly after that we learned he was sick." Rogen recalls. "As shocking, sad, confusing and generally screwed up as it was; we couldn't ignore that because we were so ill-equipped to deal with the situation, funny things kept happening. Will got better, and when he did, we thought the best way to pull something good out of the situation was to get him to write a screenplay. Ideally we wanted to make a film that would be as funny, sad, and hopefully as honest as the experience we went through. As soon as the script was completed, it quickly became a passion project for all of us. It helped us come to terms with Will's struggle as well as our own experiences." 50/50 is the story of a guy's transformative and, yes, sometimes funny journey to health. 50/50 draws its emotional core from Will Reiser's own experience with cancer and reminds us that friendship and love, no matter what bizarre turns they take, are the greatest healers.

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