James McAvoy 'With Cancer'

By Sarah Sluis

Serious illnesses are rarely the focal point of movies. They often seem to occur in the third act; offering us a deus ex machina revenge for a particularly evil person, or blighting an otherwise saintly person so we can feel the tragedy of it all. A movie like Philadelphia was as much a political film and courtroom drama as a movie about a man dying of AIDS. My Sister's Keeper, while moving, drew in a niche audience in search of a "weepie."

When illness blends with comedy, it's a trickier road. Patch Adams, which starred Robin Williams, was a comedy that also made you cry. Most recently, Funny People drew mixed reviews from both critics and mass audiences. While some people loved the film, others were more resistant. Regardless, it was a difficult movie to pull off, with 2 1/2 hours of tonal changes. Plus, when you're gathering up some friends for a movie night, a downer in the logline is one of the surest ways for someone to suggest another film.

Into this environment, the project formerly titled I'm With Cancer has managed to move forward, and production is scheduled to start in January. James McAvoy just signed on to star in the movie, and Seth Rogen (who also appeared in Funny People) will co-star and produce along with Evan Goldberg and writer-producer Ben Karlin. Nicole Holofcener (Friends with Money) will direct. McAvoy will play a 25-year-old who is diagnosed with cancer, and treats his illness with a good dose of humor. The story is based on the real-life experience of screenwriter Will Reiser, which I imagine will make the script more compelling and filled with realistic details and humor instead of sweeping insensitivities.

The production company, Mandate, has produced a number of films that have straddled cute and serious, namely teen pregnancy escapade Juno (a movie in which I also laughed and cried), but also upcoming The Baster, in which a sabotaged artificial insemination takes center stage. While seeing a movie about cancer isn't number one on my to-do list, I'm curious about how the screenplay reads and the exact tone of the movie. If the title change and marketing campaign strike the right note, people could be lining up for a movie about one of the worst things you could ever hear. And Reiser survived, so at least this comedy will have a happy ending.