Marketing was always going to be the greatest challenge, the uphill battle, facing Jonathan Levine’s 50/50. Once the dramedy received the designation of being “the cancer comedy,” it didn’t matter how many reviews sang praises of the ensemble (virtually everyone’s fantastic) or the power of Will Reiser’s personal screenplay. All audiences would think about standing at the ticket counter was "The Big C." The U.S. ad campaign embraced it, plastering theaters with Joseph Gordon-Levitt shaving his head as a horrified Seth Rogen looked on. The French? Well, they went in a different direction, based on the new poster (via HeyYouGuys) that recently hit the Web:



The translation at the top says, “Poignant, Hilarious and Sincere.” Three terms that certainly describe Levine’s film. The Photoshopping and odd font choice, however, don’t really match the film’s tone. How is this poster any different than a Superbad poster …



… or this international Harold & Kumar poster I just found?



It isn’t different. In fact, it’s about as generic as it comes. It sells the film’s most-recognizable assets in Gordon-Levitt and Rogen, but masks the potentially uncomfortable yet frequently rewarding topics 50/50 covers. Then again, this poster doesn’t make me think of cancer at all and maybe that was the point. 50/50 is still playing in U.S. theaters. If you haven’t yet, go see it. It’s a CinemaBlend favorite, and one that many will catch up with later and wonder how they missed it in theaters. The cast is superb, the writing sneaks up on you, and it’s definitely worth your time.