Review: Me and Earl And The Dying Girl

This is the part in the review where I disclose the fact that this film spoke to me in a deeply personal way not many films do. I saw myself in this story and thus my review is through that lense.

Me and Earl and The Dying Girl is the anti-sappy teen movie that has become a routine part of every years movie releases. The film is out to not be what you think it is when you hear the plot. A boy befriends a girl who is trying to fight off cancer. He is Greg, played by Thomas Mann. Greg is a narcissist as so many teenage boys are. He cares for very little other than himself. In fact, for most of the movie he does not change from this. Where director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon shines is in creating the moment in which Greg's outlook on life changes.

Greg and his pal Earl spend their time making silly versions of Criterion titles. This proves a fun joke that perhaps is brought back a few too many times. One can imagine Wes Anderson creating all of these in one brief montage. Each one made me laugh and here is where my viewing experience may differ from others. I, like Greg, spent most of my time in high school watching arty movies I didn't fully get. These gags in the film play with a certain specific nostalgia that many might find annoying or elitist.

As Greg meets Rachel, he begins to have to think past himself. The movie wisely avoids a love story between the two teenagers and instead focuses on the power of friendship in high school. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl is the type of movie I usually resist yet the natural performances by Mann and Olivia Cook root the film in something deeply heartfelt. The film is funny and hip without feeling forced or calculated. It easily could become a cloying mess as many films in this genre do. However Gomez-Rejon and his fantastic cast constantly hit notes of truth and tenderness that respect this time in life and understand how one person or event can shape you in these formative years.

4.5/5