There are maybe a hundred reasons why Me and Earl and the Dying Girl shouldn't work. The title alone probably has you cringing with the "festivalness" of it, but so probably will the individual elements. They all ring as deliberately quirky and cute, a patchwork quilt of cliches that, under normal circumstances, would have you brushing the film off and looking elsewhere for something more substantive. But watch the film for just five minutes and it is guaranteed to win you over with its gigantic heart and visual inventiveness. That it resembles on the surface any number of movies filled with teen angst, when it comes to the details Me and Earl and the Dying Girl sets itself apart from the rest.
You may recall Thomas Mann from the madhouse party flick, Project X, but he plays a completely different kind of kid this time as Greg, one of those high school kids who would rather remain invisible than be a part of any clique. Or at least that's what he says, but everybody craves acceptance in some way, and Greg has found it with his best friend Earl (RJ Cyler, scene-stealer), although he refers to him only as a co-worker. Why? Fear, basically. Greg is so scared of being rejected by someone he cares for that he'd rather not have any friends at all. How does a kid like Greg develop into a painfully shy, emotionally closed-off teen? Perhaps its the influence of his overbearing mom (Connie Britton) and well-traveled but stupefying father (Nick Offerman). Greg is a lot like most people his age: he's a little but lost, unsure about the future, and too wrapped up in himself to see a path forward.
Sounds familiar, right? With humor and no small measure of grace Jesse Andrews' script subverts our every expectation. Greg's mother forces him to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a girl in school recently diagnosed with leukemia. So right away there's none of the cheesy meet-cute stuff that we're used to (his first encounters with her are unintentionally callous), and their friendship starts off pretty rocky as she doesn't want his pity. But after clarifying that it's only to get his mother off his back, she relents and it becomes one of the most important decisions in both of their lives.
Despite her illness Rachel has the wit and humor to break down Greg's chronic case of self-loathing, and a deep, meaningful bond forms between the two of them. Actually, her friendship with Earl proves to be just as rewarding, and it's another way in which the film manages to surprise. Earl is an African-American kid from the bad part of town, but he doesn't fit into the mold we're accustomed to at all. One of the film's most rewarding aspects, especially for those of us who adore movies, is Greg and Earl's passion for classic cinema, in particular foreign films. They've spent most of their lives badly remaking their favorite movies, giving them silly titled like 'Pooping Tom' and 'Senior Citizen Kane'. While Greg is too shy to share them with anyone, Earl shares them with Rachel and they become one of the few bright spots in her life as treatment gets tougher. While this whole aspect could have come off as overly precious, or as a deliberate appeal to film critics, they help shade in this wonderful story in ways that are both funny and poignant.
Surprisingly, the film was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who has spent most of his filmmaking career in the world of macabre horror like American Horror Story and The Town that Dreaded Sundown. We can all agree that the teenage years can be a complete nightmare but his natural affinity for this kind of material is still something of a shock. There are some great visual cues here, from slow-motion tracking shots (the best one coming early on in the high school cafeteria) to animated sequences filling in the vibrant colors of Greg's expanding world. Adapted form the poplar novel, Jesse Andrews' screenplay is full of all the emotional beats we want and some we don't see coming. There's a scene in which Gregg and Earl get stoned and it doesn't play out anywhere close to how we think it will. But then little about Me and Earl and the Dying Girl follows the road laid forth by so many others in the genre. While its perhaps a bit too long, and the ending seems to go on forever in an attempt to make sure everyone in the audience is soaked in tears, when its over you'll be wanting to sit back down and watch it all over again.
So maybe it sounds like a cross between The Fault In Our Stars and Be Kind Rewind, don't let the simple labels stop you from experiencing a sincerely great, honest film that will make you laugh and touch your soul.
Rating: 4 out of 5
