Official Australian release date: 3/9/15.
Viewed: 23/8/15.
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Actors: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler,
Olivia Cooke, Molly Shannon
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Rating:
M
‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ is a
solid coming-of-age film – it’s charming and funny and definitely not as
depressing as the title may have you believe. It’s a simple concept – the not-quite
nerdy, not-quite cool high-schooler, Greg (Mann), is forced by his mum to hang
out with a classmate who has just being diagnosed with leukaemia, Rachel (Cooke).
It’s starts off as an awkward friendship, but slowly turns into genuine
friendship.
Earl (Cyler) is great as Greg’s only
friend (or “co-worker” as he calls him) and lots of the film’s fun comes from
the parodies they make together of classic films – such as ‘Senior Citizen Cane’,
‘The Seven Seals’, ‘A Sockwork Orange’, ‘Eyes Wide Butt’ & my favourite, ‘Grumpy
Cul-de-Sacs’! – most featuring clever animation and hilarious ultra-low-budget
imitations. Earl acts as Greg’s conscience when he turns into a shellfish teenager
and forgets about Rachel’s actual problems. The parents (Shannon, Offerman
& Britton) all have some great scenes.
The film’s score, by Brian Eno, is
fantastic and really adds to the emotion, especially towards the end. The
finale is handled well and shows impact we can have others’ lives by just being
there for them. Sure, it’s sad in parts, but it’s realistic and it is nice to watch
how Greg and Rachel handle the situation mostly with good-humour. The funny
moments outweigh the sad ones and make this an enjoyable film.
Overall: Realistic, sometimes
poignant, and mostly-fun film
Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.
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