Movie Review - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl *** (out of 5) (PG-13) This low-key indie dramedy has a lot going for it. Compared to most high school coming-of-age stories, it’s buoyed by some hilarious tidbits, even though the overall tone - as presaged by the title - is pretty somber. Greg (Thomas Mann) is giving us a tour of his senior year. He’d planned to maintain the carefully cultivated safety of his low profile, free from identification with any social faction to avoid the enmity of other cliques. His only friend since kindergarten had been Earl (RJ Cyler) - another recluse. Greg is smart, funny, gawky and overwhelmed by insecurities. When a classmate he barely knows, Rachel (Olivia Cooke), is diagnosed with advanced leukemia, his well-meaning Hippie mom (Connie Britton) bullies him into spending time with her.

Neither of the kids is interested in forging a friendship, but their initial unease starts to thaw. The duty becomes habit, and more enjoyable for both. When Earl joins in, we learn about the spoof films the guys have secretly been making for years, giving us most of our biggest laughs. The rest follows them through that school year, with assorted ups and downs, as narrated and enacted from Greg’s perspective. The story is refreshingly non-Hollywood, as Greg’s voice-overs frequently remind us.

That variation provides the most and least appealing aspects of the production. It’s wonderful to see all the conventional feelgood character arcs eschewed. But we’ve become so conditioned to likable protagonists finding love, popularity, payback for the bullies, new purpose for the future, etc. that any foray into more realistic territory can seem less satisfying.

On the upside, whether the seed came from Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s directing or Jesse Andrews’s screenplay, the use of claymation to illustrate elements of teen angst was delightful and effective. The clips of Greg and Earl’s homages to movies they loved were n ot only hilarious, but vital to the main story. The three principals deliver fine performances - especially Cooke, who may be best known as Emma in the TV series, Bates Motel. That character also has serious medical issues, rolling her oxygen tank wherever she goes. I hope she gets to try some roles as healthy young women before she’s old enough for the lead in a future remake of Camille. (6/26/15)