Dorky kid Greg Gaines (played by the brilliant and unlikely named Thomas Mann) has severe issues with closeness (he calls his best friend a “co-worker”) and is instructed by his mother to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a girl recently diagnosed with cancer. Far from being an indie tear-jerker, though, “this isn’t a touching romantic story”, as Greg’s narration reminds us. This is not least to the quirky nature of the film and the third titular character Earl, Greg’s closest co-worker, who acts as the moral glue between Greg and Rachel.
In addition to hilarious writing and amazing performances, the film is laced with pop-cultural references by way of the movies that Greg and his Earl shoot in their spare time – spoofy takes on cult movies with titles like Sockwork Orange. Moving without being melodramatic, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a charmingly off-kilter fish-out-of-water plot about making friends, dealing with death, and enjoying life best as one can.
"Me and Earl is a levelheaded, irreverent riposte to such fictions, but it's also something rare-a story about ordinary male-female friendship."
— Jonathan Romney
"A gem from Gomez-Rejon. Intrigued to see what he does next."
— Adam Woodward
Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.
Spirit Awards
1 nomination
Sundance
2 wins
It’s a really honest movie and it well-captured the life of high school of an ordinary student. I could relate to awkwardness of Greg Gaines, a self-loathing boy who are forced to be friend with the dying girl. It’s not anything like The Fault in Our Stars, as no romance bloomed between Greg and the dying girl, just a pure friendship story. If you like old movies, you would find this movie interesting because Greg made films parodying the name of old movies. The story is simple and funny, something you won’t expected from a movie about cancer. I was laughing and also shed some tears watching this movie. I could say that this is the best movie I’ve ever watched as there has been no other movies that leave me with such feelings.
This movie is about two young filmmakers who navigate adolescence and relationships. One of these relationships introduces them to loss. It’s one of the best teen movies I’ve ever seen.