Review of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) by Kelso N — 18 Sep 2015

Me and Earl and the dying girl (MAEATDG), directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by Jesse Andrews.

The title actually describes and sums up the plot well, although it is an incredibly vague synopsis. So to go into more detail, the story follows three high-school students in their final year of school, or for one, perhaps life. The late-teens include: the protagonist Greg Gaines, who narrates the movie in a deadpan Demetri Martin-esque tone; Earl Jackson, who's seen by his best friend Greg as a mere co-worker; and Rachel Kushner, the dying girl. The start of Greg and Rachel's platonic friendship is only initiated purely because of the demands of Greg's mum, so of course teenage awkwardness and hilarity ensues. On the side of hanging out with Rachel, amateur filmmakers Greg and Earl dedicate a lot of their time and effort deliberately making terrible parodies of classic movies purely because for them, it's hilarious. When Greg is asked to make a movie by a very pretty classmate for their number 1 fan Rachel, he takes on the daunting challenge purely because, as Earl would describe "titties". As creating the movie for Rachel comes along with the arbitrary dooming deadline, it takes a toll on Greg and Earl's friendship as they both try to create a movie for once that isn't just for shits and giggles. The aforementioned characters are easy-to-love/hard-to-hate and thus, easy-to-get-attached-to; especially Rachel, which is a bummer considering her "dying" description from the title.

While the book falls under the genre of young adult fiction, the film appeals to an audience of an age equal to or more than a young adult. Despite the exploration of mature concepts e.g. the emotional turmoil of undergoing treatment of what-could-be a terminal illness, it is well balanced with witty humor throughout, so the audience isn't constantly distraught (which is generally what happens when watching any movie that involves one of the main characters being diagnosed with leukemia). Albeit, if anything, there are more laughs than there are tears in this movie. The only issue with the movie is the dialogue delivery. Due to the Gilmore girls style of speedy banter, it's hard to catch everything single word being said. If you are like me and lack super sonar hearing, to refrain from repeatedly asking the person next to you "what did they just say?" subtitles may be necessary or alternatively get as close to the speakers as possible.

Provided that you haven't read the novel, the movie is unpredictable and comes with a killer soundtrack. Fans of Juno or 500 days of summer should find this movie just as appealing, as the same creators helped out in MAEATDG as well.