By all accounts, it should have gone all wrong. A “Fault In Our Stars”-like movie about a girl dying of cancer; a twee, quirky, and self-referential ode to cinema; and, on paper, the kind of prototypical Sundance movie that makes you run screaming in the opposite direction. But "Me And Earl And The Dying Girl," directed by a filmmaker known for horror of all things (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon), simply hit all the right notes and charmed the pants off everyone in Park City. So much so that it won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. In short, the movie achieved the rare feat of pleasing both critics and audiences.
Basically, this is no teen-com weepie and is much more an exploration of friendship, coming of-age, and a sad/funny look at the difficulties of navigating high school life. Our review from Sundance called the movie “authentic…wonderfully funny, bittersweet & inventive.” Here’s the official synopsis:
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is the uniquely funny, moving story of Greg (Thomas Mann), a high school senior who is trying to blend in anonymously, avoiding deeper relationships as a survival strategy for navigating the social minefield that is teenage life. He even describes his constant companion Earl (RJ Cyler), with whom he makes short film parodies of classic movies, as more of a ‘co-worker’ than a best friend. But when Greg’s mom (Connie Britton) insists he spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) – a girl in his class who has just been diagnosed with cancer – he slowly discovers how worthwhile the true bonds of friendship can be.
“Me And Earl And The Dying Girl” stars Thomas Mann, Olivia Cook, R.J. Cyler, and features a great supporting cast of Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal, and Connie Britton. The film opens in limited release on June 12th. Two new clips have been released, as well as some new photos, and they’ll hopefully help orient you to the film’s tone and flavor. Watch below and let us know what you think.
