Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

[Absolute Zero]

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama | 12 June 2015 (USA)
8.2 Your rating: -/10 Ratings: 8.2/10 from 2,220 users Metascore: 74/100
Reviews: 23 user | 94 critic | 38 from Metacritic.com
High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.

Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Writers: Jesse Andrews (novel), Jesse Andrews (screenplay)
Stars: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke | See full cast and crew

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Saw this last night and really enjoyed, very well done and unique in many ways. Its getting a 82/90 on Rotten Tomatoes, so apparently its not just me.

Winner of the 2015 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is the story of Greg Gaines (Thomas Mann), an awkward high school senior whose mom forces him to spend time with Rachel - a girl in his class (Olivia Cooke) with whom he hasn't spoken to since kindergarten - who was just diagnosed with cancer. (C) Fox Searchlight

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/me_and_earl_and_the_dying_girl/?search=me and

 

[crisper57]

Earl, The Dying Girl, and Me

BIM

 

[ajcardfan]

Took my daughters to see this tonight and I have to say it was pretty damn good. They all proclaimed it much better than the more ballyhooed "Fault in the Stars". Which I didn't see.

Gotta say, there were some very talented young actors in this movie. I'll be interested to see where they go from here.

 

[Stout]

Took my daughters to see this tonight and I have to say it was pretty damn good. They all proclaimed it much better than the more ballyhooed "Fault in the Stars". Which I didn't see.

Gotta say, there were some very talented young actors in this movie. I'll be interested to see where they go from here.

Excellent use of "ballyhood", good sir!

 

[Cheesebeef]

solid little indie flick.

 

[Absolute Zero]

My youngest son is going to be senior next year. During the show, I just kept looking over at him laughing, much of this was sooooooooooo familiar, they really nailed it.

I read the guy who wrote this actually went to the Pittsburgh high school depicted in the film. Pretty sure this was his first novel and screen play

 

[ajcardfan]

My youngest son is going to be senior next year. During the show, I just kept looking over at him laughing, much of this was sooooooooooo familiar, they really nailed it.

I read the guy who wrote this actually went to the Pittsburgh high school depicted in the film. Pretty sure this was his first novel and screen play

They did nail it. I've taught high school for 20 years and the history teacher definitely reminded me of a guy who has taught at my school for the last four years. Can't wait to ask if he saw himself in the movie.

It was also accurate on the lunch situation. I've had kids eating lunch in my room almost every year I've taught because they want nothing to do with sitting in the cafeteria or courtyard where, god forbid, you can't sit at the wrong table.

I call bs on the history teacher's office though. If it is true that teachers somewhere get that much of an office that is all their own, then I am extremely jealous.

 

[Bert]

I thought half of it was really solid and the 2nd half completely fell apart.

The whole narration trickary was just lame and lazy writing, like oh we're gonna trick you! lol I just think that is a ridiculous device used to create an unnecessary plot twist because teenagers now cant keep their attention focused on anything unless there is a narrator snapping their ADD back into focus.

It just ended with no real resolution. I'm not mad how it ended, I just think how they got there was dumb it was like the director was making this fun, realistic teenage movie and you're right they did nail a ton of it, but then the movie had a clear moment where it was like, oh yeah wait, we're making a tear jerker, gotta snap back into that somehow, but how, oh wait here we go. We'll have the narrator tie up all these loose ends in a pretty bow, that will fix everything!

Anyways not going to rip it apart with stuff I didn't like. First half was fantastic and I just think they missed an opportunity in the 2nd half because I literally felt NOTHING when it all got resolved. Nobody in the theater that I saw was crying or emotional at all. No lessons learned, no heartstrings pulled.

It's not just this movie, I absolutely hate the narrator device being used to create plot twists.

Again, I didn't hate it, I just didn't care for the last 30-45 mins of the film and thought it fell apart after building a solid, funny, heartfelt base.

 

[Absolute Zero]

I guess I was enjoying the film too much to notice these "defects". I am not a very good critic though.

But its pretty impressive, this is based upon the writer, Jesse Adams', first novel, published when he was 20, in 2012, and which he then adapted for film. Not too shabby of a start https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Andrews

 

[Bert]

I guess I was enjoying the film too much to notice these "defects". I am not a very good critic though.

]

Cool to each their own I tried to be polite about it and not rip it because you clearly enjoyed it, which is great.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Cool to each their own I tried to be polite about it and not rip it because you clearly enjoyed it, which is great.

Thanks man!

No worries though. Feel free to rip away. I am a critical thinker for a living, but when it comes to movies, I just try to enjoy myself. So I am not super analytical or anything.

 

[Bert]

Spoiler

not really a rip, and to be honest I see ALOT of movies so I am probably too critical, but I just felt like the first half of this was soooooo funny. So charming and honest, a really good look at what it's like for teenagers now and how hard it would be for a young girl with cancer.

Then once she started to decline they really detached us from her side of the story and the narration thing just annoyed the crap out of me the whole, 'she's not gonna die I promise, she's not gonna die, oh BTW, she just died' I just thought it was a really lame mechanism to tell that part of the story and I didn't like it but I am not a fan of narrator filling in plot gaps anyways.

The last scene was nice because it was her way of telling him how much their time together had meant to her, but I guess I wanted him to actually return those feelings because that was the whole point of his character, he had closed himself off to the world to be safe, she and Earl were trying to get him out. Did they? For Gods sake Greg give her a hug or something! I guess his hug was the movie, but screw metaphorical hugs!

The ONLY reason I'm critical of the second half is because the first half of the movie I felt like was one of the best I've seen all year. The drug scene was so freaking hilarious. And I was really impressed with Shane from the Walking dead. That guy can act! I thought all he could do was the hardass, Shane type of guy but I totally bought him as the cool teacher. The kids were all great. The parents were great, Molly Shannon was great.

So see, I really did like it. It's just that Damn narrator!!! lol I hate that!!!

 

[Stout]

This movie was an A+++++ for me. So wonderful, so funny, so touching, so painful, so effing honest.

When I whine about how Hollywood lacks originality; when I whinge about remakes and reboots; when I rip mainstream schlock to shreds; when I post that there are really good original movies out there; when I do any and all of the above, I can refer to movies like this to prove my points.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This movie was an A+++++ for me. So wonderful, so funny, so touching, so painful, so effing honest.

When I whine about how Hollywood lacks originality; when I whinge about remakes and reboots; when I rip mainstream schlock to shreds; when I post that there are really good original movies out there; when I do any and all of the above, I can refer to movies like this to prove my points.

Unfortunately, Hollywood can refer to movie's like this box office return to prove why it continues to make reboots, remakes, sequels and comic book movies.

 

[Stout]

Unfortunately, Hollywood can refer to movie's like this box office return to prove why it continues to make reboots, remakes, sequels and comic book movies.

And thus I curse my fellow man

 

[Cheesebeef]

And thus I curse my fellow man

ha.

 

[PDXChris]

This movie was an A+++++ for me. So wonderful, so funny, so touching, so painful, so effing honest.

When I whine about how Hollywood lacks originality; when I whinge about remakes and reboots; when I rip mainstream schlock to shreds; when I post that there are really good original movies out there; when I do any and all of the above, I can refer to movies like this to prove my points.

So, now it is time to thanks the Rock's Candy Ass so you could enjoy this one.

In case you forgot, I foreshadowed it bit.

Cinema is not what it used to be. Most go to the theater for the experience, not the story. If I want story, I say home and watch it in the confort of my home. I go to the theater for mindless entertainment that will blow me away with noises and explosions. I think you will start to see smaller theaters with mostly large screens and one or two smaller ones. There is a shift and these blockbusters need this to continue to thrive. If anything, I think it shows that the threater is not dead yet and that is thanks to the, as you call it, "decroded pile of crap". If anything, you should be kissing the Rock's Candy Ass since he is making movies that keep theaters in business so you can watch "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl".

 

[Bada0Bing]

This movie was an A+++++ for me. So wonderful, so funny, so touching, so painful, so effing honest.

When I whine about how Hollywood lacks originality; when I whinge about remakes and reboots; when I rip mainstream schlock to shreds; when I post that there are really good original movies out there; when I do any and all of the above, I can refer to movies like this to prove my points.

Yeah, this was fantastic. I love when they surround relatively unknown actors in staring roles with a solid supporting cast.

 

[JerkFace]

This was one of the few times that the movie was actually much better than the book. In the book the lead character is just a a-hole with no redeeming qualities. The movie makes him much more likable and actually gives him an emotional arch.

 

[Rivercard]

the movie had a clear moment where it was like, oh yeah wait, we're making a tear jerker

There is usually a big difference between men and women when they say "I went through a whole box of tissues watching that film last night".