'Blu-ray or Bust' - ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL

'Blu-ray or Bust'

ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL (2015, PG-13, 105 minutes, FOX SEARCHLIGHT)

Each time I sit down to watch a film aimed at a teen market, I cringe a little inside.

Okay, if you were to see me during one of those “cringes”, you’d think my face was having a seizure.  I know, I know, that’s kinda how I normally look anyways.  But consider what teen movies have subjected us to for the last several years: from the sparkly, heart-throb vampires of the stupid TWILIGHT series, to the inanity of THE HUNGER GAMES, there hasn’t been a whole lot of promising films.

And then last year, suddenly, there came a little film called THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.  It proved to young audiences that you didn’t have to have a love triangle between a vampire, a werewolf, and a horny yet expressionless female human to appreciate a (good) story.

Now comes ME AND EARL, hoping to expand into the heartstring tugging genre created by that excellent film.  And while EARL isn’t a classic, it is a decent addition to the genre I like to call “Non-Sparkling Teen Drama”.  (The one with the sparkly vampires I like to call “Sparkling Teen Drama”—STD for short.  Yeah, I went there.)

The performances of the three leads is surprisingly fresh.  There is an especially noteworthy scene between Greg (Thomas Mann, PROJECT X and FUN SIZE) and Rachel (Olivia Cooke, “Bates Motel” and THE SIGNAL).  The truest and most resplendent form of acting is never more present than it is when two actors communicate freely and effectively in a long take.  It screams of talent and appreciation of the craft, and these young actors pull it off splendidly.  Even Earl, played by the subtly awesome RJ Cyler in only his second onscreen role, does wonderful work here.  These are three enigmatic characters that you do not want to forget.

Mann is indeed a wonder to behold as a teenager who strikes up a friendship with Rachel at his mother’s (the always dependable Connie Britton) insistence.  It seems that Rachel has leukemia, and could use a good friend at the moment.  Greg and Earl are amateur filmmakers, and are soon asked to make a movie for the girl.  What follows is a tale about friendship, hope, and the undeniable necessity of growing up.  It isn’t a perfect film; some of the secondary characters, mostly the adults, are singular emotional players.  In a movie in which many of the characters are given room to exist, this waving off of the secondaries is almost distracting.

The special features aren’t so special.  You get some deleted scenes, one of which should have been included in the film just because of the performance Mann gives, and you get to see the entire film that Greg and Earl made for Rachel.  And besides a stills gallery and a commentary track, that’s it.  Nothing about the creation of the story, or how awesome the cinematography is (it is almost dizzying at times, just like life is for a teenager).  This, my friends, is a crime.

I sincerely hope that the teen genre continues in this fashion.  Movies that speak of experience and life are so much better than the ones about vampires that go to school and walk around in the daytime.  So unrealistic!  Everyone knows vampires can’t be outside in the daytime!  Freaking morons…

           

Film Grade: B

Special Features: C

Blu-ray Necessary: Not really, but I would (great sound, and those 360 degree shots…amazing!)

T.S. Kummelman