Erin
4/25/16
Me, Earl,
and the Dying Girl
Gomez-Rejon, A. (Director). (2015). Me, earl, and the dying girl
[Motion Picture].
Greg is a senior in high school. Over
the past 4 years he has worked to carefully craft an ‘in’ with every social
group on campus – just enough so people know him, but nothing more. His only
real friend is Earl his “business partner” who has known him since he was 4 and
makes movie spoofs with him in their free time. When Rachel, one of Greg’s
acquaintances, is diagnosed with leukemia, Greg’s mother pushes him to reach
out to her and spend time with her. Reluctantly Greg does so, but slowly finds
that Rachel is something special and could become a true friend. As their
friendship grows, Rachel’s cancer worsens. As she becomes sicker, Rachel’s
friend, Maddie, seeks out Greg and Earl to have them make one of their movies
for Rachel. Reluctantly, they agree but can’t find the right story to give her.
Months roll by and Rachel’s chemo is not making her better. She decides to stop
her treatment, urging Greg to quickly complete the movie for her. On prom
night, Greg goes to see Rachel at the hospital. He shows her the film and as
she watches she slips into a coma and then dies. But in the wake of her death,
Greg learns that he can still discover more about their friendship and Rachel’s
support of his future.
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s film was
beautiful. Both comical and dramatic, Me,
Earl, and the Dying Girl captures the themes of friendship and loyalty as
well as portraying a realistic view the high school world. The pressures that
the three main characters face are real and raw. It was very easy to connect to
Rachel, Earl, and Greg. High schoolers
would thoroughly enjoy this film and it would make a great compliment for the
novel it is based on.
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