Kate
The film, Me and Earl and the
Dying Girl is based on the young adult novel by Jesse Andrews and tells the story of a high
school student, Greg and how he becomes friends with a classmate named Rachel, who
has just been diagnosed with cancer. He initially makes a deal with his mom to
hang out with Rachel for one day, but their friendship grows and they continue to
watch the forty-two movies that Greg created with his best friend, Earl. However,
as times goes on, Rachel becomes more quiet and unhappy and Greg has stopped
completing his school work, which costs his him admission to Pitt State. Then,
Rachel decides to stop treatment, which enrages Greg to the point that he stops
visiting Rachel for a few weeks. When Rachel ends up back in the hospital, Greg
brings her the movie that he and Earl had been trying to create for her for
months. As Greg and Rachel watch the movie together, she begins struggling to
breathe, goes into a coma and passes away ten hours later. At the gathering
following her funeral, Greg is given a card from her and she explains how much
his friendship meant to her and that she wrote a letter to Pitt State asking
them to reconsider his admission. The final scene shows Greg printing an essay for
the Pitt State Admissions Department and placing that in an envelope along with
the video he made for Rachel with a homemade warning label stating that the
last person who watched it went into a coma and died.
The screenplay and book author, Jesse
Andrews and director, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon did an incredible job weaving comedy into this film that had the potential
to be quite a depressing journey. Early on in the movie, Greg’s mother has been
going through Greg’s things and he says to her, “I’m going to start going
through your stuff” (Gomez-Rejon,
2015) .
His father matter-of-factly replies, “I hope you like tampons” (Gomez-Rejon,
2015) .
The movies that Greg and Earl make are parodies based on classic films with
titles like “7 Deadly Seals, Senior Citizen Cane, and Rosemary Baby Carrots.” I
appreciated that Greg was the narrator as he was a complex character to
understand with his artificial relationships with the many cliques in school
and referring to his best friend as a “co-worker.” Although, I was upset that Greg
lied to the audience and told them that Rachel didn’t die and would get better.
Yet, that helped to keep this movie from being one where you’re just waiting
for the sick person to die. This film is rated PG-13 and calls for a recommended
audience of students in middle school, high school, and adults as it has themes
that can be relatable to anyone.
Website Links:
Amazon - provides a review of the book by Jesse Andrews and a list of recommended books if you liked Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. http://www.amazon.com/Me-Earl-Dying-Girl-Revised/dp/1419719602
Quotes from the movie - some funny and some dramatic - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582496/quotes
Bibliography
Gomez-Rejon, A. (Director). (2015). Me and Earl
and the Dying Girl [Motion Picture].
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