Simply Perfect

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' is a solid coming-of-age film - it's charming and funny and definitely not as depressing as the title may have you believe. It's a simple concept - the not-quite nerdy, not-quite cool high-schooler, Greg (Mann), is forced by his mum to hang out with a classmate who has just being diagnosed with leukaemia, Rachel (Cooke). It's starts off as an awkward friendship, but slowly turns into genuine friendship.Earl (Cyler) is great as Greg's only friend (or "co-worker" as he calls him) and lots of the film's fun comes from the parodies they make together of classic films - such as 'Senior Citizen Cane', 'The Seven Seals', 'A Sockwork Orange', 'Eyes Wide Butt' & my favourite, 'Grumpy Cul-de-Sacs'! - most featuring clever animation and hilarious ultra-low-budget imitations. Earl acts as Greg's conscience when he turns into a shellfish teenager and forgets about Rachel's actual problems. The parents (Shannon, Offerman & Britton) all have some great scenes.The film's score, by Brian Eno, is fantastic and really adds to the emotion, especially towards the end. The finale is handled well and shows impact we can have others' lives by just being there for them. Sure, it's sad in parts, but it's realistic and it is nice to watch how Greg and Rachel handle the situation mostly with good-humour. The funny moments outweigh the sad ones and make this an enjoyable film.

. . . Retitling novelist Jesse Andrews' work ME AND EARL AND THE DEAD GIRL as - & - & THE DYING GIRL. When Fox starts its classic movie channel to compete against Arch-Rival Ted Turner and CNN's current old movie recycling center, expect to see loads of similar Renamings from the folks who invented Fake News and Alternative Facts. For instance, SHOOTING THE BREEZE is a much more indefinite approach to the War to End Racist Southern Dudes' Black Slavery than GONE WITH THE WIND (four words which suggest gloom and doom). Similarly, TITANIC has become a buzzword for terrible tragedy, so expect Fox to screen History's second-most popular bladder-buster as SHOOTING FOR A TRANS-ATLANT!C CROSSING RECORD. John Steinbeck's indictment of the Rich People Party's Government Of-, By-, and For the Fat Cat One Per Centers--GRAPES OF WRATH--won't sit well with Fox's target audience (most of whom possess brains held hostage by Stockholm Syndrome), so Fox will try to maintain ratings by offering it as a more Panglossian-sounding SHOOTS OF GRASS. And surely THE SMITH WHO SHOD LIBERTY VALANCE will be less of a Dead-Giveaway than is the original title of this James Stewart\Marion Morrison Oater.

Life changes for a philosophical high school student when his mother guilts him into keeping a classmate dying of leukemia company in this quirky comedy starring Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler and Olivia Cooke as the three title characters. The trajectory of the film is not hard to predict with Mann (the 'Me' in the title) coming to truly appreciate his new friend and reevaluate the way he has pigeonholed all of his peers over the years. And yet, the film remains thoroughly encapsulating thanks to witty, observant narration from Mann and a fun subplot in which Mann and Cyler "swede" classic films, 'Be Kind Rewind' style. There are some well done moose and chipmunk claymation scenes too that reflect how Mann feels about the girl who he has a crush on taunting him. It is Mann's highly calculated approach to surviving the high school experience that stands out the most though with his attempts to befriend everyone and every clique at his school to avoid developing enemies. He makes for a fascinating character too with his reluctance to call anyone a true friend out of fear of rejection. The final few scenes of the film go a little overboard in his painting Man as a generous, giving and selfless soul behind his detached exterior, but there is a lot to like in the way Mann comes to realise that he is not quite as cynical as he once thought. Given the key themes of death and dying, the movie makes a sharp argument for never letting oneself get too detached in life no matter how hard some things may be to endure.

I prepared myself with tissues considering the subject matter. I did cry, but not because the film was good. It wasn't good, it was very bad. It tried too hard to be quirky, and at times it reminded me of the film, Juno. Kids with snappy one liners-- saying things that young people don't say. The girl dying from cancer had a Mom who was drunk,and overly inappropriate with the girl's male friends. That was about it. She also had a weird sad face. Somewhere between drunk, and constipated. The young man wasn't likable, in fact his emotionless quips were slightly psychotic. And his parents were so odd, and one dimensional. The Dad, he always plays the same type of character in all his films, Nick somebody-- aka. Ron Swanson in a caftan. No one stood out too me at all. I don't remember their names, or what they said, or did. The ending was particularly creepy -- the boy sneaking into the dead girl's room and looking at her things, and trying to find meaning in it. It was empty.