Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 2015

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has those handkerchief moments, but the laughs far outnumber the hard and sad punches. This is a movie that's grounded in reality, has just enough whimsy and soars to the stars. It's one of the best films of 2015. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The sharpness of the dialogue and the performances of Mann and Cooke not only make it all work, they make it all sublime. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: A funny, hip, touching and utterly irresistible comedy-drama about a trio of high-school misfits, one with stage IV leukemia, who bond over art films. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: It's tender, clever, wise and highly recommended. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: This rousing adaptation of Jesse Andrews' novel is destined not only to connect with young audiences in a big way, but to endure as a touchstone for its generation. Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: The kind of self-consciously quirky, slapdash movie that still leaves a viewer eager to find out what its director will do next. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It's a fine line between being gratingly self-conscious and really smart; more times than not, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" comes out on the winning side of that equation. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: I found myself relishing the skill of the cast and laughing at the sharply turned dialogue while wincing at the self-consciousness of the storytelling and the self-congratulatory pop-culture references. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: [The film] demonstrates a sharp eye for the teenage politics of pity. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Gomez-Rejon has a seriously promising future; this film is shot in a hundred different styles, reflecting the sentimental and cinematic education of its protagonist. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Cooke never allows us to feel sorry for Rachel, even when things are looking grimmest. It takes a real actress to pull that off. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: There are many reasons to fault "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," but it's sweet enough, and smart enough, to overcome every one of those reasons. Read more

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: Somewhere along the way Earl eases up on the suburban-Wes Anderson whimsy and starts to find its heart, infusing the story's self-conscious cleverness and trick-shot set pieces with something sweeter, sadder, and even a little bit profound. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Mann, shaggy and insecure and unhandsome enough to get away with it when he complains of having an animal's face, makes an excellent Everyguy here, and his funniness is unforced. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: There's plenty to like here, but the movie focuses on the least interesting person on the screen, a curious choice considering we're talking life and death. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: A weepy romance that tries hard to be quirky and cool. More sincerity might have helped. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: An unusual story that combines get-the-Kleenex teen melodrama with plenty of wry film-school jokes. Read more

Andrew Lapin, NPR: If every teen movie were as buoyant, stylish and aware of history as Me And Earl, the cultural landscape would feel a lot smarter. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: At once earnest and flip, capturing teen angst without wallowing in teen drama. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The charming, soulful "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is a movie that loves movies - which is great, because you'll love this one. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The film is touching and small, but also thoughtful and assured in a way that lingers after the inevitable tears have been shed and the obvious lessons learned. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Affecting without being overly sentimental, humorous without being inappropriately comedic, and quirky without being self-indulgent. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Mann, Cooke and Cyler deserve to be stars of tomorrow, right now. This film geek's dream of a movie pulls the ground out from under you, but stays smartass to the end. Sweet. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Mann is simply perfect for the role, and Cooke and Cyler bring a weight to their characters that lends a necessary balance to the movie's tone. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Gomez-Rejon matches the wit of the script with gently witty touches, such as the clever use of a fishbowl lens. He also relies on his actors for long takes, which give the movie a lived-in, naturalistic feeling. Read more

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: The filmmaking from Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is hyper-stylized and a bit wonky at times, with a few odd security camera angles thrown into the mix. But it's also energetic and mostly fun to watch, especially the glimpses of their "awful" movies. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: There's an air of precocious genius around "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," which despite its glum title is an inspired existential comedy. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is a must-see - and one of the best films of the year. Read more

David Sims, The Atlantic: The biggest flaw in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is right there in the title: the first word, specifically. Read more

Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail: A quirky, self-aware dramedy with a vibe that is at turns wiseacre and wise, with tear-jerking moments that are never maudlin and comic moments that are authentic. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: Appropriate to its teenage milieu, the film isn't unlike spending a couple of hours with an exceptionally witty high-schooler: It's entertaining as hell, but you can't help rolling your eyes a little at its self-satisfied pseudo-profundities. Read more

David Ehrlich, Time Out: The Citizen Kane of teen cancer tearjerkers, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's funny and bruising Sundance sensation is like The Fault in Our Stars remade for Criterion Collection fetishists. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: Energetic storytelling and inspired visuals make this one an entertaining experience. Read more

Brian Truitt, USA Today: Even though in voiceover Greg tells the audience "this isn't a touching romantic story," that doesn't mean director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon can't have a little fun with expectation. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: It's so carefully designed to feel laid-back that its breeziness comes off like a calculation; its emotional pull is sometimes irresistible, which may make you want to resist it all the more. But the movie has flashes of wit and originality and feeling. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Nearly every drop of human experience in it is mediated by movies, not in some Godardian assault on false Hollywood narratives but to flatter an audience too self-consciously hip to swallow this story straight. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" succumbs to the same cloying too-cuteness and solipsism that often plague its glib and sentimental genre. But those limitations are leavened by the film's lively, ultimately affecting flourishes and sprightly voice. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: It's a fresh take on contemporary adolescence as a journey from ironic detachment to openhearted feeling. Read more