Movie · 2015 · Drama, Comedy · 1h 45m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 7.3/10 (420.5K ratings)
A little friendship never killed anyone.
Overview
Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.3/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.85/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Metacritic: 74
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Production
Indian Paintbrush, Rhode Island Ave. Productions
Cast
Olivia Cooke, Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Connie Britton, Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal, Chelsea Zhang, Masam Holden, Katherine Hughes, Matt Bennett, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Gavin Dietz, Edward DeBruce III, Natalie Marchelletta, Marco Zappala, Kaza Marie Ayersman, Etta Cox, Karriem Sami, Hugh Jackman
Curator Review
Verdict
A smart, funny, and unexpectedly devastating coming-of-age film that balances deadpan teen awkwardness with genuine emotional weight. Its playful movie-nerd style and strong performances make the eventual heartbreak land hard without feeling manipulative.
Best for
viewers who like offbeat coming-of-age stories
fans of bittersweet teen dramas
people who enjoy films about friendship and movie obsession
audiences open to emotional cancer narratives with humor
Skip if
you want a straightforward tearjerker
you dislike self-aware, stylized narration
you prefer plot-heavy stories over character studies
you are avoiding films centered on illness and grief
Overview
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is one of those rare teen movies that understands how ridiculous adolescence can be without ever mocking the pain of it. Greg’s anxious, self-protective voice gives the film a sharp comic rhythm, and the homemade parody films with Earl add a burst of invention that keeps the movie from settling into formula.
Worth noting
What makes it work is the way it keeps slipping past expectations. It starts like a quirky indie about misfit friendship and then becomes something much more emotionally precise, especially once the relationship with Rachel deepens. The film is self-aware about the clichés of the genre, but it still earns its feelings honestly.
Bottom line
The result is tender, funny, and quietly brutal. It has the kind of sincere, cinephile-inflected charm that can feel very specific, but the emotional payoff is broad and memorable. If the premise sounds like a standard “sad teen” movie, the execution is much smarter than that.
Top Letterboxd reviews
vince (4★) · 7198 likes
“don’t worry, she doesn’t die”
all men do is lie and cause pain
Lucy (3.5★) · 5534 likes
earl says "titties" 7 times throughout this movie
saskia 🦈 (4.5★) · 5126 likes
i know it was called me earl and the dying girl but I CANT BELIEVE SHE ACTUALLY DIED
oppie (5★) · 4795 likes
greg gaines would have 10 thousand letterboxd followers and rule film twitter i just know it
davidehrlich (4.5★) · 3629 likes
it's The Fault in Our Stars for Criterion Collection fetishists + a Brian Eno soundtrack ugh it's so good ugh this hurts my brand ugh.