Young actors make “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” a sweet film unlike any other

Splash photo SUSIE H.
The three stars of “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” — RJ Cyler (left), Olivia Cooke (second from right), and Thomas Mann (right) pose with reporters from the Watertown Splash at a preview screening on May 20, 2015.

SUSIE H. and MAIA V.

“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” sounds as though it has an extremely similar plot to “The Fault in Our Stars”.

But really, it is anything but.

Greg is an awkward high-schooler who doesn’t know how to fit in. His only friend is Earl, whom Greg refers to as his “co-worker”. They make movies, not real ones, but remakes of funny films and give them hilarious titles. For example, the real movie, “A Clockwork Orange” is renamed “A Sockwork Orange” starring sock puppets.

The creative team behind "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" -- Olivia Cooke, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, R.J. Cyler, Thomas Mann, and Jesse Andrews (from left) -- discuss the film at a preview screening on May 20, 2015, at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge.
Splash photo SUSIE H.
The creative team behind “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” — Olivia Cooke, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, R.J. Cyler, Thomas Mann, and Jesse Andrews (from left) — discuss the film at a preview screening on May 20, 2015, at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge.

When Rachel, a classmate who hasn’t crossed paths with Greg since kindergarten, is diagnosed with leukemia, Greg is forced by his mother to hang out with her. Greg and Earl start the journey of making a movie for Rachel, which they find out is a lot harder than it seems.

Over the weeks, Rachel’s condition worsens, but her friendship with Greg turns into something unpredictable and worth living for.

On Wednesday, May 20, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” was previewed at Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. The movie was followed by a question-and-answer session with the three main characters, the director (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon), and the author of the novel and screenwriter (Jesse Andrews).

All of the actors did a fabulous job of carrying the weight of comedic and tragic roles. Olivia Cooke, who plays Rachel, visited a 16-year-old girl at Children’s Hospital at UCLA with leukemia to help her visualize and embody her role.

“She had gone through several rounds of chemotherapy that hadn’t worked, so she was getting bone marrow transplant,” Cooke explained.

After meeting the teen and her dad, Cooke and the director created charts of treatment plans for Rachel.

Thomas Mann, Greg in the movie, thought that his character was exciting to play because of Greg’s uncertainty in navigating the real world. He said it was easy to conjure up the comedy of his character because of how similar it is to his own humor.

Olivia Cooke, Thomas Mann, and RJ Cyler (left to right) star in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
Splash photo Fox Searchlight
Olivia Cooke, Thomas Mann, and RJ Cyler (left to right) star in “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”

RJ Cyler, who portrays Earl, explains what the process did for him.

“It made me look at things differently, and it definitely pushed my creativity over a peak,” he said.

He also spoke about how similar he is to his character Earl.

“All of the wittiness and the smart remarks and the comments and the honesty that’s of Earl, are, you know, definitely the characteristics or things that I would do,’’ he said. “I get to the wardrobe fitting and it’s literally my closet.”

Due to a lot of adult content, this movie is appropriately rated PG-13. The mixture of funny and sadness really intertwines to create something bittersweet.

“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” is a definite summer movie that will have you crying, laughing, and everything in-between.

–June 12, 2015–