Those desperately seeking a breakout hit at this year’s Sundance can heave a sigh of relief at the emergence of this inspired, insightful romp from Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, best known for helming episodes of the similarly perky TV series American Horror Story and Glee.
Adapted by Jesse Andrews from his book of the same name, pundits have been quick to pitch the film as a crossbreed lying somewhere between (500) Days of Summer and The Fault in Our Stars. With a swagger that’s refreshing and infectious – Gomez-Rejon confidently mashes up live action with animation – it could certainly court mainstream success. There was a serious bidding war at Sundance for the rights, but in keeping with the film’s irreverence, the filmmakers favoured an inventive distribution deal through Fox Searchlight.
Thomas Mann (Project X) plays a perennial slacker, Greg Gaines, who’s socially lacking save for best pal Earl. The pair gorge on arthouse movies bookmarked by Gaines’s globe-trotting father (Nick Offerman), creating lo-fi parodies at home to while away their time.
Gaines’s overbearing mother (Connie Britton) has other ideas, forcing him to visit the terminally ill Rachel, a girl he barely knows. Yet they hit it off, Gaines using his slacker humour to entertain her (and the audience, with some suitably droll voiceover). When the leukaemia does inevitably take centre stage, it’s hard to simply dismiss any sentimentality.
The casting is spot on (Molly Shannon, as Rachel’s alcoholic mother, is another welcome highlight) and the tone is sharp and authentic. It’s buzzy, fun and confronting. Our anti-hero has a few tricks up his sleeve, too.
High school students have plenty of growing pains to offload, and Gomez-Rejon clearly knows what makes them tick and how best to capture that on screen. We’re likely to be seeing a lot more of him and this mob in the years ahead.
