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Kitsch Before Dying

It's summertime, which means get ready for sequels, prequels, blowouts, shootouts and pleas to spend extra money on IMAX. For those looking to feel something other than adrenaline rushes, there is "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl", a film that won the crowd over at Sundance and is bound to give people a bit of waterworks against their will.

Full disclosure: This movie is precious. It's a kind of cutesy reality that is shot like a Michel Gondry music video and is directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, the guy who did "Glee" and "Red Band Society". It's based on a book by Jesse Andrews, which he adapted himself, and it deals with high school issues from the typical (unrequited crushes) to the atypical and tragic (leukemia). There are times this movie is a bit too twee but it's good at what it does.

Thomas Mann plays Greg, a senior who flies under the radar at school by getting along with everyone and aligning with no one – except for Earl (RJ Cyler), who he calls a "coworker" instead of the dreaded "friend" title. They're creative types and they make short, low-budget remakes of classic films, with silly names like "A Sockwork Orange" and "2:48 Cowboy". They're basically the guys who wouldn't get much play in high school but would do a lot better later when their cool geekiness is more valued.

Greg is enjoying his mellow life and then a girl in his class gets diagnosed with cancer and his mother (Connie Britton) insists he go spend time with her. It doesn't matter that they barely know each other – it's the right thing to do, so go do it, she basically says. The girl is Rachel ("Bates Motel's" Olivia Cooke) and she's adorable, smart and hard to not want to chill with.

No spoilers coming your way, but the title hints this won't all be a fun skip through the park on a warm day. Much of it is though, as watching the three of them hang out is humorous, moving and sweet. They're all better people for knowing one another. Even with a cancer cloud hanging overhead, this film has more of a "Be Kind Rewind" vibe than a "Fault In Our Stars" one. There are endearing, colorful sequences to show how people are feeling, like when Greg sees the hot girl at school and they flash to an animated sequence of a chipmunk being stomped by a moose. That sort of thing.

"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is a movie that you'll want to befriend, embrace, weep on and slap for playing you like such a fool. It's worth the flurry of emotions.