Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Looking for a smart, touching film that will make you laugh without insulting your intelligence? Look no further than ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL.

Complete with Chapter subtitles that are as awkward as they are cute, our narrator is High School Senior Greg (Thomas Mann) who navigates the hallways by making himself a quiet part of every group without interacting with anyone except Earl.

Earl (RJ Cyler) lives in a house that's on Greg's way to school since he was young. They've become partners in making home movie versions of their favorite classic films.

Horrible, bad pun filled and amateur films, but fun nonetheless.

Their versions of the classics are sprinkled throughout the film, often providing the right balance to the scenes around them.

When Greg's mother (Connie Britton) and eccentric tenured Dad (Nick Offerman) learn that one of Earl's classmates Rachel has leukemia, they insist that Greg spend time with her, even though they are the most casual of acquaintances.

What starts as a forced visit to Rachel's house evolves into a terrific, natural friendship between the three teens in a screenplay that never seems unrealistic for forced.

The cast is terrific, with special nods to Olivia Cooke as Rachel and Mann. They are so good that the it feels more like a camera has captured real life versus scripted events.

Molly Shannon and John Bernthal are both excellent as Rachel's Mom and an influential teacher in the boys lives. Their roles could have been cartoons in lesser hands, but they feel authentically eccentric thanks to the actors.

Film buffs will have a lot of fun watching Greg and Earl's lame versions of everything from Lynch to Hitchcock, featuring plenty of inside film buff nods to open ears.

My favorite films are those that take the road least expected. This Sundance Film Festival winner often makes unexpected choices. Like life itself, you never quite know where the road is taking you, but it's rarely where you expect.

Sweet, real, powerful and funny, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL is a real treat and gets an A.