2022·Comedy·1h 14m
7.1
★
One year after her father's death, a high school senior discovers the epic screenplay for a terrible space opera — written by her dad. Equipped with just a VHS camera and pocket change, she decides to honor her late father and make this script a reality.
Directed by Leah Bleich
screenplay
death of father
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Isabel May
Lydia Gilbert
Miles Gutierrez-Riley
Simon
P.J. Byrne
Mr. Martin
Missi Pyle
Diane Gilbert
Nat Faxon
Peter Gilbert
Molly Jackson
Mariana
Taiv Lee
Josh
Riley Madison Fuller
Young Lydia
Sara Wolfkind
High Schooler #3
Allison Ye
Opera Singer
Elyse Pham
Clara
Brielle Angelique
Dancer
Crew
Leah Bleich
Director
Leah Bleich
Screenplay
Justin Baldoni
Executive Producer
Tessa Byford
Producer
Tobias Deml
Supervising Producer
Hiroki Kamada
Supervising Producer
Popular Reviews
2 reviews
Lucien WD
4.0★ · 06/02/24
Me & Earl & The Dead Dad.
I see the filmmaker is active on Letterboxd so I won't nitpick at this very nice and well-intentioned film -- I'm probably a bit too personally close to the subject matter that I needed it to hit me in a really specific place, which it just wasn't able to. Really good use of PJ Byrne and Nat Faxon!
I see the filmmaker is active on Letterboxd so I won't nitpick at this very nice and well-intentioned film -- I'm probably a bit too personally close to the subject matter that I needed it to hit me in a really specific place, which it just wasn't able to. Really good use of PJ Byrne and Nat Faxon!
Me & Earl & The Dead Dad.
I see the filmmaker is active on Letterboxd so I won't nitpick at this very nice and well-intentioned film -- I'm probably a bit too personally close to the subject matter that I needed it to hit me in a really specific place, which it just wasn't able to. Really good use of PJ Byrne and Nat Faxon!
I see the filmmaker is active on Letterboxd so I won't nitpick at this very nice and well-intentioned film -- I'm probably a bit too personally close to the subject matter that I needed it to hit me in a really specific place, which it just wasn't able to. Really good use of PJ Byrne and Nat Faxon!
EphemeralMemories
7.0★ · 05/11/24
We don’t get to sit back and enjoy our happy ending in real life. We don’t get to hit pause. We just have to… keep moving and… let go and hope that that happy ending isn’t our last one.
Though clearly a low budget amateur indie film with plenty of cringeworthy moments of acting, the way it tackles it’s themes of love, loss and adolescence awkwardness and confusion is genuine. The film is a coming of age story for Lydia Gilbert (Isabel May) that deals with the inception of one’s responsibilities for their future like in choosing a post secondary education path while trying to reconcile and process the death of her father (Nat Faxon). The film has many similarity to other popular films and especially coming of age films like, The Edge of Seventeen, when Lydia has lunch sessions with the school’s college counsellor Mr. Martin (P.J. Byrne) or Lady Bird, when Lydia argues with her mom (Missi Pyle) in the car, or Love Actually with the large card apology to Simon (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), so these scenes are rather derivative. But what the film does well is the use of the VHS tapes to establish the context for the Gilbert family and introduction of Lydia. The way key pieces of dialogue and moments of the past in VHS tape format is referred to from time to time as a leitmotif was especially nostalgic for the ending.
Then later in the silly and absurd homemade film would end with some beautifully simple references to the beginning:
However, much of the middle of the film is difficult to stomach at times for it’s strange humour that wasn’t really all that funny, but I guess worked somewhat as a filler and juxtaposition to put space in between the conflicts and serious emotions. The choice of making Simon as non explicitly gay was a strange creative choice as the film portrayed in a way that Lydia and Simon were romantically linked, a romance subplot would have been expected for a coming of age story which was quite neglected in this one, which could have helped. The acting was also rather premature in certain areas like for Isabel May who clearly hasn’t the full maturity to properly portray loss and despondency in her character and Missi Pyle as the mother just looked really emotionally ambiguous. Some of the dialogue felt a little out of place as well.
Overall, it was cute and despite the clear amateurish nature of the film, it was surprisingly better than expected and in a way redeemed itself in certain ways through the ending.
*I love you to the moon and back. You know that right?
Say it again.
To the moon and back and back and back.
That’ll do. *
Though clearly a low budget amateur indie film with plenty of cringeworthy moments of acting, the way it tackles it’s themes of love, loss and adolescence awkwardness and confusion is genuine. The film is a coming of age story for Lydia Gilbert (Isabel May) that deals with the inception of one’s responsibilities for their future like in choosing a post secondary education path while trying to reconcile and process the death of her father (Nat Faxon). The film has many similarity to other popular films and especially coming of age films like, The Edge of Seventeen, when Lydia has lunch sessions with the school’s college counsellor Mr. Martin (P.J. Byrne) or Lady Bird, when Lydia argues with her mom (Missi Pyle) in the car, or Love Actually with the large card apology to Simon (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), so these scenes are rather derivative. But what the film does well is the use of the VHS tapes to establish the context for the Gilbert family and introduction of Lydia. The way key pieces of dialogue and moments of the past in VHS tape format is referred to from time to time as a leitmotif was especially nostalgic for the ending.
*And we can find the best spot in the house every night, and hold hands.
**And eat popcorn.
*Yes, we will definitely have popcorn, and we will hold hands until our fingers get all wrinkly and old.
Then later in the silly and absurd homemade film would end with some beautifully simple references to the beginning:
And their family would spend their days eating space popcorn and holding hands till their fingers were all wrinkly and old. And they’d fly up, up, up and away. To the moon and back. And back and back and back and back and back. And beyond.
However, much of the middle of the film is difficult to stomach at times for it’s strange humour that wasn’t really all that funny, but I guess worked somewhat as a filler and juxtaposition to put space in between the conflicts and serious emotions. The choice of making Simon as non explicitly gay was a strange creative choice as the film portrayed in a way that Lydia and Simon were romantically linked, a romance subplot would have been expected for a coming of age story which was quite neglected in this one, which could have helped. The acting was also rather premature in certain areas like for Isabel May who clearly hasn’t the full maturity to properly portray loss and despondency in her character and Missi Pyle as the mother just looked really emotionally ambiguous. Some of the dialogue felt a little out of place as well.
Overall, it was cute and despite the clear amateurish nature of the film, it was surprisingly better than expected and in a way redeemed itself in certain ways through the ending.
*I love you to the moon and back. You know that right?
Say it again.
To the moon and back and back and back.
That’ll do. *
We don’t get to sit back and enjoy our happy ending in real life. We don’t get to hit pause. We just have to… keep moving and… let go and hope that that happy ending isn’t our last one.
Though clearly a low budget amateur indie film with plenty of cringeworthy moments of acting, the way it tackles it’s themes of love, loss and adolescence awkwardness and confusion is genuine. The film is a coming of age story for Lydia Gilbert (Isabel May) that deals with the inception of one’s responsibilities for their future like in choosing a post secondary education path while trying to reconcile and process the death of her father (Nat Faxon). The film has many similarity to other popular films and especially coming of age films like, The Edge of Seventeen, when Lydia has lunch sessions with the school’s college counsellor Mr. Martin (P.J. Byrne) or Lady Bird, when Lydia argues with her mom (Missi Pyle) in the car, or Love Actually with the large card apology to Simon (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), so these scenes are rather derivative. But what the film does well is the use of the VHS tapes to establish the context for the Gilbert family and introduction of Lydia. The way key pieces of dialogue and moments of the past in VHS tape format is referred to from time to time as a leitmotif was especially nostalgic for the ending.
Then later in the silly and absurd homemade film would end with some beautifully simple references to the beginning:
However, much of the middle of the film is difficult to stomach at times for it’s strange humour that wasn’t really all that funny, but I guess worked somewhat as a filler and juxtaposition to put space in between the conflicts and serious emotions. The choice of making Simon as non explicitly gay was a strange creative choice as the film portrayed in a way that Lydia and Simon were romantically linked, a romance subplot would have been expected for a coming of age story which was quite neglected in this one, which could have helped. The acting was also rather premature in certain areas like for Isabel May who clearly hasn’t the full maturity to properly portray loss and despondency in her character and Missi Pyle as the mother just looked really emotionally ambiguous. Some of the dialogue felt a little out of place as well.
Overall, it was cute and despite the clear amateurish nature of the film, it was surprisingly better than expected and in a way redeemed itself in certain ways through the ending.
*I love you to the moon and back. You know that right?
Say it again.
To the moon and back and back and back.
That’ll do. *
Though clearly a low budget amateur indie film with plenty of cringeworthy moments of acting, the way it tackles it’s themes of love, loss and adolescence awkwardness and confusion is genuine. The film is a coming of age story for Lydia Gilbert (Isabel May) that deals with the inception of one’s responsibilities for their future like in choosing a post secondary education path while trying to reconcile and process the death of her father (Nat Faxon). The film has many similarity to other popular films and especially coming of age films like, The Edge of Seventeen, when Lydia has lunch sessions with the school’s college counsellor Mr. Martin (P.J. Byrne) or Lady Bird, when Lydia argues with her mom (Missi Pyle) in the car, or Love Actually with the large card apology to Simon (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), so these scenes are rather derivative. But what the film does well is the use of the VHS tapes to establish the context for the Gilbert family and introduction of Lydia. The way key pieces of dialogue and moments of the past in VHS tape format is referred to from time to time as a leitmotif was especially nostalgic for the ending.
*And we can find the best spot in the house every night, and hold hands.
**And eat popcorn.
*Yes, we will definitely have popcorn, and we will hold hands until our fingers get all wrinkly and old.
Then later in the silly and absurd homemade film would end with some beautifully simple references to the beginning:
And their family would spend their days eating space popcorn and holding hands till their fingers were all wrinkly and old. And they’d fly up, up, up and away. To the moon and back. And back and back and back and back and back. And beyond.
However, much of the middle of the film is difficult to stomach at times for it’s strange humour that wasn’t really all that funny, but I guess worked somewhat as a filler and juxtaposition to put space in between the conflicts and serious emotions. The choice of making Simon as non explicitly gay was a strange creative choice as the film portrayed in a way that Lydia and Simon were romantically linked, a romance subplot would have been expected for a coming of age story which was quite neglected in this one, which could have helped. The acting was also rather premature in certain areas like for Isabel May who clearly hasn’t the full maturity to properly portray loss and despondency in her character and Missi Pyle as the mother just looked really emotionally ambiguous. Some of the dialogue felt a little out of place as well.
Overall, it was cute and despite the clear amateurish nature of the film, it was surprisingly better than expected and in a way redeemed itself in certain ways through the ending.
*I love you to the moon and back. You know that right?
Say it again.
To the moon and back and back and back.
That’ll do. *