Ah February, known most notably for playing host to Valentine’s Day, the ultimate celebration of love. Well, many of you may not know that the second month of the year also features the events ‘Galantine’s Day’ and World Cancer Day (a disease that affects us all in some way). Galantine’s Day is the opposite of Valentines, a female celebration of friendship and singleness. All these things are important in today’s society, which is why I wanted to highlight all three in my picks. That is why February’s entry features two films that are rom-coms with a cancerous twist and two films that focus on male friendship, be it when you are young or older.
We’ll start with the former, and a coming-of-age drama called Me, Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), based on a 2012 novel of the same name by Jesse Andrews & directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. It stars Thomas Mann (Kong: Skull Island, Beautiful Creatures), RJ Cyler (Power Rangers 2017, Scream: Resurrection) and Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Thoroughbreds) as the aforementioned trio; with strong supporting roles from Nick Offerman (We’re the Millers, 21 Jump Street) and Connie Britton (Promising Young Woman). It focuses on the friendship of 17-year-old Greg Gaines (Mann) and his cancer-stricken childhood friend Rachel.
Greg is a senior at a Pittsburgh high school who constantly avoids close interaction with others. One day, he learns that his fellow student and former childhood friend Rachel has been diagnosed with leukaemia and is forced into befriending her again by his parents Victor & Marla (Offerman & Britton). At first however, neither of them is interested in reinitiating their friendship. But Greg breaks the ice with conversation about pillows, with Rachel subsequently coming to enjoy his company once again thanks to his quirky personality and refreshing honesty. Greg introduces Rachel to his “co-worker” Earl, a term he uses instead of “friend” to avoid getting too attached. As Rachel begins her chemotherapy, Gregg spends more and more time her and less time on his schoolwork. But it takes its toll on both of them, as Greg realises his feelings for her and desperately wishes she won’t die.
A touching feature on love & friendship, as well as a powerful portrayal of the effects of cancer on both the patient and those around them, it deserves to be seen by everyone. It was received extremely well by critics and audiences alike, winning both the Grand Jury Prize & Audience award at the Sundance Film Festival where it made its debut that year. Publication IndieWire gave it an A-, describing it as “a beautifully charming, captivating knock-out”, whereas Peter Debruge (Variety) wrote that it, “is destined not only to connect with young audiences in a big way, but also to endure as a touchstone for its generation.” Me, Earl and the Dying Girl is available to watch now only on e-stream. Experience an incredibly powerful and beautiful clip of one of Greg’s trips to the hospital to entertain Rachel by clicking the link below:
Our second entry of the month is Julie Anne Robinson’s The Last Song (2010). Her feature film directorial debut, which was based on the 2009 Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John) novel of the same name. The cast includes Miley Cyrus (Bolt, Hannah Montana: The Movie), Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games, Independence Day: Resurgence), Greg Kinnear (Stuck on You, Little Miss Sunshine), and the late Kelly Preston (Jerry Maguire, Sky High). Cyrus portrays 17-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller who, along with her younger brother Jonah (Bobby Coleman), lives with her mother in New York after their parents divorced three years ago. Her father Steve (Kinnear) split from Kim (Preston) for seemingly unknown reasons and moved back to his hometown Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina, Ronnie hasn’t spoken to him since.
It is later revealed that Ronnie was a Piano child prodigy tutored by Steve (a former professor at the highly prestigious American art school Juilliard and concert pianist) but has not played since her father left (despite Juilliard’s keen interest in offering her a place) and has become somewhat of a rebel. Her rebellious nature takes over when she is caught shoplifting. Kim reacts by sending both Ronnie & Jonah to spend the summer with their father, ostensibly as retribution for her recent behaviour. Upon arrival Ronnie returns to her default demeanor, which is to be hostile towards everyone she meets, including a popular young man named Will (Hemsworth). Off to a frosty start, she meets outcast Blaze (Carly Chaikin) and her deadbeat boyfriend Marcus, and after a misunderstanding between them is framed by Blaze for shoplifting. Things start to look brighter for Ronnie after a chance second meeting with Will, as the pair begin to bond over the marine life while defending a sea turtle nest from raccoons. The next day, despite some interference, they consummate their feelings. Ronnie must navigate this new relationship while trying to repair the broken one with her father before it is too late, however there are pitfalls galore; including a mystery surrounding a fire at the local church & the stain glass window Steve is tirelessly working to replace.
An upbeat yet sorrowful movie with themes of love and family, the strong suit lies not only in the performances but in the story as well, additionally it features a beautiful original song performed by Cyrus herself. It received mixed reviews from critics, but the cast each gained some praise, with Rob Nelson (Variety) remarking that Miley shows off “her considerable chops as a pianist and remains reasonably likeable throughout.” Michael Phillips (The Chicago Tribune) focuses instead on Kinnear’s performance branding it, “reliably honest and affecting.” The Last Song is available on loan on DVD in the Library, and you can view the trailer now for a sneak peek by simply clicking the link below:
From the slightly dreary and romantic to the much more humours and platonic, our first friendship celebrating pick is British comedy The History Boys (2006). It was adapted from the hugely successful Alan Bennett play of the same name, and directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Lady in the Van). It even features the original cast of the play, which includes: Richard Griffiths (Chariots of Fire, Harry Potter), Frances de la Tour (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hugo), Stephen Campbell Moore (Johnny English Reborn, Goodbye Christopher Robin), Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!, Captain America: The First Avenger), James Corden (Into the Woods, Trolls) and Russell Tovey (Love Again, The Good Liar).
The premise takes place in 1983, at all boys’ grammar school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire! Following the adventures of a group students (referred to mostly by their surnames throughout): Crowther, Posner, Dakin (Cooper), Timms (Corden), Akhtar, Lockwood, Rudge (Tovey) and Scripps. Together, they have just obtained the school’s highest ever A-level scores and are hopeful of entering either Oxford or Cambridge University with them. In order to do so, they must first take a notoriously difficult entrance exam in the subject of History. To aid them, the Headmaster hires a temporary teacher named Tom Irwin (Moore) who isn’t much older than the boys. Despite fabricating a story of his own success at Oxford, he proves to be a perfectly diligent teacher, demanding and hard to impress but very likable. Their favourite teacher however, remains the loveable Hector (Griffiths), teacher of English & General Studies, despite the fact he offers the boys rides home on his motorbike after every class and makes inappropriate advances towards each of them bar one.
The rest of the film chronicles their efforts to gain places at either of the two most prestigious Universities in the UK, while they deal with tumultuous romantic entanglements, an overly strict headmaster and discovering their true sexual identities. Due to its limited release, The History Boys received little fanfare and flew under the radar but was lauded by critics, Richard Schickel (TIME Magazine) in particular called it better than the original play, whereas the New York magazine described it as “brilliant and infectious”. In the awards, both Griffiths & de la Tour were nominated for BAFTAs for their roles (Best Actor & Best Supporting Actress respectively). You can watch this local British comedy only DVD, available to loan now. Enjoy the hilarious trailer by clicking on the link below:
Last but far from least, we have road comedy Wild Hogs (2006), a feature about four middle-aged biker friends who decide to go on a road trip together. Directed by Walt Becker (Van Wilder, Clifford the Big Red Dog), the main cast comprises of John Travolta (Grease, Saturday Night Fever), Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys, Blue Streak), Tim Allen (Toy Story, The Santa Clause) and William H. Macy (Fargo, Mystery Men). There are additional memorable supporting turns from Marisa Tomei (Spiderman: Homecoming, My Cousin Vinny) and the late Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Field of Dreams). Travolta, Lawrence, Allen & Macy play long-time friends Woody, Bobby, Dr. Doug and Dudley respectively.
The four all live in a suburb of Cincinnati (Ohio, U.S.) and escape their mundane daily lives by riding together as ‘The Wild Hogs’ on weekends, gaining a sense of friendship and freedom (mainly from the women in their lives). Each man is going through their own problems; lawyer Woody is being divorced by his supermodel wife (effectively making him bankrupt), Bobby is constantly undermined and disrespected by his wife & daughters, Doug is a dentist with heart problems and trouble bonding with his teenage son and Dudley is socially awkward and terribly unlucky with the ladies. But, with Woody in a particularly bad place, he encourages his friends to take a road trip to California, a proper men’s vacation away from feminine control.
After several hilarious encounters (including one with a camp police officer), they end up at a biker bar, home to the Del Fuegos (a much more serious outfit than the Hogs). Unsurprisingly, The Del Fuegos, in particular their leader Jack (Liotta) don’t take nicely to what they see as ‘poser’ bikers drinking in their bar. To teach the Hogs a lesson, he steals Dudley’s bike and chases the Hogs away from the bar. Upset that they have been made to look like fools however, Woody returns and retrieves Dudley’s bike while gaining revenge on the Del Fuegos. That revenge goes somewhat awry though leaving Jack and his followers fuming and looking for payback. A desperate Woody pushes the others to flee (his friends are impressed at his exploits, but the fails to tell them the truth of how he reacquired the bike. They eventually end up in the town of Madrid, New Mexico; where they are initially mistaken for Del Fuegos (who have been terrorizing the little town for some time), but the locals quickly warm to them after to learning of their true nature, especially diner owner Maggie (Tomei) who falls for Dudley.
Woody continuously pleads with his friends to keep a low profile (to no avail), as he knows the Del Fuegos will come for them, inevitably leading to a hilarious standoff. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it was generally well liked by audiences and has a cult following. I for one am quite fond of this film, with being one of my guilty pleasure watches. The cast has plenty of chemistry and garner an abundance of laughs throughout. It’s a solid tale of friendships that last. Watch it now by loaning the DVD from the library! Get a glimpse of these endearing friendships by clicking the link below to watch the trailer:
This month’s blog contains everything: love & friendship, happiness & laughter, sadness & sorrow and much more! If you want to experience all of those emotions, or if you need a valentines/guys watch, then pick up one of these fab four before you leave today. Or you can even swing by next week, we’re still open at DHB all week 9-5pm (4:30pm on Friday). Have a great half-term everyone and lovely Valentines/Galantines!
Coming soon....
As of this month, we will now be showing one film from each month’s blog in the Innovation Hub (next to the Library) on the Ground Floor of the David Hockney Building! The first showing will be of Me, Earl and the Dying Girl on Wednesday 21st February 2024 at 1pm-3pm. It's completely free and all you have to do is turn up!
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