Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade

As a fan of Bo Burnham and A24, this shot to the top of my must-see list as soon as it was announced, and boy did it not disappoint.

This could so easily have been any bland teen movie that's far too plot-based and isn't actually relatable at all. Even some movies I actually enjoy like Perks of Being a Wallflower are a bit too whimsical to feel real, but Eighth Grade cuts out all of the Hollywood falsity and instead delivers a true slice of life. It's an authentic time capsule of the absolute worst time to be a person: when bodies are changing, hormones are exploding, emotional stakes are at the absolute highest, and all of it's happening at a completely different pace for each individual within an entire school of kids. While I can only speak for myself, I imagine I'm not the only person to feel that middle school was an actual waking nightmare (clearly Bo Burnham does), but not all of it was bad, and this film makes sure to highlight both the terrible awkwardness as well as the more heartwarming moments of adolescence.

The movie is true in every detail, including the fact that Kayla (the main character, played brilliantly by Elsie Fisher) talks like a real modern teenager, not a clever quote machine. Burnham doesn't shy away from "likes" and "ums", sentences that trail off or don't even make sense, completely banal conversations, and all of the other things that kids say when they're in the midst of discovering themselves. But the real magic trick is that the "imperfect" dialogue allows the characters to say things that don't matter or don't make sense without making them seem stupid or obnoxious. They sound like real people that actually exist, but it's still very entertaining and funny because of the authenticity and the specific pieces of the eighth grade experience that Burnham chose to present.

It's very modern, to the point of kids saying "no one uses Facebook anymore" and communicate almost entirely through Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram. I grew up with MySpace and Facebook, so I at least somewhat understand this element of the movie, but it may hit generational bedrock after a certain point. Hopefully audiences won't judge the characters for being so attached to these social media outlets, and instead will maybe have a better understanding of why they have to be connected in all these different ways at all times.

For me, Kayla's relationship with her father is the most engaging part of the movie, because of how terrible Burnham allows her to be to him. She doesn't behave this way because she's a brat or a bad person, (it's made very clear that she's actually sweet and empathetic) but because she has no one else to take all of this frustration out on that she knows for sure won't leave her. It's such an important thing because I remember being the exact same way with my parents. She's afraid to stand up to other kids that are mean to her because she so desperately wants to have friends and doesn't want to stand out, but her dad is so kind and understanding that it allows her to vent her feelings at him without the fear that he'll walk out on her. It's actually very sweet, and anyone who might be frustrated by it probably doesn't remember what it was like to be thirteen.

I highly recommend this movie if you've graduated eighth grade, are currently in eighth grade, or are eventually going to be in eighth grade. It's pretty spot-on.