Eighth Grade follows an introverted teenage girl as she struggles in the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year.
Written and directed by first time filmmaker Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade chronicles a bona fide coming-of-age tale for the social media-crazed teens of today. Burnham's a twenty-seven year old comedian mostly known for his YouTube and television work, yet he manages to ideally encapsulate the struggles that middle-schoolers are facing now. I'm a twenty-one year old male, so I can't personally attest to the experiences of being a thirteen year old girl in 2018... Fortunately, my youngest sister is thirteen years old! Upon first seeing Eighth Grade about a week ago, I was reluctant to review the film without her perspective because I felt that her insight was invaluable. I asked if she'd be willing to watch it and she was more than happy to oblige, so here's an eighth grader's review of Eighth Grade for those curious:
@boburnham @ElsieKFisher, I saw #EighthGrade last week and immediately thought it would be perfect for my little sister who will be entering 8th grade this year! I took her to see it today and she thought it was gucci! 👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/chaqjXd3CW— David Weiser (@weiser_david) August 12, 2018
As you might be able to surmise by the huge grin on her face, she loved it and felt it was really realistic in its portrayal of modern middle-school and teenagers today. She's brought the film up in conversation several times in the few days since we saw it, so I imagine she can't wait to see it again and I'm really glad that she enjoyed it as much as she did.
Anyways, despite setting Eighth Grade in the modern day, Burnham's made a feature which we can all relate to in some way or another (provided you're older than 13). The awkwardness of our teenage years is a fairly universal experience, and plenty of awkward social interactions ensue as Kayla goes about her day-to-day life. From beginning to end, Eighth Grade is incredibly authentic in its awkwardness. Nothing feels fake or manufactured for the purposes of dramatic tension. The kids act like kids and it's as if Burnham simply captured a few days of a teenage girl's typical life.
Social media and cell phones certainly play a large role in the proceedings, but Burnham never treats the devices as an unhealthy obsession. He certainly gets into the good and bad of today's tech, but for the most part, Burnham depicts the devices as teens see them: a way of life. There's even a conversation in which Burnham directly acknowledges the significant lifestyle differences between the childhood of an eighth grader and a high school junior/senior. Technology's progressed, and in this day-and-age, kids often receive their first cell phone or activate their first social media account comparatively much earlier than their elders did. With three younger sisters, I've even witnessed it firsthand.
Thematically, Eighth Grade is remarkably genuine on so many levels that most coming-of-age stories just aren't these days... Though there are certainly exceptions to that, Bo Burnham understands today's youth or was at least willing to hear them out and gather feedback on his own interpretation of adolescents. Stylistically, the filmmaking approach is very personable, so overall, Eighth Grade is an intimate experience that's hilarious and heartfelt. There are some neat flourishes in regards to the editing and cinematography while Anna Meredith's synth-driven keyboard score establishes an atmosphere that can be both inviting and nerve-wracking (an ideal summation of what 8th grade is really like).
Holding it all together is Elsie Fisher's wonderfully sincere performance. You may know Fisher best from the first two Despicable Me movies where she adorably voiced Agnus, but this will surely be a defining moment in her career. Fisher is onscreen for just about the entire hour and a half, but not a single second of it feels forced or fake. You forget you're even watching an actress because Fisher's anxiety, innocence, and vulnerability all feels so heart-breakingly genuine. Matching her beat-for-beat every step of the way, Josh Hamilton portrays a kind, loving, and supportive dad. Like any good parent, his character only wants what's best for his little girl, and Hamilton conveys his caring nature beautifully. A heart-to-heart conversation between the two of them had me on the verge of waterworks. Filling out the supporting cast, Emily Robinson and Jake Ryan are well-deserving of a mention for their roles as high school mentor Olivia and the hilariously dorkish Gabe (the chicken nuggets scene is the comedic peak of 2018 thus far).
After some reflection and a second viewing, I feel confident enough to declare Eighth Grade as not only one of the best films I've seen all year, but my new favorite A24 feature, and I'd certainly place it among the very best coming-of-age films. If you're an adult who's considering taking a teen to see Eighth Grade, please don't be discouraged by the R-rating. It's overblown on account of a few F-bombs and some slightly mature content, but I can guarantee that the child has seen and heard far worse. To put it simply, films this sincere and sentimental don't come around that often. Eighth Grade is a film for everyone who has ever been through eighth grade and for those who have just begun the rollercoaster of their teenage years. An exceptionally authentic coming-of-age story for the social media generation.
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