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- 2018
- R
- 1 h 33 m
- 2018
- R
- 1 h 33 m
Summary Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school—the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year—before she begins high school.
Directed By: Bo Burnham
Written By: Bo Burnham
- 2018
- R
- 1 h 33 m
- 2018
- R
- 1 h 33 m
Eighth Grade
7.8
Where to Watch
Summary Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school—the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year—before she begins high school.
Directed By: Bo Burnham
Written By: Bo Burnham
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 49 Critic Reviews
87
96% Positive
47 Reviews
47 Reviews
4% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 49 Critic Reviews
87
96% Positive
47 Reviews
47 Reviews
4% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Thanks to Burnham’s exuberant, alert writing and Fisher’s masterful command of vulnerability, anxiety, resilience and steadfast self-belief, Kayla emerges as an icon of her own — just by being herself.
Impressive as Burnham’s achievement is, Eighth Grade could never hit the heights it does without the right actress in the demanding lead role.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 307 User Ratings
7.8
84% Positive
257 Ratings
257 Ratings
9% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
7% Negative
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 307 User Ratings
7.8
84% Positive
257 Ratings
257 Ratings
9% Mixed
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
7% Negative
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
In a sense, Bo Burnham has given the audience a mirror image of their early adolescent selves. However, not everything, such as technology, hasn't changed since the preceding generation. All generations of viewers may still relate to the fear, cringe, and want to fit in. Ellie did a fantastic job in the 8th grade role she was cast in by Bo. This article, which is not a movie, takes a chilly look at the risks and social awkwardness of growing up in the technological era, where increased sexuality and stimulation are prevalent in youth culture. Everyone should watch this movie, especially 8th graders who are transitioning to 9th grade, in my opinion.
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Honestly heartbreaking and real. Eighth Grade is all at once harrowing, hilarious, grim, hopeful, lonely, joyous, a cutting portrait of the toxic relationship between technology and today's youth, and a beautiful character piece taking place in the worst time period of adolescence. While funny in that trademark eccentric, Bo Burnham style, so many scenes are very uncomfortable and are quite scary in fact! The emotional tone set by the shots and performances in this film are incredibly strong. As for Elsie Fisher, this is a breakout performance and she truly carries the movie on her shoulders. The critique of youth and technology is very well made, with such uncomfortably funny scenes such as kids not taking a school shooting drill seriously, or the fact that they are all isolating themselves in the depths of the internet will hit close to home for a lot of viewers. As much as things change, they stay the same however, as sex and **** are recurring topics in this movie. Sex is portrayed as both awkward, disgusting, and in one beautifully constructed scene in the back of a car, terrifying and predatorial.
Bo Burnham has made an excellent first film. Elsie Fisher carries herself and this film with intense vulnerability and grace. I will not be surprised if I see Eighth Grade popping up in the awards season this year
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Eighth Grade rejects predictable plot points and instead lives on the electric edge of awkwardness and uncertainty and doubt that represents the middle school experience; you never quite know what’s going to happen to Kayla, and that feels right.
A masterful ode to one of life’s most universally awkward phases.
Burnham avoids most of the “Mean Girls”-style tropes in favor of a more gently humorous and nuanced approach.
Eighth Grade is lovely work, lifted up by a timeless piece of indie wisdom: Keep it real, as cringe-inducing as that can be.
Burnham’s eye for detail and nuance is keen, and several scenes...have a tightly scripted tension, but he smothers the story in sentiment, stereotypes, and good intentions. Despite Fisher’s calm and vivid performance, Kayla remains merely a collection of traits.
A really artistically sure and universally relatable film for all ages that manages to not feel low budget and is both of it's time (more than any film I've ever seen) and also timeless in its themes.
Beyond the obvious and initial reads about social media based on legend Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade manages to cover a hell of a lot of topics revolving around being on the cusp of adulthood and finding who you are, your boundaries and how to like yourself.
The YouTube segments are brilliant, as well as all the authentic social media presence and representation in the film, but moreover they are a brilliant device to allow Kayla to speak to herself, something which is evident part way through the film; as she discovers who and how she wants to be. Elsie Fisher is sublime, she delivers simultaneously one of the funniest performances and one of the most empathetic and realistic performances I've ever, ever seen. She had me laughing with every line reading and every tic and every stumble. I fully felt like her Dad in the movie.
The Father (looking like Bo Burnham suspiciously) and Elsie's conversation around the fire had me in floods of tears. I wanted to reach out and hug her so much and thinking about her purity and her honestly in that moment has me nearly in tears the day after thinking about it. And then at the end I was laughing and crying at the same time. It's an incredibly cathartic experience for anyone who went through a reasonably traditional schooling experience.
Bo Burnham directs this film like a film and not like a documentary, and yet it's intimate, it's not artless. The music is sublime. Underscoring what she doesn’t say. It’s us viewing her world in ways we know. The soundtrack punctuates perfectly and the pervading sense of anxiety and dread in every frame and in almost everything she doesn’t want to do. Anxiety is dealt with in a really earthen and subtle way, true but not triggering. The score underscores the paradoxes of both elation and dread and the film isn't without its dark scenes; when she’s apologising after not doing anything wrong it's so painful without being disgusting or twisted. We hope she isn't left with any scars. But what blossoms is the wonder of seeing someone who acts the way they want to because it doesn’t matter if she does well to others. But just to her. The film has the air of shortly looking back, not from the perspective of someone in the 8th Grade, but someone perhaps looking back at a time capsule and remembering which is why it's used as such a clever device int he film. It portrays the youth in a knowing but also a slightly heightened way, the kind of way memory works, like Bo Burnham looking back authentically.
I was interested as to where it would go and desired for no clichés, and in that it delivers largely, the film is focused on the moments between the drama, that are the real drama. And as a character study, it's so interesting to watch how things can compound and alter a person on a week by week basis. Or when you can't stand yourself, who you used to be, who you are now, and fear who you may end up being. That spongebob moment is a great silent offering of this feeling. And wonderfully and appropriately the film is utter cringe and reminds me of the time I didn’t know who I was with aplomb. It evolves to a person finding themselves. And who hasn't had to do that at some point? Eighth grade or otherwise. There's a moment during a later Vlog where in passing she mentions "...I don't know if anyone cares..." My Fiance just yelled "We Care!" And we do. And anyone who feels alone, should try and remember this.
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Each character stays a monochromatic stereotype of their initial concept from the beginning of the movie to the very end. That's why it's so awkward, not because life is actually this awkward, (even jerks and morons change their expressions and social strategies sometimes), but because I'm supposed to see an impression of reality here and don't. It feels like a fan script version of Welcome to the Dollhouse, one of the greatest coming of age movies of all time.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Production Company
A24,
IAC Films
Release Date Jul 13, 2018
Duration 1 h 33 m
Rating R
Tagline Based on the most awkward year of your life
Website
http://eighthgrade.movie/
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Detroit Film Critics Society Awards
• 3 Wins & 8 Nominations
Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
