Eighth Grade

Growing up in the digital era in its beginnings was a really strange time, both from the perspective of somebody who wanted to be in the entertainment business and as someone who was limited with technology (didn’t own a smartphone until my 2nd semester of college). Within that time, we’ve seen people who got their fame from YouTube, ended up going on to become successful, some of which ended up becoming filmmakers that distribute their movies through Amazon or YouTube Premium. Today we’ll be talking about one’s journey all the way to Sundance, Bo Burnham and his movie, Eight Grade, something I was very lucky to catch at a one time showing here in Vegas, thanks to AMC Stubs. Eighth Grade tells of Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher), who tries to use her last week of middle school to become more confident and excited about life.

The best way I can describe this movie is it’s the Lady Bird for the pre-teens, and what I mean is that, it’s a story about life after graduation, through the eyes of a girl who feels the need to stand out before it’s over; however, this movie tackles the subject of whether or not your life in middle school really matters, especially compared to high school and after.

Elsie Fisher gives one of my favorite performances I’ve seen this year; she makes Kayla feel relatable in ways that I never expected, much in the same vein as Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird. The anti-social behavior, the distancing between yourself online and offline, not sure what the world is truly going to bring to you, and most of your hopes and dreams dying off with you as you grow out of old habits; it’s heartbreaking, but Fisher delivers that sense of reality brilliantly. Most of the film truly relies on her, and she carries it triumphantly. I also love the chemistry she shares with her dad, played by Josh Hamilton; there’s a scene in the movie, in which she asks her dad if she makes him sad, and the scene itself brought me down to tears. The tone in his voice, while never cracks, illustrates enough that being with his daughter is all that has him going. The other character that Fisher worked well with was Emily Robinson, who plays Kayla’s friend in high school, and they truly have a natural and relatable relationship.

That’s truly the best word to describe this movie: relatable. Bo Burnham delivers easily one of the best screenplays this year, capturing how it truly feels to be going through this kind of phase, and I say this as a twenty-two year old. But with how much some people haven’t changed, and how I’ve been seeing most adults that are supposed to be sophisticated, act more like children, than most children today.

Overall, if you can find a theatre that’s playing this, don’t waste a chance to go and see it. Eighth Grade, as time settled in, ended up becoming one of my favorite movies of the year, right up there with Infinity War and Incredibles 2. This movie perfectly captures the feel of 21st century youth today, and joins The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Lady Bird, The Way Way Back, and The Spectacular Now, in that perfectly collective circle.

Rating: A+