Eighth Grade review: A light-hearted, intimate look at the final days of a young teenager at a U.S. middle school.
Eighth Grade review by Paul Heath.
Eighth Grade review
Bo Burnham proves he’s as good a director as he is an actor and comedian with this coming of age drama/ comedy set over the course of the final week of a teenage girl’s middle school years.
Burnham, most recently seen in last year’s big Sundance break-out The Big Sick, also wrote the screenplay for this engaging piece of work that will have you squirming in your seat as we feel every emotion that Kayla (Elsie Fisher) experiences as she prepares to moves to high school.
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Kayla, like a lot of the kids her age, is obsessed with social networking, particularly Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, where she frequently posts videos offering life advice to a very small audience. She’s the quiet kid at school – she’s even voted quietest kid in school during one of the final assemblies – seemingly has no friends, though craves the attention of the cool crowd, and the affections of Aiden (Luke Prael), a rebellious lad intent on obtaining nude photos of his female classmates.
Kayla lives at home with her father Mark (Josh Hamilton), her mother absent, a reason for which is revealed much later on. Mark is a decent dad, though perhaps a little on the lenient side, allowing Kayla to use her phone at the dinner time, and respecting her space as she wiles away the evenings in her room.
Eighth Grade review
Burnham assembles different scenarios in which Kayla is placed as this final week progresses. She’s invited to the party of one of the cool kids, choosing to go in an act of confidence, manages to score some alone time with Aiden as the school undergoes a very strange, but completely obvious gun attack drill, and even finds herself in the back seat of a car with much older guy after she teams with the local high school for a shadowing experience day. Each one presents the feeling of awkwardness. It’s difficult not to relate to proceedings and think back to your own school days, and Burnham’s writing nails every situation and outcome brilliantly.
Fisher is perfectly cast in the lead, the young actress showing huge maturity in the role, as well as consummate comedy timing. She’s surrounded by superb support, most notably from Hamilton as Kayla’s good-willed father – and yes, he does get to do the big dad speech towards the end – one of the film’s only more predictable aspects.
Eighth Grade is perfectly staged, the tone spot-on and the overall experience authentic, while also being laugh-out-loud funny and sincerely heartfelt. Unlike the time of the individual being examined, it’s a hoot and will have you stood in the lobby discussing your own formative years immediately afterward. I absolutely loved it.
Eighth Grade review by Paul Heath, June 2018.
Eighth Grade was reviewed at the 2018 Sundance London film festival.
