Kayla is a 13-year-old who must endure the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through her last week of middle school -- and the end of one disastrous year of eighth grade.
Having raised 3 teenage kids myself, I can commiserate wholeheartedly with the experience of attending middle and high school in the social media age and what new and complex challenges they have to deal with.
I have often thought kids these days should have some sort of class or education on not placing their lives out there for all to see.
Kayla's school year is awkward and someone lonely as she juggles her own insecurities, relationships and changes within herself. Her need for acceptance makes her step out of her comfort zone and put herself in some interesting situations along the way.
I loved this movie so much as I was able to relate to her plight as I have seen these emotions from my own kids and was able to laugh and cry with them along the way.
Golden Globe nominee Elsie Fisher is exceptional as Kayla. We go along with her journey, quickly get swept up in her life and root for her to succeed and triumph as she ascends to high school.
That's all right. I love differing opinions on movies. That is what makes the world go round. I guess I felt more connected since I remember when my kids dealt with issues similar to those in the film. Thanks for the comment!
@HString I was beginning to think I was the only one that wasn't blown away by this. I've seen nothing but high praise for this online and at my screening on Monday people were walking out too!
Eighth Grade left a long impact on me after viewing and I think it has a lot to do with how real it is. There were so many moments where I cringed as if I was watching this happen to someone I knew. For a lot of people, myself included, middle school sucks and it’s not getting any easier the more social media has emerged. Eighth Grade in no way romanticizes things, but instead opts to identify fully with the struggle of young Kayla (Elsie Fisher) and her quest fit in while maintaining some kind of self-identity.
Acting: 10
After watching this movie, it left no doubt in my mind that Elsie Fisher has an amazing career ahead of her in acting if she so chooses. It wouldn’t have surprised me in the slightest if she had been up for an Academy Award. She makes this movie feel very real and personal. You can feel her awkwardness and how it impacts the situations she’s in. She captures the essence of teenage angst: Having the need to fit in and impress at the same time. It makes you cringe and laugh all at once.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
While there are a number of other characters in the movie that make it great, Eighth Grade is nothing without our star Kayla. Rooting for her character is really what drives the movie overall. She reminds you of what it was like to find yourself and how it good it feels to not have to pretend to be something you’re not for the sake of the approval of others. She’s a bit strange, but in an endearing, funny kind of way.
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
Genre: 10
Memorability: 10
Pace: 10
Never gets old or suffers from “filler” scenes like a good number of dramas tend to do. It gets right to the chase showing you exactly what it wants to you to see before moving on to the next moment. The beauty of this movie is I was always intrigued from scene to the next and I think it’s due in large part to the fact that I was always invested in Kayla’s well-being.
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Overall: 100
Eighth Grade snuck up on me in 2018 and I’m so glad it did. I loved it in more ways than one and I think it’s a generational movie that should be on a number of all-time lists for years to come. Beautiful, inspiring movie.
Eighth Grade had its US release back in July last year and since then, I've seen nothing but praise and high ratings for it online. Only now is it heading to UK cinemas and, for some reason, the powers that be have decided to go and release it at the same time as Avengers: Endgame later this month. Cineworld showed it earlier this week as one of their unlimited screenings, so I thought I'd give it a go before it gets lost among all the Avengers hype when it goes on general release.
Eighth Grade is the directorial debut of comedian and former YouTube star, Bo Burnham. It stars Elsie Fisher as Kayla, a young girl lacking in confidence, awkward around her fellow students at school and generally very quiet by nature. So quiet she even lands the award at school for being the quietest, nominated by fellow students in an awards ceremony held during assembly. The movie basically follows the daily struggles of Kayla and her life as a teenager. By night she endlessly scrolls through social media feeds and records her own YouTube videos. Her posts are confident, self help motivational videos about teenage issues, but rarely get more than a single like. She spends her days attempting to follow her own advice and dealing with the anxiety and heartbreak that brings. You feel genuinely awkward with her and spend the majority of the movie totally rooting for her, hoping she'll make it through this tough period of life. Even at home she struggles - mum is no longer on the scene and conversations with her dad are just strained and awkward. All of what makes this feel so natural and believable is down to Elsie Fisher, who is incredible as Kayla, a real star in the making. It all goes to show that growing up can be so hard, girls can be real bitches and boys can be absolute dicks!
I guess your overall enjoyment of the movie kind of depends on whether you can relate to, or appreciate, any of the experiences or feelings that Kayla has. Being a socially awkward father of two daughters, I guess I was hoping to find a lot more to relate to and enjoy than I actually did. To be fair, there are plenty of perfectly observed, wonderfully acted and genuinely beautiful moments throughout, but the movie plays too much like a documentary and that worked against it for me. Far too many moments, particularly around the middle section, when the movie really dragged. And at only 93 minutes long, I shouldn't really be checking my watch and hoping for it to end in the way that I did.
Probably only about 15 or so people attended the large screening of this at my local Cineworld, and around half a dozen of those got up and left during the movie. I wondered if this was indicative of the other screenings around the country but, judging by the reaction online afterwards, approximately 90% of Cineworld Unlimited members seem to have really loved it, with many declaring it their favourite movie so far this year! So I guess this is one of those movies that's really going to divide people. Worth checking out though, and hopefully you'll enjoy it a lot more than I did.
Eighth Grade was quite difficult for me to watch. I absolutely hate watching things that are awkward, and if one word sums up this film it's "awkward". I'm throwing it in the pool with talk shows and reality TV in all their cringy glory. Between those awkward moments we do thankfully see some nicer moments.
Kayla is trying to navigate the move from eighth grade to high school, the perils of friends and enemies, and how to get noticed by the right people. Like many of us have done she tries stepping out of her comfort zone with varying degrees of success. But every one of those steps helps her learn something about herself and life, things that she hopes future Kayla will remember when life seems tough.
I'm just going to skip over the things I didn't like about the movie because honestly, it's all mainly issues to do with the awkwardness I've already mentioned.
Kayla's dad is probably my favourite character in this, he is involved in some of the scenes I didn't like but overall he brings a lot of heart to the film. When he makes his speech at Kayla towards the end it's a genuinely moving moment and it brought a tear to my eye. One of the only things that I came away wondering was where was mum, she's mentioned but I don't think anything is specifically mentioned apart from "she left". Part of me thinks it's frustrating, but there was no real way to bring it up out of context.
There's nothing particularly wrong with the film, the acting was fine and although the script was frustrating it was accurate to what was trying to be achieved. This is definitely not for me though. Partly for the awkward reason and partly because I don't entirely enjoy watching films that involve things I could, or have, done myself.
What you should do
It's not one that' I'd recommend for the obvious reason above. It does seem to be liked by lots of people though so it's probably one that's worth checking out when it goes to streaming services.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I not sure there's actually anything from this I'd like to take home with me... I don't need any more angsty teen in my life.
Andy K (10823 KP) Apr 9, 2019
Lee (2222 KP) Apr 10, 2019