Note: Yes, it’s been out for a little while. But it just received a wider release so a review was necessary, especially with how good it is.
Bo Burnham’s directorial debut, Eighth Grade, is nothing short of a masterpiece. Yes, it is as awkward and cringeworthy as any movie out there. But that’s the point. Eighth Grade tells the story of Kayla Day’s last week in eighth grade. And as anyone who has been through middle school can attest to, that time in of your life is full of awkward interactions.
What helps set Eight Grade apart from other coming-of-age movies is that it actually feels real. Think of any movie with a high school or college setting. The American Pie movies are great examples. High school is nothing like what is portrayed there. But Eighth Grade might as well be a time machine, taking viewers back to their own time spent in middle school. That real life connection helps pull viewers in and gives them a real connection to the main character, and the movie as a whole, immediately.
But on top of that strong viewer-movie connection, everything about it is, plain and simple, good. Elsie Fisher gives a dynamite performance as Kayla. Josh Hamilton (no, not this Josh Hamilton) is superb as single father Mark Day. But it’s Jake Ryan, who plays Gabe, that steals the movie. He’s only in it for a few minutes, but he has the funniest parts of the movie. One of them legitimately had me in tears from laughter. And all the other side performances are great. There isn’t a weak link in the bunch.
Being a comic-of-age comedy, there are certainly a fair share of more serious, emotional moments as well. We yet again have another fantastic parent-child scene. First there was the amazing scene in Call Me By Your Name (the single best scene of all 2017 if you ask me).
Then there was this scene in Love, Simon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mDsxTt6SDE
Give Jennifer Garner an Oscar for Best Supporting for this scene alone.
And in Eighth Grade, we get another awesome scene. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say too much. But there is a part where Kayla is talking to her dad and it is absolutely heartbreaking. I’m not a big crier during movies – and I didn’t cry here – but it’s as close as I’ve come in a long time. What she is saying to her dad is so relatable and then his response is just so perfect. If not for Armie Hammer’s performance in Sorry to Bother You, this could have been an Oscar-winning scene for Josh Hamilton.
I could go on and on about how good this movie is. But it would end up becoming too repetitive. So just go see it. And parents, ignore the R rating. There is a bit of strong language and a couple moments of crude sexual jokes/innuendo. But this movie is not only good, it’s important. It tells kids that it’s okay to feel out of place. It’s okay to feel down. It’s normal; they’re not alone. It tells them you don’t need to fit in with the “popular” crowd to be happy.
Bottom line, this movie is awesome. I don’t know that it will remain the best movie (hello, First Man, Boy Erased, A Star is Born, among others) but I would love to see it get recognized with a Best Picture nomination. If nothing else, Bo Burnham deserves a nod for Best Original Screenplay (for sure), Best Director, or both.
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