Allan Watched "Eighth Grade"
A movie that feels as familiar as it does fresh, Eighth Grade is proof that movies about growing up don’t need to be cliche or over the top, but instead can lean into the many little moments of our youth that define the people we become.
Gut Feeling
Bo Burnham’s directorial debut is a brilliant culmination of all his previous work trying to explain why he felt everything he did when he was young, and the product is a stunning depiction of being in middle school that we all can relate to. Eighth Grade has done what so many “teen” movies fail to do: make a genuine-feeling film that replicates the true emotion of growing up.
There are plenty of familiar plot points, a pool party, a popular girl being mean to an unpopular girl, a mall montage, a scene at a food court, a dad who tries hard to connect with his teenage daughter, and so on, but what makes it work is that Burnham spares no seemingly insignificant detail of Kayla’s experience. This could have been a movie that felt forced, overly cringe-inducing, and distasteful, but instead it turned out to be one of the best movies of 2018, and a truly great modern coming-of-age film.
The New Face Of Growing Up
Elsie Fisher’s (Despicable Me) performance as Kayla has been universally praised, and for good reason. No explanation of her accomplishment is better than Burnham’s, explaining how Fisher at such a young age was able to capture a character who was painfully shy pretending to be confident, when most young actors would feel like a confident person pretending to be shy. Fisher’s eyes tell a story of their own, showing the strain of trying to fit in, even when she may have a smile on a her face as she takes in the world around her. She deserves her Golden Globe nomination, where she will be grouped with the likes of Olivia Colman and Charlize Theron, and is a name to remember in the years to come.
All Talk
What can really make or break a “teen” movie is how real the speech patterns feel. There is nothing worse than bad “this is how real people talk” acting and despite most of the dialog being between teenagers, Eighth Grade offers very few moments that ring that “forced talking” bell. There are a few cringe-worthy overuses of filler words when Kayla and Olivia interact, but it fits the bill for a high schooler going over the top to make a middle school girl feel comfortable and accepted, so it didn’t overly distract.
Bo Spares No Detail
There is a ton of Burnham in Kayla, obviously. The movie starts with a cold open of Kayla recording a YouTube vlog, so he was not shying away from his roots at all. As a first time director, Burnham does a really good job of living in the awkwardness and taking time to let us feel Kayla’s discomfort. The pool party scene in particular shows off his patience, as he lets us become Kayla as she makes the endless journey from inside the house to a safe place in the pool.
The greatest achievement for the former YouTube sensation turned respectable artist is this script. With the exception of the “Truth or Dare” scene, which is a monumental moment that could have an entire review written for it on its own, the moments we see of Kayla’s life are rather innocuous and minor. Those are the things as teenagers we remember, though, and the little things that when zoomed out don’t seem like much actually shaped how we grew up. The sometimes painful-to-watch exercise of Kayla scrolling through social media, staring into a mirror, staring at a boy, walking from a barely open sliding door to a pool, and every second of her trying her hardest to pretend to be confident while she exists in a world she is just starting to understand makes it feel real, because we all have lived it.
Random Thoughts
Movies like this and shows like Big Mouth should really be shown to eighth graders. The content is deemed “mature”, but it is a reflection of our middle school experiences, so why not have young people who are living through these moments for the first time watch it to not feel alone? We all grasp onto these works because of how accurate they are, and I know I wish I watched a movie like Eighth Grade or a show like Big Mouth existed when I was young.
Burnham must have had a bad pool experience when he was young, because there is a memorable scene in his short-lived MTV show Zach Stone Is Going To Be Famous where he has an embarrassing mishap at a pool. That show had a ton of flaws, but I don’t think we get the refined work of Eighth Grade without him writing that show first.
I do not want to dip into any spoilers, but the Truth or Dare scene is extremely powerful, and deserves another mention. It was actually written before the #MeToo movement, but the timing of the movie’s release lined up in lockstep with the movement, and it is a scene that solidifies Eighth Grade as a culturally significant movie of our time.
There are few familiar faces in this film, which makes it feel almost more real. Josh Hamilton, primarily a stage actor, is brilliant as Kayla’s dad. Emily Robinson (Once Upon A Time In Venice) is probably the most recognizable face in the crowd, and she portrays the strong and friendly Olivia very well. The rest of the ensemble is a mixed bag of young actors making their debuts and actual members of the schools the film was shot in.
If you told me Jake Ryan, who plays the quirky and amazing Gabe, was Demetri Martin’s kid, I would believe you.
20 McNuggets in a formal kitchen setting with two of every sauce is maybe the best first date in history.
The sound of the middle school band playing the national anthem must have been recorded at Applegarth Middle School, because it sounds exactly like every middle school band I have ever heard. They nailed it.
The first scene with Kayla and her dad is gold. “You don’t find me funny” and “It’s a chunk of things” may be the best two lines of the whole movie.
As for title drops, they obviously say eighth grade a bunch, but the one that felt like a real title drop was “Eighth Grade is the worst.” It was Bo Burnham style meta.
After the film ended it had me thinking if Bo Burnham is the best YouTube star turned actual star. He is from the golden age of YouTube, and it may be because I loved his videos so much, but I think he is the best of that group. If you are going by money made, obviously the musicians who started with viral channels like The Biebs and Shawn Mendes take the cake, and in comedy you have Billy Eichner and Miranda Sings, but Burnham’s body of work may be the most impressive. With the success of Eighth Grade, we will likely be seeing a lot more work from him.
If you like Bo (yo) and listen to podcasts, I strongly recommend his appearances on “You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes.” YMIW is one of my favorite podcasts, and they are super long, but they are really great showcases of Burnham’s brain.
Quick Hits:
How many times have I seen this movie?
First time!
Where was I watching it?
In my office while playing FIFA online against kids who are probably actual eighth graders.
Favorite trivia about the movie
There are a few. The first is that Elsie Fisher wrapped on this movie right before starting ninth grade, and then did not get cast in her school play. Good move by that high school director. Another is that Burnham had written the script originally to have the messaging between the teens be on Facebook, but Fisher informed him that no one uses Facebook anymore, so he changed it. The last one is something Burnham said on his WTF appearance, which is that Apple was going to provide all the phones and laptops for the film, but because there was a scene where the iPhone glass breaks, they pulled back. So sensitive.
Favorite part
The best dab of the year happens in this movie. It was also the only good dab of the year.
Least favorite part
The band director’s pony tail.
Would I recommend this movie?
Everyone, including youths (said in the Schmidt voice for emphasis), should take in this movie. Few movies succeed in replicating middle school, but Eighth Grade nails it.
So What Does Allan Give It?
Two gold thumbs up! Overall, and a score of 90. Eighth Grade was undoubtedly one of the best films of 2018.
