Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.
I can't elevate Eighth Grade to the status that my peers have, it just wasn't all that to me. But it was still very good, and very real, that tangible sort of youth that comes with dedication to the format.
Final rating: - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/its-brutal-out-here-eighth-gradenbspreview<a>
Internet comedian and humorous songwriter Bo Burnham in the role of writer and director of a movie about an eighth-grade girl sounds, on the surface, like quite a mismatch. What could Burnham know about the very specific horrors of being a thirteen-year-old girl in the internet age? It turns out that Burnham was the perfect person for the job. Eighth Grade is both a comedy and a horror film. Its an honest exploration of the anxiety of middle school and the out-of-body experience that is puberty. Burnham based the main character, Kayla (Elsie Fisher), on his own experiences with panic attacks and anxiety. He ha...
Elsie Fisher turns in a strong performance here as the teenage Kayla coming to terms with all of those uncertainties we all feel as puberty beckons. Coupled with her own personal issues, shes in her last year of what could loosely be referred to a childrens school and is maybe just a little over-reliant on validation from social media to get her through her days. Theres no mum on the horizon, but her dad (Josh Hamilton) - who seems to spend a fair amount of time appearing in her bedroom doorway at night whilst she is surfing the internet, cares deeply for his daughter and is determined to help. Thats of course assuming either of them know if and how he can. Of course there are boys in this mix too, and like with many teenage crushes hers wi...