Bo Burnham, a stand-up comedian & sometime actor (he was one of Kumail Nanjiani's comedian friends in The Big Sick) debut feature as a writer/director is a winning one. Following in the footsteps of Todd Solondz' Welcome to the Dollhouse, this film traces the awkward transition from middle school to high & how one young girl navigates life in a scrutinized world of cliques & the correct modes to operate in them.
Almost done watching this movie on prime, and it's a gem from the studio that shocked everyone at the Oscars with Moonlight over La La Land, A24. Filmed around Suffern, NY and the surrounding areas, including exterior of the Palisades Center mall and the interior of the white plains mall for the palisades mall, Eight Grade is about a girl coming of age in modern day eighth grade before she goes into high school, which as i lived through it, was tough yet i made it through in the end.
As a father of teenage girls of wildly divergent personalities, this movie rang so true.
MORE THAN THE PLOT, I REALLY LOVE THE MUSIC. IT'S SO EMOTIONAL.
You could learn a lot from this film about teenagers nowadays. For some reason a lot of stuff in this film are cringe, perverted, creepy or plain uncomfortable to watch.
As someone who has struggled with anxiety most of her life, I couldn't relate more to Kayla. The inclusion of technology and social media was SPOT ON in terms of what kids these days do online, and it all felt super realistic.
Middle school, the conception of adolescence through external influences, allows its pupils to explore their own personalities at their own pace. To investigate what exactly defines them before transitioning to high school, where the studious focal point of career trajectory overwhelms.
I liked this film a lot, great performance by the lead actress, giving viewers a look at teenager life today and how social media works with that. I never heard of Bo Burnham before this but I reckon this dude should do more projects, he seems he can realistically tell a great and scary story and hopefully he does in the future.
It was like looking into a mirror & seeing my 13 year old self. Impeccable direction for what the film is hoping to achieve, with an incredibly talented young actress giving an integral performance.
