Eighth Grade - Terza media

My wife and I watched this movie on DVD from our public library. We enjoyed it, and while watching it I gave thanks that my 5 were teenagers before the era of smartphones and social media.

This was written and directed by Bo Burnham, himself not far out of his teen years, and as he says in the DVD extra he was inspired by his own experiences as a teenager.

Most teenage angst movies are about high school, this one instead focuses on a 13-yr-old who is just finishing up 8th grade and anticipating high school. Elsie Fisher is just so authentic as the kid, Kayla Day. She is usually pretty quiet, rarely putting herself "out there", but she makes and posts what might be considered "self help" videos for fellow teens. The irony is that she rarely follows her own advice. But she is trying, and she does get to the point of realizing that sometimes you just have to "fake it until you make it."

Overall it is a good and entertaining take on growing up with some elements that are not often done in these kinds of movies. Also Josh Hamilton is good as the single dad, Mark Day, who tries really hard to establish meaningful communication with his daughter, and eventually it works.

I wasn't going to review this film until I read the other reviews. But the way a large number of people so negatively react to this film is a testament to how powerful it really is, and perhaps says more about the film than those reviews themselves ever could.

We live in a world that hates the truth. And "Eighth Grade" is pure truth. The most remarkable thing about the film is how it refrains from dramatizing how young people today grow up and interact, and instead tries to simply show things how they are. You can argue how successful they were in this attempt, but I think they got it pretty close. And some things about growing up are timeless. While the technology may have changed, all of the things Kayla did in the film, I also did at that age. I also came from a broken home and background of trauma, and I was also not popular. One review said that you had to be a loser to like this film, and maybe there is more than a nugget of truth there. The kid who was head of the class in Grade 8 might have a tough time relating.

The film does very little to explain all this to the viewer, and does not make any attempt to show why Kayla is how she is. This is fascinating because that is exactly how our society, and in particular teen society, works: it is blind to why people are how they are, and simply ruthlessly sorts them into categories such as attractive/popular and ugly/unpopular. It seems that people who are used to going along with this way of thinking are puzzled and unsettled by the film.

What "Eighth Grade" ultimately is, is a mirror. It simply reflects back to us what our world is. There is no editorialization. So when so many people are recoiling in horror from a mirror, what does that actually say?

I understand, that there's a lot of close minded people of the older generation here that don't find this movie to be realistic cause it's different to when they were in Eighth Grade, but the world has changed. All you need to do is go online and find some random kid with 10 subscribers making YouTube videos to understand where the cringe of 'gucci' etc. comes from. I know people somewhat akin to the main character, and honestly, her inability to express herself is realistic. The dialogue as well, I walk through the halls of my high school, and just want to cringe to death at the way the younger kids speak, and I think it's great that it is being explored through this film, something a lot of people have and will never understand. Anyway I thought it was a good film, no one's going to read this but who cares, I wrote it in 5 minutes.

This movie is a spot on depiction of what school is like in the modern-day. I laughed so many times because the cringey situations are just too real. I felt so much second hand embarrassment for this girl. Great movie with real dialogue.

This film really gives you a glimpse into the lives of teenagers who are growing up in 2 different worlds at the same time. The digital world and the physical world. For kids today, the digital world is easier to navigate. And I think that is why they are so deeply attached to it.

If you want an action packed, drama filled movie, then this probably isn't for you. Kayla's story is not an extraordinary one, I believe its one shared by a great deal of young people, myself included. And that is exactly why I think this is an important and heart wrenching film, especially for those who can see themselves in her struggles. Would highly recommend.