8th grade - a time we’d all rather forget. A strange age in general,  that might be the most hated age group. Adults don’t like them, older kids don’t either; and if you tell people you teach jr. high they apologize to you. 

Nobody likes them because in between doing ‘how long can you hold your breath’ challenges and randomly repeating viral video jokes like shouting ‘LeBron James,’ they are awkwardly figuring out who they are and who they hope to be. It a weird time because nobody would even take money to go back to that time. Your body is going through transitions physically and emotionally as you are more aware of your body for better and for worse. 

Although it is an excellent freshman effort by comedian extraordinaire Bo Burnham, it is a strange topic for a near 30yr.old man to tackle. What he has in common with an 8th grader is anyone’s guess. However, his rise to fame happened at the beginning of this digital revolution and the internet definitely plays a huge part in this film.He may relate more than we give him credit for because he used this always on internet culture to fuel a career. Bo Burnham understands the duality of the internet. Imagine going through high school again but through two parallel worlds: one digital and the other physical. You couldn’t pay me enough money to suffer through that again. 

Eighth Grade is told through the perspective of Kayla (Elsie Fisher), an eighth grader who is struggling to build her YouTube audience. The fact that this is a coming of age tale or that she is female are not unique to film, Tina Fey’s ‘Mean Girls’ comes to mind. But this film is made more special by the often underutilized female perspective. I have a niece that is this age and I had no idea that she was juggling the online world of selfies and hashtags in addition to figuring out how to talk to gross boys. This film would be much different if it was about the boy’s experience. We’ve seen that movie. In order to have the male perspective we need to look to no further then  comedians: Woody Allen or Judd Apatow - both of whom Bo Burnham seems to be channeling. More importantly using the female perspective allows the audience to see an experience that they wouldn’t normally get to: how gross dudes are to women at such a young age.  Elsie Fisher perfectly portrays a girl who struggles with self esteem, body image issues, and lack of social awareness. We wince and cringe as she tries to overcome social anxiety at pool parties and awkward car rides home with her father, partly because it is uncomfortable but also because we’ve been there and feel for her.

One thing that I took away from this film was how shockingly sexual it was. Not in a gross creepy way, but more in the fact that I had no idea the pressure women have at such a young age. This movie was extremely eye opening for me. It seems the pressure for women by society to be pretty, flawless, have long hair, have perfect make-up, shaved legs is overwhelming and starts at such a young age. Especially when the people that they are being pressured to impress are idiots. From the popular girls Kayla struggles to connect with to the her male crush who will only talk to her if she has naked photos of herself, you struggle to understand why she cares so much about the approval of these dolts. But that’s the thing this film so perfectly captures: your sons and daughters really do care about that stuff. They may be kid world problems but they are real to those going through them and need to be understood and empathized with. 

‘Eighth Grade’ not only gives us a peek into the lives of the next generation, it gives us an idea of what that struggle is like for their parents. This film would not be as compelling and heart-breaking if not for the performance of Josh Hamilton who plays Kayla’s single father: Mark. The scenes between the two of them are the highlight of the film as we witness Mark trying to be a loving and supportive dad with good intentions who is flawed but just trying to do his best and understand his daughter. You empathize with him as you find yourself thinking of how you would react if you were in his situation dealing with a teenager like Kayla. You want to be trusting, loving, and supportive - but you are also fearful of what could happen to your child that you care so much about. Their onscreen chemistry is what separates ‘Eighth Grade’ from other dramas about teenagers like ‘Freaks and Geeks’ or more comedy focused movies like ‘Superbad’ or ‘Annie Hall.’ 

Eighth Grade is a movie everyone should watch, however painful that experience may be for you. If you have young children you should definitely watch it, and if you have high school age children, please watch this. It may make you a more sympathetic parent, but even more then that, it will spark a conversation. Your teenager may not want to have that conversation right away. One thing I took away from this film, a teenager may not want you to be there for them all the time, but they are grateful when things get tough and you are still there as a shoulder to lean on. High schoolers really are like hurricanes: lock the doors, barricade the windows, and weather the storm.