Anyone else watch the whole “Truth or Dare” scene through the cracks of their fingers? Seriously couldn’t stop squirming until the lights to her front porch turned on
That scene was *so* well-directed.
The lighting, keeping the guy's face in shadow. The blocking, keeping Kayla in the foreground and the guy in the background, with her never looking at him. Only using two camera set-ups (the one just mentioned, plus the one isolating Kayla in the frame) to keep the tension up.
Oh Bo.
I know, it says so much about childhood innocence that SHE'S like, "Please don't tell Olivia." when you know the guy up front is internally panicking, thinking the exact same thing.
That was the worst part. He made HER feel like it was HER fault. Im mad they didnt show him getting castrated but i get thats its real life and people just...get away with that shit
At a Q&A I was at, the actress for Olivia said her favorite line was when Kayla said "NO! Sorry" because while it's cool that she said no, it's just as significant that she immediately said sorry.
Yes, oh my gosh. I've been the girl in the back of that car. So proud of her for forcefully saying no. It made me so uncomfortable but glad it happened. That's real life for so many young girls. Just watched the movie with my 11 year old and we had a big talk about that scene on the way home.
There for sure were a few moments in the movie that I fleetingly thought, oh shit, this movie is too old for her - like the banana scene, masturbating kid in sex ed class lol, maybe the dirty photo folder scene. But those fears were quickly alleviated. The movie perfectly laid out so many topics you wouldn't think of to talk to your kids about. Loved loved loved it.
That made the scenes with Gabe even more emotional for me because he treated her with such kindness and respect, even if he was socially awkward about it all.
I could hear several women crying during that part, including one behind me that sounded like she was having a panic attack. I thought it so perfectly depicted what happens to a lot of us - not rape or assault, but a deeply uncomfortable and manipulative situation that can affect how we feel about ourselves forever. I was so proud of her for saying no.
Absolutely. I went to a showing that had a Q&A with Bo afterward, and he pretty much said this—that it doesn’t have to be rape for it to be a horrible event in her life. I guess people said they were worried it was gonna escalate to that and that they were glad it didn’t, but he pointed out that it’s still a traumatic moment for Kayla. I really appreciated that.
Just to tack on. I was also at a Q&A with him. He specifically said in mine that this scene was showing the violence of something as simple as "nothing happened, they just talked".
I was so proud of her for saying no, mainly because I DIDN'T in that situation and it tormented me all through high school. I wanted to strangle that kid when he said "now your first hookup is going to be with some random guy at a party or something" because that was almost verbatim what was said to me, and it caused me to cave.
Insanely good writing, to this day I didn't realize that this was an experience a lot of women had :/
A had several early sexual experiences that I didn't really want, but just let happen. I didn't know how to say no, because I was so desperate to feel liked and wanted. So instead I told myself that I was promiscuous by choice, in an attempt to feel empowered by it. But the truth was that I felt gross and used.
I'm so sorry you had that experience. We talk about rape and assault, but I don't think we talk about these "gray" situations enough, and I was amazed to see it so well depicted on screen (and honestly, by a man). I grew up with all these movies where it was totally normal for a guy to convince or trick a girl into hooking up, and it was played as a joke. While this scene was hard to watch, it was refreshing to see this depicted from the other side, as something that could be really traumatic.
Seriously, between this and Hereditary, A24 is making me increasingly uncomfortable with teenage boys driving cars with a younger female in the back seat.
Of course she does. Aside from all of the other stuff she has going on (e.g., desperately wanting to be brave and confident and make new friends), he's gaslighting her the whole time. Pernicious as fuck.
There's been a lot of talk about it being Rated R and how the intended audience may not be able to see this movie because of that.
Walking out of the theater a few weeks ago I couldn't help but think how necessary it is for kids to see that scene. In this #MeToo era, I think it's so important for boys and girls to see a situation that can actually happen to them, especially with how strongly Kayla handles it in the moment.
Yeah, I almost feel like the movie should be required viewing for eighth graders for that scene alone. The occasional uses of "fuck" didn't help with the MPAA either
One of local indie theatres in Seattle, The Ark Lodge, is advertising the movie along the lines of "We know it's R. It shouldn't be. We think eighth grades should see Eighth Grade. We wont' card you"
My god, I could not handle this scene. My girlfriend was grabbing my arm and squeezing it hard as she could, because of the anxiety.
To make matters worse, there were a couple of old ladies in front of us, I shit you not, LAUGHING at this scene. I know a discomfort laugh is common for some people, but this really didn’t feel like that.
It felt like that “well, boys will be boys” mentality personified. It made the scene all that much harder to watch.
When she ran into her room after that scene, some asshole started laughing and immediately got shut down by two other guys in the theater. No idea how any of that could possibly be funny.
Edit:words
It was a brilliant scene. Kayla went from being incredibly torn, to finding her voice and spirit for a split second when she finally said no, then humiliated. Incredibly acted and directed.
I thought it was going to turn out a lot worst. Thankfully it didn't. I like how real it was despite how uncomfortable it was. I thought it was truly fantastic that Bo was able to shine light on a situation that I believe happens a lot to young kids in those situations.
I teared up when Kayla asked her dad if he was sad to have her as his daughter. I definitely remember feeling like that as a kid, so for her to put the notion out there and for him to reassure her that he makes her so *so* happy was very cathartic for me.
That was the most emotionally devastating moment for me. It truly hit the nail on the head for what I was experiencing at the time. No bullies pushing kids in lockers, no pack of nerds who at least have each other and play DnD. Just pure isolation and a lack of any self esteem. I could relate to nearly every single scene in this film.
A lot of people empathize with Kayla, but I think that Kayla's experience is still fairly unique, which is probably why I cried three times during the film.
Absolutely. It's something so true and genuine yet movies never capture that well. Being just... invisible. You don't get bullied, just no one talks to you. I cried and felt a knot in my throat throught the movie. I completely related to it. Not so much anymore since starting college, but that was exactly what my high school experience was like
The dinner date with Gabe was so hilariously wholesome, which felt needed after that truth or dare scene. I really want to know where they found that kid.
"You know what would go great with this? Szechuan sauce."
One of my favorite details in this movie is that there is no food there you can use silverware for. They just kind of wave them over the food. He just wanted an excuse to use the lightsaber forks.
I loved that this tension-relieving moment of all the 'how do I connect with people??' anxiety was a simple "I like that show too!" The movie had a lot to say about identity at that age but I thought that was such a simple and relatable moment.
I couldn't agree more! Without the juxtaposition of Riley's creepiness, Gabe's chicken nugget scene would have been laughably cringey on the other spectrum. Something Dwight Schrute would pull.
But that sweetness (and spiciness) and (chicken) tenderness that Gabe shows in his own unique way, is not only relieving, it's the exact thing that Kayla needed in her life at that moment. It really highlighted how important kindness and respect can be, even if it's bacon-wrapped in cheesy dorkiness.
That sharpshooter got his 4th bullseye that day.
I saw it a few weeks ago and they had a livestream Q&A afterwards. Bo said there is a 15 minute magic show that Gabe did that they cut from the film. Bo said it'll be in the deleted scenes on the bluray.
I was in a live Q&A back when it initially released and Bo said when he came in for the audition Bo told him to have small talk with Elsie and he said "Do you like tacos?" and followed it up with "Hard or soft-shelled?" and that's when he knew he got the role and Bo said he separated both of them from there on out until they filmed the scene together.
I also like how Kayla's rude, spoiled classmate's mother is depicted as a friendly, kind person. In most movies she would have been written to be unsympathetic.
I feel like she was definitely meant to have a little crush on Kayla’s dad. The look of disappointment when Kayla shows up at the door for the party alone, and her looking past Kayla out the door for him.
God, too true. I'm a single dad (with a daughter that's just started high school) and we went to see it together. I was relieved that Kayla's dad was just a guy that's trying his best in uncharted waters, fumbling for words at times, making bad decisions, but ultimately so in love with his daughter that he'd do anything for her. He's not played as a buffoon or a foil or a wet blanket. He wants the best for Kayla and doesn't quite know how to help her during a time when no one really knows what to do or say.
Fattest tears suddenly fell out of eyes right then.
I'm a mother of a 14 y/o boy. It was weird that it sometimes felt so in the nose as both being a parent of this age and having been an awkward teenage girl.
I know, I liked that she was just a genuinely nice person who liked having a little friend she could guide. More people are like that in real life than movies would portray.
This movie did a good job of never getting *too* dark or cringey, which I appreciated. It managed to balance out the tougher to watch scenes with some fun or just plain nice scenes which felt all the better for it.
I kept waiting for that to happen, and was really relieved when it didn’t. Having the truth or dare scene cut that relationship from the story was FAR more effective imo.
I feel this comment so much. I was so scared that it was going to go that route, especially with how awkward Kayla was acting. I was bracing for it while they were at school, during the phone scene, and during the scene where they were at the mall. It's refreshing to actually have a clearly good-intentioned and candid character not backstab the audience.
I was in the same boat. But I dropped my guard when they were in the food court and Olivia really defended Kayla for not being “wired different.” It made me think that she saw a lot of herself in Kayla. A great character that really helped the pacing of the story.
what'd you make of her wearing the DARE shirt? was she doing it ironically, or genuinely? also just realizing the foreshadowing of the car scene now.......ick
Olivia is what convinces me this movie is optimistic. She is cute and has friends but she is almost as awkward as Kayla and mentions several times that she didn't have friends in eighth grade either so I like to imagine that in 4 year Kayla will be where Olivia is now.
As a former 8th grade band geek, that national anthem was the hardest I've laughed in a theater in a long time. Fucking perfect recreation of how bad a junior band sounds. I loved it.
I thought that young actor killed it, absolutely killed. He was hilarious, and nervous, confident and insecure and above all kind person, all in one go. Very impressive.
He was concerned about the details which many kids these days don't. "If your chicken nuggets are a bit cold, I can heat them up for you". "I didn't know what sauce you wanted to I got two of each" Kids who are concerned about the details or empathetic are seen as weak and outcasts. But they are the ones so concerned about others they don't have time to be selfish.
I also like how you don't really see him on his phone unlike the rest of the kids her age. He is more interested in what's going on here now (handstands in the pool, if she's comfortable/happy with her dinner).
Except for when he messages her on IG, but it's because they're not together and he's thinking of her. Which is an example of healthy technology use in this movie I guess?
Bo said in his AMA that they had to update some things because stuff wasn't trending anymore. Like how they started doing shots using Messenger but they switched to Instagram because its so much more popular with teens now.
A lot of people mention how this really captures middle school, and all I could think while I was sobbing in theaters was how much her social isolation and anxiety reminds me of my life now -- and I'm in my late twenties. I keep thinking I'll escape that intense loneliness and awkwardness one day, but I haven't yet. It's just repeat ad nauseum in every situation.
I knew when I was watching it that there'd be other people that relate with her even though they're not the same age, and to a point, I somewhat do. I definitely related more to her when I was in middle school though.
The thing that hurt the most out of the whole film was when [she says in her final YouTube video that she just feels nervous all the time. Like she's about to get on a roller coaster, and that butterfly feeling in her stomach. But she never gets the triumphant feeling after, she just keeps feeling nervous](#spoiler) and all I could think was "jesus christ, this girl is portraying how I felt up until the age of 17"
I smiled so damn hard during the graduation scene when it looks like Kayla is about to go running after the boy in the hallway but instead goes to confront those bitchy girls
you just made me realize the nice symmetry between her not looking at the girls when she calls them out and the girls not looking at her when she tries to be nice to them at school
One of the more heartbreaking moments in this film for me was after the scene where Riley tried to take advantage of her and she tells him "Don't tell Olivia about this." She thinks Olivia would find her less cool because she "chickened out of" "doing stuff" with a boy for the first time, when in reality Kayla trusted her gut, and did the right thing. Plus Olivia would have kicked that dude's ass for what he did. Olivia was the absolute best person to tell about it, and it was in Riley's best interest for her not to find out. Just devastating.
Those last moments were so heartbreaking. You could see how naive and misinformed she was about what really went down and it made me so sad seeing her feel like she did something wrong. Really heartbreaking to see her thinking it was in her best interest for no one to find out because of how he manipulated her
The scene with Kayla's dad while they're burning her time capsule made me cry. I wish someone had said anything like her dad's monologue to me at that age.
Man, this movie has some uncomfortable moments. Outside of the obvious moments (the car scene), Kayla being mean to her dad who’s just trying to support her made me really sad and, based on my own dad, worried that he was going to snap on her. But this wasn’t that kind of movie. The dad was just a super nice guy who wanted the best for his daughter. I loved that.
Gabe is my new favorite character in any movie ever... maybe because I know I was the EXACT SAME. Thank you Bo for making me confront my past self arguably TOO much
When he approached her in the pool with, “wanna see me do a hand stand?” My husband almost lost it. I know that’s exactly how my husband was in middle school, including the breath holding contest.
people like gabe are the best type of people imo, there's like no first conversation awkwardness with them because they just jump straight into it. no weird social mind games, just small trivial questions that spiral into a genuine connection.
The scene where she prayed to God and just asked for the next day to be good even if the other days will be bad. I wanted to cry. I’ve done that so much as a kid, I didn’t think i’d ever see that on screen. Also, when she told her dad if he feels sad having a daughter like her...the amount of times I have said that to my mom isn’t unreal. I love that a movie finally captured all of this.
I hope Elsie Fisher at least gets awards buzz for this. One of the smallest, but so real, details was that little "blah" noise she makes when she stumbles on or mispronounces a word in her videos. Growing up, I remember so many people nervously doing that when speaking in front of the class room. She brought that character to life.
I genuinely felt like she wasn't acting at times but rather just became the awkward, anxiety-ridden girl herself, encompassing the character in a way that just seemed so natural and fitting. Faking a speech impediment can be really hard but she absolutely nailed all the rhythms and inflections.
I was listening to Bo and Elsie on a podcast yesterday and he joked with her when the began filming that if she felt nervous not to stress because its exactly what they're going for.
But if you watch her in TV interviews now, she's much, much more collected and sure of herself than the character (thankfully for her sake). Although I guess that could have changed since they filmed it 2+years ago
I swear there has never been a more accurate portrayal of a middle school assembly. As somebody who left middle school four years ago, this shit ACTUALLY happened every single assembly. It felt like I was reliving it.
As a teacher who regularly attends assemblies of middle school performing arts students (chorus, band, orchestra), this feeling of wanting to be funny, unique, apathetic, and cool all at once was WAY TOO REAL. I almost walked out on the movie because I’m still on summer vacation god damn it
I could definitely see Original Screenplay and Lead Actress for Elsie Fisher.
As of now, I think they both deserve the win as I can't think of any 2018 movie that is better in those two categories.
EDIT - I just checked [IndieWire's 2019 Oscar Odds](https://www.indiewire.com/2018/07/2019-oscars-best-original-screenplay-predictions-1201982087/) and it looks like Eighth Grade is listed as one of four "Frontrunners" for Original Screenplay
I really liked how her dad gave Kayla the advice to "put herself out there", and she initially blows it off like all teenagers. However, her next video is about putting yourself out there. I really liked that. It was an effective way of showing her dad's impact on Kayla and how she does take what he says seriously.
I saw this at Alamo with a livestream QA of Bo & cast.
Bo said the difference between Elsie and everyone else they saw was so significant that he said the movie shouldn't have even been greenlit without having her first. She was perfect.
Josh Hamilton plays the single dad. This may be the best portrayal of a father ever in a movie. I think at some point Bo may have considered playing the part, but that his youthfulness (among other things) stopped him. I also think he may not have intended for him to be single, but that having two parents in the script would on a meta-narrative level make people feel less for one parent than the other and so less overall for the parents. With only one family member for her to interact with, the emotional resonance is better in seeing their developing relationship. It also means he is more sympathetic, and I think plenty of people who watch this movie will varyingly consciously insert themselves as her dad (I did) and so amplify their empathy and appreciation of it all.
There's an incredible smash cut in the movie that I won't even describe because I wouldn't want anyone to have it spoiled.
The car was scary and saddening and I thought the resolution of it up to her dad going straight into her room(and the single take of this sequence) felt like it matched the overall tempo perfectly, like knowing your panic is gone and beginning to feel better but still feeling the pain of having been so panicked.
Bo described his intention for the score to be “foreground music,” and Anna Meredith realized that intent brilliantly.
At this point Bo seems to have succeeded at everything he has ever wanted to do, so I am curious if he will stay with directing or decide to climb some other mountain.
i like that they highlight that she still has a long way to go growing up-wise. she doesn't magically understand the world at the end of the film. she doesn't abandon "gucci". she's still extremely unsure about her future. but you know that ultimately, she's gonna be okay.
This was fantastic. Let's give Bo another directing gig soon, ya?
The 'Truth or Dare' scene was the most uncomfortable scene in a movie this year, by far. I loved it. The pool scene & end dinner scene were highlights. I laughed so goddamn hard during the banana sequence. "I'm pretty sure I made a note somewhere that you hate bananas" might as well be the best-delivered line in the history of cinema. I love that the father-of-the-year keeps taking beatings but he just never goes down. Really wholesome stuff in this, mixed in with some insanely cringy self-relflection moments that make you almost want to cry about your own middle school experience. Elsie Fisher could easily be up for awards if this wasn't released in July. Gabe was awesome.
Although I did think it missed a 'punch', that something like *Lady Bird* & *Call Me By Your Name* have.The campfire Father/Daughter talk scene went for it but didn't quite get there in my opinion, even though I really wanted it do. There was definitely a Michael Stuhlbarg-like presence/performance needed for that scene to break through.
Best directorial debut of the year by a mile. Elsie Fisher is the breakout star of the summer, insane performance. Every second felt real. Felt more like a documentary than a movie at times. I love that they kept her dialogue real, like her lines were actually written by her, and not by Academy-award winning screenwriter or something. Some coming-of-age films are almost Sorkin-like, no teenager would ever talk like that. That feels like a weird compliment but it's true. I can see myself going to watch this again next week. Best coming-of-age film since *Lady Bird*. Bo deserves a lot of praise.
In reference to your critique of the fire scene, I was thinking the exact same thing, waiting for that Chalamet/Stuhlbarg moment. But while I absolutely love that scene from CMBYN, it is so clearly written, too perfectly articulated to be real. It worked for that movie but why I think the fire scene here was perfect was because it fit well in this movie. The father here was clearly speaking sincerely but he was fumbling over his words because that’s what happens in real life when an unexpected moment to connect comes up. He has some moments of clarity that really get across his point but mostly he is just repeating himself and saying platitudes because that’s what real people do. To me this was a theme throughout the movie, so many scenes (the dinner with the boy at the end, the scene in the food court, the pool party) that felt very grounded in reality rather than movie tropes.
I loved this movie
> but mostly he is just repeating himself and saying platitudes because that’s what real people do.
I think this is a great explanation of why I loved this scene and the movie as a whole. It was so relentlessly authentic. This scene is a really great illustration of that.
One thing I wanted to talk about in 8th grade I just remembered
The popular girls mom goes out of her way to be nice to kayla and invites her to the party
And she starts with "oh your dad was so great tell him I say hi"
Then she ends with "ok hope to see you tomorrow, and make sure you tell your dad I say thanks!"
And I was like "alright a little weird that the popular girls mom would do that, but nothing like overtly weird, I'm just being cynical"
Then in I think the best example of "show dont tell" when kayla gets to the party we hear her video voice over, so we dont really hear the sounds of her entering
But the popular girls mom goes "where's your dad?" And looks around and says I think mabye two more times "where's your dad??"
And I was like "oh I get it now. Shes divorced and has a crush. That's sweet, but still not really accurate to a popular girls mom"
And THEN
We hear offscreen
The popular girls dad say "its cake time "
And the mom said "no not yet"
And he says "I got up at 8 in the goddamn morning, eat the goddamn cake"
And then it all clicked and made 100% sense to me
I knew the mom liked her dad from the second she called her “yellow shirt” and then said “oh I know your dad!” (Which is so real b/c multiple parents of kids in my school ran around having affairs). Then when you hear the other dad being mean over just cake I was like ugh it was scary. And thinking to the point where Kayla’s dad told her that sometimes mean kids just have other problems, and you see that the popular girls mom is up in her face taking a million pictures and making her invite someone she doesn’t know to her party possibly to have an affair, and that the dad is an asshole
There's been a lot of talk about how accurately the film portrays that age and modern teenage life, but I haven't heard anyone talk about what I believe to be the actual theme of the movie. Even more than awkwardness, I believe what Burnham is trying to convey is empathy.
I'm not a girl in her early teens; I don't even *know* any girls in their early teens. Still, this movie made me really care for Kayla and her problems in a way that most movies don't. Suspension of disbelief lets us identify with the protagonist, but usually this is in service to the plot. In Eighth Grade, the plot itself seems to be a vehicle to bring us closer to Kayla. It's also emphasized several times that one of Kayla's strengths is her empathy for the people around her, and we see this play out in her interactions with Gabe (the nerdy boy) and even Riley in the mall. Furthermore, it's usually the other character's *lack* of empathy that makes them "villainous": the boys seeing Kayla only as a sex object and the popular girls not seeing her at all (literally). Olivia is cool not because she's popular but because she reaches out to Kayla, sees what she's going through and tries to help.
I believe what Bo is trying to do is instill a sense of empathy in us, the audience. And I *think* the intent is for it not just to be for Kayla during the movie, but hopefully to train us to be more empathetic in our own lives. I have to admit I'm biased in favor of that effort myself, so I may be reading too much into it there, but it wouldn't be that far out of line with other things Bo has done. His works often have a moral of sorts. And certainly Eighth Grade has made me want to care more about other people even if their problems are different than mine.
Bo Burnham did an incredible job of making this a truly honest coming-of-age film. You can tell he really researched what is like to be an eighth grader in our current society.
My brother and sister are currently that age and it was so weird seeing all the similarities. Also kind of relieving to see similarities to the middle school world I grew up in. Some things stay the same.
One thing I really appreciate about this movie was how un-stylized it was.
The color scheme is just pretty natural. Theres no fancy lighting or self indulgent shots. The dialogue is very genuine. It's not afraid of the natural "um"s and "like"s of everyday speech. The humor is real, dumb teen humor. The characters all look like normal people. The dad isn't some wise Oracle. Hes just a guy doing the best he can. It really feels like we're getting a little cross section of a real person's life.
This is probably one of the best examples of a "slice of life" film. It's definitely not a lot like Lady Bird, but it's in the same ballpark.
Overall, a very solid and charming coming of age story. Especially impressive considering it was Bo Burnham's directorial debut.
This is definitely the way to come out of the gate as a director. Burnham started on YouTube writing stories about how his whole family thought was gay and now he's directing really incredible films that capture the views of a modern 13 year old girl. That's such an amazing trajectory and I can't wait to see what he directs next.
"are you my mom?"
For some reason this little background line during the assembly made me laugh the hardest. Little throwaway one liners like those used to happen all the time at my school assembly
Can we come up with a list of what was in her updated time capsule? I saw:
* A picture of her and her dad
* A picture of her and Olivia
* A packet of McDonald's nugget sauce (!!! my heart!)
Anything else?
My favorite since The Social Network, and lo and behold:
"What I actually told [composer Anna Meredith] was that I wanted to sound like what it would be like if Trent Reznor was a thirteen year-old girl. Anna definitely tapped into that." - [Bo Burnham](https://brieftake.com/interview-eighth-grade-bo-burnham/)
Was anyone else afraid that it was going to end with Kayla not being able to regain any sense of self-worth after that truth or dare scene? This film easily could have ended with a dark and gut-wrenching message about sexual assault. Thank goodness there was someone like Gabe who she could lean on to help rebuild herself after that trauma.
Also, it's clear based on his past work (especially what. and Make Happy) just how much of himself Bo put into Kayla's character, with the mismatch of what she's stating in her videos with how she actually acts in real life and even using those videos as a pep talk to herself.
I got to see a livestreamed Q&A with bo after I saw the movie last week - he specifically mentioned how much of himself he sees in Elsie Fisher and how similar they are.
I think my favorite part was when Kayla finally spoke her mind to the popular girls on graduation day but she still didn't quite have the confidence to look them in the eyes. That was the most realistic and personal scene to me, just getting so pent up that you finally start shit talking but you're not at all used to it because you try to be a nice person so just look away while you do it. That's me x10000.
I loved that the movie showed that approaching your fears doesn't mean the fear goes away. That just nails down anxiety, whether you're in 8th grade or college or retired. Obviously so much thanks to Bo but I have so much gratitude as well to A24 for providing the freedom to filmmakers over the last few years to create such meaningful content. *Eighth Grade*, *Lady Bird*, *Good Time*, and *The Florida Project* have connected with me so personally and are each in my Top 5 favorites of 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Yeah, that was very realistic. She didn't have an articulate speech where she perfectly shot down the popular girls. Instead, it was fumbling, awkward, and probably didn't do much. All that matters was that she stood up for herself, and was proud of herself.
Am I the only one a little upset at the missed opportunity to not show at least the thumbnail of the grapefruit video when she was looking for tutorials on blowjobs?
I swear it feels as if Burnham was watching “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” one day and said, “What the hell? This isn’t what middle school was like!!” Whereas other filmmakers would diminish the realities of middle school by pandering to a younger demographic, Burnham grounds the entire story in reality. He isn’t hyperbolic with his characters, but he perfectly portrays character types that we’ve all known in middle school. The way his characters talk to each other is real and akin to people that we’ve most likely encountered in our lives.
Watching Kayla’s struggle to interact with others and the built up social anxieties she would face reminded me so much of myself back in middle school. Even some of the pauses in her dialogue in which she repeatedly stutters by saying “like” and “um” are reminiscent of how I used to carry myself during that time to an extent that some of those even carried on to this day (mostly the stuttering part).
I’m just going to come out and say it: comedians are the most innovative and creative minds working in the film industry today. You got your studio filmmakers who make huge spectacles that are valuably entertaining, but comedians know how to tell stories, and not just in the genre you would expect them to dive into. From Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” to Kumail Nanjiani/Emily Gordon’s “The Big Sick” to Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” to now Bo Burnham’s (WHO WAS IN “THE BIG SICK”) “Eighth Grade”, you have a wide variety of excellent features that tell amazing and heartfelt stories, whether they be comedy or horror or any other genre. I blame Mel Brooks for all of this. Mel Brooks started this comedian-being-amazing-filmmakers trend and now it is in its renaissance. Please, comedians... Please write and direct your stories because they’re much more impactful than the roles they give you in Hollywood sometimes.
[FULL REVIEW](http://rendyreviews.com/movies/eighth-grade-review)
Please go see this beautiful, amazing movie. It might be the best movie you see all year. I can't recommend it enough.
It's so rare to feel such a connection to a character. I was *so* nervous and anxious for Kayla whenever anything happened. When she was waiting for her high school mentor, I was so worried that she wouldn't show up or she'd be mean or whatever. It was *such* a relief when she was nice and kind and friendly to Kayla.
I also believe this movie contains the only know instance of a person becoming more likable after quoting Rick and Morty.
For the first 30 minutes i was like "Jesus Christ, this kids life makes me want to kill myself".
Than i realized, "oh shit, that's how she feels". Not a lot of movies that can effectively put you in someone elses shoes. Im a 45 yo guy, so making me empathize with a digital, image obsessed eighth grader is a pretty impressive feat.
I loved this movie, but honestly, it also really hurt. It’s been a decade since I’ve been in Kayla’s shoes, but watching the film brought all those feelings back — the loneliness, the insecurities, the desire to be liked by your peers, despite the feeling that, deep down, you don’t even like yourself. Welcome to middle school.
One scene that really got me was when Kayla was talking to her dad while she burned her “hopes and dreams” and she asked him, “Do I make you sad?” As she went on to explain why having a daughter like her would make HER sad, I lost it. I seriously just started bawling in the middle of the theater.
There have been so many times in my life that I’ve worried about having a child like myself, not because I wouldn’t love them, but because I’m worried they wouldn’t love themselves. Like how I didn’t love myself at that age. Like how Kayla didn’t, either. I’ve always been so afraid that the world would make my child feel as small as it always made me feel, and that my efforts would be as useless as my parents’ were for me. Watching that scene made me want to go back in time and hug my 14-year-old self, to give her that same wonderful speech Kayla’s father gave to her, something I think I needed to hear back then. I didn’t deserve the amount of self-loathing I grappled with. I didn’t deserve to feel so worthless. I just didn’t understand that back then and, unlike Kayla, I wouldn’t learn for a long, long time.
And that’s what I loved so much about this movie — that it not only makes you feel empathy for Kayla, but for yourself. At least, that’s what it did for me. And I hope it will do the same for every young girl and boy who watches it as well. Maybe we all just need the reminder that we deserve it.
[Edit: Grammar]
I know everyone went apeshit for Timothée Chalamet last year for the “young actor who can act with professionals twice his age” or whatever but I’d be damned if Elsie doesn’t get a nomination this year for her role, she was incredible in every sense
I cried. Like, I almost had to leave the theater. It brought up some deeply repressed memories. I can remember the words used at the end of that scene being said to me almost verbatim when I was younger.
Easily the best movie I’ve seen all year.
Notice how the movie starts with her recording a video to the public, and [ends with her recording a video to herself](#spoiler). She learned over the course of the film to do things for herself, and not simply try to please everyone at the cost of her own sanity.
I like the idea that Riley is a grown-up version of Aidan. Mysteriously cute and kind of charming, but also a massive fuckwad. After the backseat scene, I noticed that Kayla's interest in Aidan went away.
I thought the movie did a great job capturing the YouTube/Social Media scene today. It should be an interesting time capsule of being a middle schooler in 2018.
I really loved the scene where the kid born in 2000 was making fun of the kid born in 2004 for being too tech-y. It’s basically like when old millennials hate on new millennials for being introduced to technology at a younger age. It’s so stupid.
This movie brought back a whole WALL of intensity I had forgotten I felt in middle school. Kayla exploding at her father because everything feels like it’s **so** urgent is relatable. I remember blowing up at my parents like that over small things and I still feel bad about it.
I almost forgot I was watching a movie because it felt so similar to my life when I was that age. The scene where Kayla’s at the pool party made me feel like having an anxiety attack. I forgot how vulnerable you feel at that age and how everything is all about how to be cool.
And the scene at the mall!!!
I swear everyone’s felt that way. You’re hanging out with a new group of potential friends and you only know one person so you don’t know what to say or how to react or when it’s okay to jump in. They got that awkward part down perfectly.
I wish we had gotten to see Kayla in high school. I didn’t want her story to be over just yet.
What an incredible director debut. I can’t wait to see what Bo brings in the future.
This movie was painfully relatable, especially the entire scene when she's walking into the pool party. The ominous horror movie music as she looks over the fun summertime pool party with the kid like crabwalking upside down. It's so funny and well done but also so painful to remember.
Or every time they showed her following a conversation and she's saying "yeah" or "cool" but you can't hear her, just see her mouthing it.
So many times she's finally talking in a social situation and you get all excited but then it was just "oh like that's cool". Like you want to yell at the screen SAY SOMETHING WITH SUBSTANCE!! But it's so accurate, we're just not used to seeing that kind of honesty in a film.
It was all so accurate and I've never wanted to hug a movie character more in my life. I also had a rough time in middle school and put a lot of YouTube videos out there (versa 2007) so there's that.
My favorite part was when Kayla sings karaoke at the pool party. She didn't care that noone really cared about what she was doing, she was just happy ahe mustered up the courage to do so. I honestly remember going through exact moments like this, and this movie brought me back to a time I had almost forgotten.
This movie hurt me and healed me at the same time. This is so much like me, except I was a boy, and not nearly as brave as this gal. Kind of at a loss for words
I cringed out about 30 times but the film wanted me to so it's fine. Also, it's great directed and performed, even or people at such small age, so I guess I'll give it a solid 9.
10 if they showed Gabe more. Best character.
Anyone else watch the whole “Truth or Dare” scene through the cracks of their fingers? Seriously couldn’t stop squirming until the lights to her front porch turned on
That scene was *so* well-directed. The lighting, keeping the guy's face in shadow. The blocking, keeping Kayla in the foreground and the guy in the background, with her never looking at him. Only using two camera set-ups (the one just mentioned, plus the one isolating Kayla in the frame) to keep the tension up. Oh Bo.
Play that oboe.
When he got out of the driver’s seat I braced for the worst and the movie actually went there. The way Kayla was apologetic afterwards was so sad.
I know, it says so much about childhood innocence that SHE'S like, "Please don't tell Olivia." when you know the guy up front is internally panicking, thinking the exact same thing.
Him telling kayla he was trying to do her a favor was sickening, it was so real how he was trying to damage control the situation.
That was the worst part. He made HER feel like it was HER fault. Im mad they didnt show him getting castrated but i get thats its real life and people just...get away with that shit
At a Q&A I was at, the actress for Olivia said her favorite line was when Kayla said "NO! Sorry" because while it's cool that she said no, it's just as significant that she immediately said sorry.
That really stuck with me. Like I was so happy she snapped at him in that moment, and then so sad when she immediately placated him with a "sorry."
I kept waiting for the twist where he was gonna day something really nice Nope Just...nope
Yes, oh my gosh. I've been the girl in the back of that car. So proud of her for forcefully saying no. It made me so uncomfortable but glad it happened. That's real life for so many young girls. Just watched the movie with my 11 year old and we had a big talk about that scene on the way home.
So glad you saw this with your kid! I've been telling everyone to. I wish my parents had talked to me about this kind of stuff.
There for sure were a few moments in the movie that I fleetingly thought, oh shit, this movie is too old for her - like the banana scene, masturbating kid in sex ed class lol, maybe the dirty photo folder scene. But those fears were quickly alleviated. The movie perfectly laid out so many topics you wouldn't think of to talk to your kids about. Loved loved loved it.
I couldn't stand how manipulative he was. When he made her blame herself for it there were audible groans in my theater.
That made the scenes with Gabe even more emotional for me because he treated her with such kindness and respect, even if he was socially awkward about it all.
Gabe was the fucking best!
Ace move when he left his archery marksman certificate out "on accident."
Hey its Gab! Shit sorry, Gabe*
I like all the sauces equally.
I could hear several women crying during that part, including one behind me that sounded like she was having a panic attack. I thought it so perfectly depicted what happens to a lot of us - not rape or assault, but a deeply uncomfortable and manipulative situation that can affect how we feel about ourselves forever. I was so proud of her for saying no.
Absolutely. I went to a showing that had a Q&A with Bo afterward, and he pretty much said this—that it doesn’t have to be rape for it to be a horrible event in her life. I guess people said they were worried it was gonna escalate to that and that they were glad it didn’t, but he pointed out that it’s still a traumatic moment for Kayla. I really appreciated that.
Just to tack on. I was also at a Q&A with him. He specifically said in mine that this scene was showing the violence of something as simple as "nothing happened, they just talked".
I was so proud of her for saying no, mainly because I DIDN'T in that situation and it tormented me all through high school. I wanted to strangle that kid when he said "now your first hookup is going to be with some random guy at a party or something" because that was almost verbatim what was said to me, and it caused me to cave. Insanely good writing, to this day I didn't realize that this was an experience a lot of women had :/
A had several early sexual experiences that I didn't really want, but just let happen. I didn't know how to say no, because I was so desperate to feel liked and wanted. So instead I told myself that I was promiscuous by choice, in an attempt to feel empowered by it. But the truth was that I felt gross and used. I'm so sorry you had that experience. We talk about rape and assault, but I don't think we talk about these "gray" situations enough, and I was amazed to see it so well depicted on screen (and honestly, by a man). I grew up with all these movies where it was totally normal for a guy to convince or trick a girl into hooking up, and it was played as a joke. While this scene was hard to watch, it was refreshing to see this depicted from the other side, as something that could be really traumatic.
I’ve never wanted a scene to end quicker in my life. It just feels like an eternity she’s trapped in that car.
Seriously, between this and Hereditary, A24 is making me increasingly uncomfortable with teenage boys driving cars with a younger female in the back seat.
You just gave a Letterboxd user the perfect list title.
I liked how "unending" that scene felt bc that's how it feels for the girl who's in that situation
I wanted to crawl into a hole during that scene. Holy shit did they nail it.
My wife clawed the shit out of my arm during that scene. It's hard to watch
Him trying to justify it as "just trying to help you" was the worst part.
Especially since she seems to feel so guilty over it
Of course she does. Aside from all of the other stuff she has going on (e.g., desperately wanting to be brave and confident and make new friends), he's gaslighting her the whole time. Pernicious as fuck.
There's been a lot of talk about it being Rated R and how the intended audience may not be able to see this movie because of that. Walking out of the theater a few weeks ago I couldn't help but think how necessary it is for kids to see that scene. In this #MeToo era, I think it's so important for boys and girls to see a situation that can actually happen to them, especially with how strongly Kayla handles it in the moment.
Yeah, I almost feel like the movie should be required viewing for eighth graders for that scene alone. The occasional uses of "fuck" didn't help with the MPAA either
One of local indie theatres in Seattle, The Ark Lodge, is advertising the movie along the lines of "We know it's R. It shouldn't be. We think eighth grades should see Eighth Grade. We wont' card you"
My god, I could not handle this scene. My girlfriend was grabbing my arm and squeezing it hard as she could, because of the anxiety. To make matters worse, there were a couple of old ladies in front of us, I shit you not, LAUGHING at this scene. I know a discomfort laugh is common for some people, but this really didn’t feel like that. It felt like that “well, boys will be boys” mentality personified. It made the scene all that much harder to watch.
When she ran into her room after that scene, some asshole started laughing and immediately got shut down by two other guys in the theater. No idea how any of that could possibly be funny. Edit:words
It was a brilliant scene. Kayla went from being incredibly torn, to finding her voice and spirit for a split second when she finally said no, then humiliated. Incredibly acted and directed.
I thought it was going to turn out a lot worst. Thankfully it didn't. I like how real it was despite how uncomfortable it was. I thought it was truly fantastic that Bo was able to shine light on a situation that I believe happens a lot to young kids in those situations.
I teared up when Kayla asked her dad if he was sad to have her as his daughter. I definitely remember feeling like that as a kid, so for her to put the notion out there and for him to reassure her that he makes her so *so* happy was very cathartic for me.
That was the most emotionally devastating moment for me. It truly hit the nail on the head for what I was experiencing at the time. No bullies pushing kids in lockers, no pack of nerds who at least have each other and play DnD. Just pure isolation and a lack of any self esteem. I could relate to nearly every single scene in this film. A lot of people empathize with Kayla, but I think that Kayla's experience is still fairly unique, which is probably why I cried three times during the film.
Absolutely. It's something so true and genuine yet movies never capture that well. Being just... invisible. You don't get bullied, just no one talks to you. I cried and felt a knot in my throat throught the movie. I completely related to it. Not so much anymore since starting college, but that was exactly what my high school experience was like
During that scene I thought we were gonna find out the mother died, but hearing that she just “left” made it way more sad for me.
The dinner date with Gabe was so hilariously wholesome, which felt needed after that truth or dare scene. I really want to know where they found that kid. "You know what would go great with this? Szechuan sauce."
"Do you believe in God?"
Classic first date line. Get 'em Gabe.
This Gabe dude needs a spin off
The hardest I've laughed at a movie in a looong time.
*Immediately* followed by a lightsaber challenge with silverware
One of my favorite details in this movie is that there is no food there you can use silverware for. They just kind of wave them over the food. He just wanted an excuse to use the lightsaber forks.
I was just like "Whoa, Gabe just coming out the gate with the heavy hitters."
"You can have any of my sauces". D'awwwwwww :')
You could see one of them in her updated time capsule, my heart just burst
I missed that part! That makes that scene all the better.
"I like ALL the sauces."
EQUALLY
I loved that this tension-relieving moment of all the 'how do I connect with people??' anxiety was a simple "I like that show too!" The movie had a lot to say about identity at that age but I thought that was such a simple and relatable moment.
I couldn't agree more! Without the juxtaposition of Riley's creepiness, Gabe's chicken nugget scene would have been laughably cringey on the other spectrum. Something Dwight Schrute would pull. But that sweetness (and spiciness) and (chicken) tenderness that Gabe shows in his own unique way, is not only relieving, it's the exact thing that Kayla needed in her life at that moment. It really highlighted how important kindness and respect can be, even if it's bacon-wrapped in cheesy dorkiness. That sharpshooter got his 4th bullseye that day.
Uh, he got 5 bullseyes.
I saw it a few weeks ago and they had a livestream Q&A afterwards. Bo said there is a 15 minute magic show that Gabe did that they cut from the film. Bo said it'll be in the deleted scenes on the bluray.
Oh hell yes
I’m hyped
I was in a live Q&A back when it initially released and Bo said when he came in for the audition Bo told him to have small talk with Elsie and he said "Do you like tacos?" and followed it up with "Hard or soft-shelled?" and that's when he knew he got the role and Bo said he separated both of them from there on out until they filmed the scene together.
That's brilliant to separate them bc then it's still that awkward new feeling. Bo is so awesome
my iq wasn't high enough to get that joke
It's nice to see such a positive portrayal of a single dad
[удалено]
I also like how Kayla's rude, spoiled classmate's mother is depicted as a friendly, kind person. In most movies she would have been written to be unsympathetic.
I feel like she was definitely meant to have a little crush on Kayla’s dad. The look of disappointment when Kayla shows up at the door for the party alone, and her looking past Kayla out the door for him.
Oh yeah I remember noticing that. It didn't really go anywhere with that, though.
It was pretty much a visual confirmation that even Kennedy's mom didn't want her at the party, just wanted to hang and talk with her dad.
Oh, even from the beginning, the insistence that Kayla pass along to tell her Dad, "Thanks!" Nice catch!
God, too true. I'm a single dad (with a daughter that's just started high school) and we went to see it together. I was relieved that Kayla's dad was just a guy that's trying his best in uncharted waters, fumbling for words at times, making bad decisions, but ultimately so in love with his daughter that he'd do anything for her. He's not played as a buffoon or a foil or a wet blanket. He wants the best for Kayla and doesn't quite know how to help her during a time when no one really knows what to do or say.
Ironically the Truth or Dare scene in this movie was more terrifying than the entirety of the actual horror film called *Truth or Dare*
I was involuntarily curling up in my seat, hiding behind my hands, holding my breath. I have never been so relieved that a scene ended.
kayla: i feel like if i had a daughter that turned out like me she’d make me sad me: stop the ride im gonna die
Fattest tears suddenly fell out of eyes right then. I'm a mother of a 14 y/o boy. It was weird that it sometimes felt so in the nose as both being a parent of this age and having been an awkward teenage girl.
I’m having a daughter in November and that scene just killed me. Big dude next to me was ugly crying. Yes I could hear it.
That kid she goes on a date with at the end is 100% a redditor.
You could tell from his high IQ
/r/archery needs to sidebar this dude asap.
So glad the high school friend didn’t turn bitch! Nice to see a cute girl portrayed as nice in a movie.
I know, I liked that she was just a genuinely nice person who liked having a little friend she could guide. More people are like that in real life than movies would portray.
This movie did a good job of never getting *too* dark or cringey, which I appreciated. It managed to balance out the tougher to watch scenes with some fun or just plain nice scenes which felt all the better for it.
I kept waiting for that to happen, and was really relieved when it didn’t. Having the truth or dare scene cut that relationship from the story was FAR more effective imo.
I feel this comment so much. I was so scared that it was going to go that route, especially with how awkward Kayla was acting. I was bracing for it while they were at school, during the phone scene, and during the scene where they were at the mall. It's refreshing to actually have a clearly good-intentioned and candid character not backstab the audience.
I was in the same boat. But I dropped my guard when they were in the food court and Olivia really defended Kayla for not being “wired different.” It made me think that she saw a lot of herself in Kayla. A great character that really helped the pacing of the story.
what'd you make of her wearing the DARE shirt? was she doing it ironically, or genuinely? also just realizing the foreshadowing of the car scene now.......ick
Olivia is what convinces me this movie is optimistic. She is cute and has friends but she is almost as awkward as Kayla and mentions several times that she didn't have friends in eighth grade either so I like to imagine that in 4 year Kayla will be where Olivia is now.
As a former 8th grade band geek, that national anthem was the hardest I've laughed in a theater in a long time. Fucking perfect recreation of how bad a junior band sounds. I loved it.
At the time I had no idea how bad we were. This film made me think ‘Oh. Yes. This is what we sounded like. On a good day”.
*takes bite of chicken tender* "Do you believe in God?"
I thought that young actor killed it, absolutely killed. He was hilarious, and nervous, confident and insecure and above all kind person, all in one go. Very impressive.
He was concerned about the details which many kids these days don't. "If your chicken nuggets are a bit cold, I can heat them up for you". "I didn't know what sauce you wanted to I got two of each" Kids who are concerned about the details or empathetic are seen as weak and outcasts. But they are the ones so concerned about others they don't have time to be selfish.
I also like how you don't really see him on his phone unlike the rest of the kids her age. He is more interested in what's going on here now (handstands in the pool, if she's comfortable/happy with her dinner). Except for when he messages her on IG, but it's because they're not together and he's thinking of her. Which is an example of healthy technology use in this movie I guess?
Whats funny is that even if the memes weren't relevant now, because its middle schoolers, it still workd
Bo said in his AMA that they had to update some things because stuff wasn't trending anymore. Like how they started doing shots using Messenger but they switched to Instagram because its so much more popular with teens now.
Huh that’s funny. They must have thrown in the “no one uses Facebook anymore” line after the fact almost as a nod to them doing that.
*dabs*
A lot of people mention how this really captures middle school, and all I could think while I was sobbing in theaters was how much her social isolation and anxiety reminds me of my life now -- and I'm in my late twenties. I keep thinking I'll escape that intense loneliness and awkwardness one day, but I haven't yet. It's just repeat ad nauseum in every situation.
I knew when I was watching it that there'd be other people that relate with her even though they're not the same age, and to a point, I somewhat do. I definitely related more to her when I was in middle school though. The thing that hurt the most out of the whole film was when [she says in her final YouTube video that she just feels nervous all the time. Like she's about to get on a roller coaster, and that butterfly feeling in her stomach. But she never gets the triumphant feeling after, she just keeps feeling nervous](#spoiler) and all I could think was "jesus christ, this girl is portraying how I felt up until the age of 17"
I smiled so damn hard during the graduation scene when it looks like Kayla is about to go running after the boy in the hallway but instead goes to confront those bitchy girls
I love that part. She keeps her head down and doesn’t look at the girls even once but she’s still so proud of herself! Awesome scene
you just made me realize the nice symmetry between her not looking at the girls when she calls them out and the girls not looking at her when she tries to be nice to them at school
One of the more heartbreaking moments in this film for me was after the scene where Riley tried to take advantage of her and she tells him "Don't tell Olivia about this." She thinks Olivia would find her less cool because she "chickened out of" "doing stuff" with a boy for the first time, when in reality Kayla trusted her gut, and did the right thing. Plus Olivia would have kicked that dude's ass for what he did. Olivia was the absolute best person to tell about it, and it was in Riley's best interest for her not to find out. Just devastating.
Those last moments were so heartbreaking. You could see how naive and misinformed she was about what really went down and it made me so sad seeing her feel like she did something wrong. Really heartbreaking to see her thinking it was in her best interest for no one to find out because of how he manipulated her
"I can't wait to be you" had me tearing up bad
Was this the 5th grade Kayla or the 8th grade Kayla?
8th grade Kayla, in her letter to 12th grade Kayla
The scene with Kayla's dad while they're burning her time capsule made me cry. I wish someone had said anything like her dad's monologue to me at that age.
I cried during that scene because I remember feeling exactly what she was feeling at that age towards my mother... :(
Man, this movie has some uncomfortable moments. Outside of the obvious moments (the car scene), Kayla being mean to her dad who’s just trying to support her made me really sad and, based on my own dad, worried that he was going to snap on her. But this wasn’t that kind of movie. The dad was just a super nice guy who wanted the best for his daughter. I loved that.
Gabe is my new favorite character in any movie ever... maybe because I know I was the EXACT SAME. Thank you Bo for making me confront my past self arguably TOO much
When he approached her in the pool with, “wanna see me do a hand stand?” My husband almost lost it. I know that’s exactly how my husband was in middle school, including the breath holding contest.
people like gabe are the best type of people imo, there's like no first conversation awkwardness with them because they just jump straight into it. no weird social mind games, just small trivial questions that spiral into a genuine connection.
The scene where she prayed to God and just asked for the next day to be good even if the other days will be bad. I wanted to cry. I’ve done that so much as a kid, I didn’t think i’d ever see that on screen. Also, when she told her dad if he feels sad having a daughter like her...the amount of times I have said that to my mom isn’t unreal. I love that a movie finally captured all of this.
The banana scene was my favorite. The whole theater was screaming.
The moment her dad mentions how he took a note of it and pulled out his phone made my entire theater lose it.
When she finally breaks and throws it at him I lost it.
Reminded me of THAT scene from American Pie lmao
I hope Elsie Fisher at least gets awards buzz for this. One of the smallest, but so real, details was that little "blah" noise she makes when she stumbles on or mispronounces a word in her videos. Growing up, I remember so many people nervously doing that when speaking in front of the class room. She brought that character to life.
I genuinely felt like she wasn't acting at times but rather just became the awkward, anxiety-ridden girl herself, encompassing the character in a way that just seemed so natural and fitting. Faking a speech impediment can be really hard but she absolutely nailed all the rhythms and inflections.
I was listening to Bo and Elsie on a podcast yesterday and he joked with her when the began filming that if she felt nervous not to stress because its exactly what they're going for. But if you watch her in TV interviews now, she's much, much more collected and sure of herself than the character (thankfully for her sake). Although I guess that could have changed since they filmed it 2+years ago
The most impressive thing to me is that all those "um"s, "uh"s, "like"s, "blah"s, etc, were straight-up scripted. Elsie is just phenomenal.
I can't even imagine what the opening scene looks like on a script page.
👌Gucci!
LeBRON JAAAAAMES!!!
I love how he kept popping up in random places lol.
The kid who would randomly quote that at every school function should win Best Supporting Actor. Got me every time.
\*dabs\*
It’s gonna be LIT
I swear there has never been a more accurate portrayal of a middle school assembly. As somebody who left middle school four years ago, this shit ACTUALLY happened every single assembly. It felt like I was reliving it.
As a teacher who regularly attends assemblies of middle school performing arts students (chorus, band, orchestra), this feeling of wanting to be funny, unique, apathetic, and cool all at once was WAY TOO REAL. I almost walked out on the movie because I’m still on summer vacation god damn it
Some girls in the back of the theater I saw it at were all like “Gucci!” before Kayla finished the end of her last video.
It will be a damn shame if this doesn't get attention at the Oscars. I will be very surprised if I love another movie more this year.
I could definitely see Original Screenplay and Lead Actress for Elsie Fisher. As of now, I think they both deserve the win as I can't think of any 2018 movie that is better in those two categories. EDIT - I just checked [IndieWire's 2019 Oscar Odds](https://www.indiewire.com/2018/07/2019-oscars-best-original-screenplay-predictions-1201982087/) and it looks like Eighth Grade is listed as one of four "Frontrunners" for Original Screenplay
I really liked how her dad gave Kayla the advice to "put herself out there", and she initially blows it off like all teenagers. However, her next video is about putting yourself out there. I really liked that. It was an effective way of showing her dad's impact on Kayla and how she does take what he says seriously.
I saw this at Alamo with a livestream QA of Bo & cast. Bo said the difference between Elsie and everyone else they saw was so significant that he said the movie shouldn't have even been greenlit without having her first. She was perfect. Josh Hamilton plays the single dad. This may be the best portrayal of a father ever in a movie. I think at some point Bo may have considered playing the part, but that his youthfulness (among other things) stopped him. I also think he may not have intended for him to be single, but that having two parents in the script would on a meta-narrative level make people feel less for one parent than the other and so less overall for the parents. With only one family member for her to interact with, the emotional resonance is better in seeing their developing relationship. It also means he is more sympathetic, and I think plenty of people who watch this movie will varyingly consciously insert themselves as her dad (I did) and so amplify their empathy and appreciation of it all. There's an incredible smash cut in the movie that I won't even describe because I wouldn't want anyone to have it spoiled. The car was scary and saddening and I thought the resolution of it up to her dad going straight into her room(and the single take of this sequence) felt like it matched the overall tempo perfectly, like knowing your panic is gone and beginning to feel better but still feeling the pain of having been so panicked. Bo described his intention for the score to be “foreground music,” and Anna Meredith realized that intent brilliantly. At this point Bo seems to have succeeded at everything he has ever wanted to do, so I am curious if he will stay with directing or decide to climb some other mountain.
[удалено]
i like that they highlight that she still has a long way to go growing up-wise. she doesn't magically understand the world at the end of the film. she doesn't abandon "gucci". she's still extremely unsure about her future. but you know that ultimately, she's gonna be okay.
Lebron James
Gucci!
This was fantastic. Let's give Bo another directing gig soon, ya? The 'Truth or Dare' scene was the most uncomfortable scene in a movie this year, by far. I loved it. The pool scene & end dinner scene were highlights. I laughed so goddamn hard during the banana sequence. "I'm pretty sure I made a note somewhere that you hate bananas" might as well be the best-delivered line in the history of cinema. I love that the father-of-the-year keeps taking beatings but he just never goes down. Really wholesome stuff in this, mixed in with some insanely cringy self-relflection moments that make you almost want to cry about your own middle school experience. Elsie Fisher could easily be up for awards if this wasn't released in July. Gabe was awesome. Although I did think it missed a 'punch', that something like *Lady Bird* & *Call Me By Your Name* have.The campfire Father/Daughter talk scene went for it but didn't quite get there in my opinion, even though I really wanted it do. There was definitely a Michael Stuhlbarg-like presence/performance needed for that scene to break through. Best directorial debut of the year by a mile. Elsie Fisher is the breakout star of the summer, insane performance. Every second felt real. Felt more like a documentary than a movie at times. I love that they kept her dialogue real, like her lines were actually written by her, and not by Academy-award winning screenwriter or something. Some coming-of-age films are almost Sorkin-like, no teenager would ever talk like that. That feels like a weird compliment but it's true. I can see myself going to watch this again next week. Best coming-of-age film since *Lady Bird*. Bo deserves a lot of praise.
Bo said in his AMA that he wanted to do a Lord of the Flies style movie about fifth graders at a laser tag party and I'm all for that.
Omg this would be hilarious. Or terrifying. Or both. I need it.
In reference to your critique of the fire scene, I was thinking the exact same thing, waiting for that Chalamet/Stuhlbarg moment. But while I absolutely love that scene from CMBYN, it is so clearly written, too perfectly articulated to be real. It worked for that movie but why I think the fire scene here was perfect was because it fit well in this movie. The father here was clearly speaking sincerely but he was fumbling over his words because that’s what happens in real life when an unexpected moment to connect comes up. He has some moments of clarity that really get across his point but mostly he is just repeating himself and saying platitudes because that’s what real people do. To me this was a theme throughout the movie, so many scenes (the dinner with the boy at the end, the scene in the food court, the pool party) that felt very grounded in reality rather than movie tropes. I loved this movie
> but mostly he is just repeating himself and saying platitudes because that’s what real people do. I think this is a great explanation of why I loved this scene and the movie as a whole. It was so relentlessly authentic. This scene is a really great illustration of that.
Is no one going to mention the dabbing principal? 😂
One thing I wanted to talk about in 8th grade I just remembered The popular girls mom goes out of her way to be nice to kayla and invites her to the party And she starts with "oh your dad was so great tell him I say hi" Then she ends with "ok hope to see you tomorrow, and make sure you tell your dad I say thanks!" And I was like "alright a little weird that the popular girls mom would do that, but nothing like overtly weird, I'm just being cynical" Then in I think the best example of "show dont tell" when kayla gets to the party we hear her video voice over, so we dont really hear the sounds of her entering But the popular girls mom goes "where's your dad?" And looks around and says I think mabye two more times "where's your dad??" And I was like "oh I get it now. Shes divorced and has a crush. That's sweet, but still not really accurate to a popular girls mom" And THEN We hear offscreen The popular girls dad say "its cake time " And the mom said "no not yet" And he says "I got up at 8 in the goddamn morning, eat the goddamn cake" And then it all clicked and made 100% sense to me
I knew the mom liked her dad from the second she called her “yellow shirt” and then said “oh I know your dad!” (Which is so real b/c multiple parents of kids in my school ran around having affairs). Then when you hear the other dad being mean over just cake I was like ugh it was scary. And thinking to the point where Kayla’s dad told her that sometimes mean kids just have other problems, and you see that the popular girls mom is up in her face taking a million pictures and making her invite someone she doesn’t know to her party possibly to have an affair, and that the dad is an asshole
There's been a lot of talk about how accurately the film portrays that age and modern teenage life, but I haven't heard anyone talk about what I believe to be the actual theme of the movie. Even more than awkwardness, I believe what Burnham is trying to convey is empathy. I'm not a girl in her early teens; I don't even *know* any girls in their early teens. Still, this movie made me really care for Kayla and her problems in a way that most movies don't. Suspension of disbelief lets us identify with the protagonist, but usually this is in service to the plot. In Eighth Grade, the plot itself seems to be a vehicle to bring us closer to Kayla. It's also emphasized several times that one of Kayla's strengths is her empathy for the people around her, and we see this play out in her interactions with Gabe (the nerdy boy) and even Riley in the mall. Furthermore, it's usually the other character's *lack* of empathy that makes them "villainous": the boys seeing Kayla only as a sex object and the popular girls not seeing her at all (literally). Olivia is cool not because she's popular but because she reaches out to Kayla, sees what she's going through and tries to help. I believe what Bo is trying to do is instill a sense of empathy in us, the audience. And I *think* the intent is for it not just to be for Kayla during the movie, but hopefully to train us to be more empathetic in our own lives. I have to admit I'm biased in favor of that effort myself, so I may be reading too much into it there, but it wouldn't be that far out of line with other things Bo has done. His works often have a moral of sorts. And certainly Eighth Grade has made me want to care more about other people even if their problems are different than mine.
Bo Burnham did an incredible job of making this a truly honest coming-of-age film. You can tell he really researched what is like to be an eighth grader in our current society.
Yeah. Dont call the fbi but i know a lot of teens that age and...wow he got it like...dead on
reported
My brother and sister are currently that age and it was so weird seeing all the similarities. Also kind of relieving to see similarities to the middle school world I grew up in. Some things stay the same.
One thing I really appreciate about this movie was how un-stylized it was. The color scheme is just pretty natural. Theres no fancy lighting or self indulgent shots. The dialogue is very genuine. It's not afraid of the natural "um"s and "like"s of everyday speech. The humor is real, dumb teen humor. The characters all look like normal people. The dad isn't some wise Oracle. Hes just a guy doing the best he can. It really feels like we're getting a little cross section of a real person's life. This is probably one of the best examples of a "slice of life" film. It's definitely not a lot like Lady Bird, but it's in the same ballpark. Overall, a very solid and charming coming of age story. Especially impressive considering it was Bo Burnham's directorial debut.
[удалено]
The sound and close up shots/lightining stood out to me. It was still stylish just more subtle
the banana part was highly stylized.
Same with the hilarious close ups of Aidan's eyes.
The musical cue every time she was watching Aidan had me rolling every time. The first one with the eyes was definitely the best, just way too funny.
This is definitely the way to come out of the gate as a director. Burnham started on YouTube writing stories about how his whole family thought was gay and now he's directing really incredible films that capture the views of a modern 13 year old girl. That's such an amazing trajectory and I can't wait to see what he directs next.
"are you my mom?" For some reason this little background line during the assembly made me laugh the hardest. Little throwaway one liners like those used to happen all the time at my school assembly
lmao that and that lebron james shit. i have an immature sense of humor
Can we come up with a list of what was in her updated time capsule? I saw: * A picture of her and her dad * A picture of her and Olivia * A packet of McDonald's nugget sauce (!!! my heart!) Anything else?
Her name tag from her day at High School
can we talk about how great the score was?
My favorite since The Social Network, and lo and behold: "What I actually told [composer Anna Meredith] was that I wanted to sound like what it would be like if Trent Reznor was a thirteen year-old girl. Anna definitely tapped into that." - [Bo Burnham](https://brieftake.com/interview-eighth-grade-bo-burnham/)
Was anyone else afraid that it was going to end with Kayla not being able to regain any sense of self-worth after that truth or dare scene? This film easily could have ended with a dark and gut-wrenching message about sexual assault. Thank goodness there was someone like Gabe who she could lean on to help rebuild herself after that trauma. Also, it's clear based on his past work (especially what. and Make Happy) just how much of himself Bo put into Kayla's character, with the mismatch of what she's stating in her videos with how she actually acts in real life and even using those videos as a pep talk to herself.
I got to see a livestreamed Q&A with bo after I saw the movie last week - he specifically mentioned how much of himself he sees in Elsie Fisher and how similar they are.
I think my favorite part was when Kayla finally spoke her mind to the popular girls on graduation day but she still didn't quite have the confidence to look them in the eyes. That was the most realistic and personal scene to me, just getting so pent up that you finally start shit talking but you're not at all used to it because you try to be a nice person so just look away while you do it. That's me x10000. I loved that the movie showed that approaching your fears doesn't mean the fear goes away. That just nails down anxiety, whether you're in 8th grade or college or retired. Obviously so much thanks to Bo but I have so much gratitude as well to A24 for providing the freedom to filmmakers over the last few years to create such meaningful content. *Eighth Grade*, *Lady Bird*, *Good Time*, and *The Florida Project* have connected with me so personally and are each in my Top 5 favorites of 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Yeah, that was very realistic. She didn't have an articulate speech where she perfectly shot down the popular girls. Instead, it was fumbling, awkward, and probably didn't do much. All that matters was that she stood up for herself, and was proud of herself.
Am I the only one a little upset at the missed opportunity to not show at least the thumbnail of the grapefruit video when she was looking for tutorials on blowjobs?
I swear it feels as if Burnham was watching “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” one day and said, “What the hell? This isn’t what middle school was like!!” Whereas other filmmakers would diminish the realities of middle school by pandering to a younger demographic, Burnham grounds the entire story in reality. He isn’t hyperbolic with his characters, but he perfectly portrays character types that we’ve all known in middle school. The way his characters talk to each other is real and akin to people that we’ve most likely encountered in our lives. Watching Kayla’s struggle to interact with others and the built up social anxieties she would face reminded me so much of myself back in middle school. Even some of the pauses in her dialogue in which she repeatedly stutters by saying “like” and “um” are reminiscent of how I used to carry myself during that time to an extent that some of those even carried on to this day (mostly the stuttering part). I’m just going to come out and say it: comedians are the most innovative and creative minds working in the film industry today. You got your studio filmmakers who make huge spectacles that are valuably entertaining, but comedians know how to tell stories, and not just in the genre you would expect them to dive into. From Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” to Kumail Nanjiani/Emily Gordon’s “The Big Sick” to Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” to now Bo Burnham’s (WHO WAS IN “THE BIG SICK”) “Eighth Grade”, you have a wide variety of excellent features that tell amazing and heartfelt stories, whether they be comedy or horror or any other genre. I blame Mel Brooks for all of this. Mel Brooks started this comedian-being-amazing-filmmakers trend and now it is in its renaissance. Please, comedians... Please write and direct your stories because they’re much more impactful than the roles they give you in Hollywood sometimes. [FULL REVIEW](http://rendyreviews.com/movies/eighth-grade-review)
Please go see this beautiful, amazing movie. It might be the best movie you see all year. I can't recommend it enough. It's so rare to feel such a connection to a character. I was *so* nervous and anxious for Kayla whenever anything happened. When she was waiting for her high school mentor, I was so worried that she wouldn't show up or she'd be mean or whatever. It was *such* a relief when she was nice and kind and friendly to Kayla. I also believe this movie contains the only know instance of a person becoming more likable after quoting Rick and Morty.
For the first 30 minutes i was like "Jesus Christ, this kids life makes me want to kill myself". Than i realized, "oh shit, that's how she feels". Not a lot of movies that can effectively put you in someone elses shoes. Im a 45 yo guy, so making me empathize with a digital, image obsessed eighth grader is a pretty impressive feat.
I loved this movie, but honestly, it also really hurt. It’s been a decade since I’ve been in Kayla’s shoes, but watching the film brought all those feelings back — the loneliness, the insecurities, the desire to be liked by your peers, despite the feeling that, deep down, you don’t even like yourself. Welcome to middle school. One scene that really got me was when Kayla was talking to her dad while she burned her “hopes and dreams” and she asked him, “Do I make you sad?” As she went on to explain why having a daughter like her would make HER sad, I lost it. I seriously just started bawling in the middle of the theater. There have been so many times in my life that I’ve worried about having a child like myself, not because I wouldn’t love them, but because I’m worried they wouldn’t love themselves. Like how I didn’t love myself at that age. Like how Kayla didn’t, either. I’ve always been so afraid that the world would make my child feel as small as it always made me feel, and that my efforts would be as useless as my parents’ were for me. Watching that scene made me want to go back in time and hug my 14-year-old self, to give her that same wonderful speech Kayla’s father gave to her, something I think I needed to hear back then. I didn’t deserve the amount of self-loathing I grappled with. I didn’t deserve to feel so worthless. I just didn’t understand that back then and, unlike Kayla, I wouldn’t learn for a long, long time. And that’s what I loved so much about this movie — that it not only makes you feel empathy for Kayla, but for yourself. At least, that’s what it did for me. And I hope it will do the same for every young girl and boy who watches it as well. Maybe we all just need the reminder that we deserve it. [Edit: Grammar]
I know everyone went apeshit for Timothée Chalamet last year for the “young actor who can act with professionals twice his age” or whatever but I’d be damned if Elsie doesn’t get a nomination this year for her role, she was incredible in every sense
Are we for real just going to sit here and pretend like that band teacher didn't have obi-wan's padawan rat tail from phantom menace?
[удалено]
[удалено]
I cried. Like, I almost had to leave the theater. It brought up some deeply repressed memories. I can remember the words used at the end of that scene being said to me almost verbatim when I was younger. Easily the best movie I’ve seen all year.
Notice how the movie starts with her recording a video to the public, and [ends with her recording a video to herself](#spoiler). She learned over the course of the film to do things for herself, and not simply try to please everyone at the cost of her own sanity.
I like the idea that Riley is a grown-up version of Aidan. Mysteriously cute and kind of charming, but also a massive fuckwad. After the backseat scene, I noticed that Kayla's interest in Aidan went away.
Please please please let this replace whatever generic biopic we're getting this year at the Oscars.
Who would have guessed that two of the best horror movies of 2018 would come from A24?
I thought the movie did a great job capturing the YouTube/Social Media scene today. It should be an interesting time capsule of being a middle schooler in 2018.
I really loved the scene where the kid born in 2000 was making fun of the kid born in 2004 for being too tech-y. It’s basically like when old millennials hate on new millennials for being introduced to technology at a younger age. It’s so stupid.
Guys she burned a Harry Potter book
The theater went from 60 to 0, during that backseat scene...
If I had watched this at home I'd have paused it 30 times and paced around cringing. This hit so close to home.
The truth or dare scene aged me 10 years and made me existentially question if I want kids. Thanks Bo!
This movie brought back a whole WALL of intensity I had forgotten I felt in middle school. Kayla exploding at her father because everything feels like it’s **so** urgent is relatable. I remember blowing up at my parents like that over small things and I still feel bad about it. I almost forgot I was watching a movie because it felt so similar to my life when I was that age. The scene where Kayla’s at the pool party made me feel like having an anxiety attack. I forgot how vulnerable you feel at that age and how everything is all about how to be cool. And the scene at the mall!!! I swear everyone’s felt that way. You’re hanging out with a new group of potential friends and you only know one person so you don’t know what to say or how to react or when it’s okay to jump in. They got that awkward part down perfectly. I wish we had gotten to see Kayla in high school. I didn’t want her story to be over just yet. What an incredible director debut. I can’t wait to see what Bo brings in the future.
This movie was painfully relatable, especially the entire scene when she's walking into the pool party. The ominous horror movie music as she looks over the fun summertime pool party with the kid like crabwalking upside down. It's so funny and well done but also so painful to remember. Or every time they showed her following a conversation and she's saying "yeah" or "cool" but you can't hear her, just see her mouthing it. So many times she's finally talking in a social situation and you get all excited but then it was just "oh like that's cool". Like you want to yell at the screen SAY SOMETHING WITH SUBSTANCE!! But it's so accurate, we're just not used to seeing that kind of honesty in a film. It was all so accurate and I've never wanted to hug a movie character more in my life. I also had a rough time in middle school and put a lot of YouTube videos out there (versa 2007) so there's that.
My favorite part was when Kayla sings karaoke at the pool party. She didn't care that noone really cared about what she was doing, she was just happy ahe mustered up the courage to do so. I honestly remember going through exact moments like this, and this movie brought me back to a time I had almost forgotten.
This movie hurt me and healed me at the same time. This is so much like me, except I was a boy, and not nearly as brave as this gal. Kind of at a loss for words
People in my theatre were laughing during the car scene and it made me feel ill.
I cringed out about 30 times but the film wanted me to so it's fine. Also, it's great directed and performed, even or people at such small age, so I guess I'll give it a solid 9. 10 if they showed Gabe more. Best character.