Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade, a dandy debut by writer/director Bo Burnham, is perhaps the first film to address a generation that has never not known social media. The kids in eighth grade are about 13 or 14, so have lived their entire lives with smartphones and Facebook. Of course, as one girls says in the film, "Nobody uses Facebook anymore."

The film focuses on Kayla (played brilliantly by Elsie Fisher), a socially awkward eighth-grader. It's the last week of middle school, for they will all be off to high school. Kayla likes to make YouTube videos about being yourself, being confident, and putting yourself out there, although she doesn't follow her own advice. Her room is full of Post-It notes of affirmation, like a little Stuart Smalley, but she struggles to find acceptance in school. She has no real friends, though she's dying for one.

She lives with a single father (Josh Hamilton) who seems to be mystified by her. He doesn't know the depths of her loneliness, as she shuts him out of most of her life. A great scene has him trying to talk to her at dinner, but she is plugged into her phone. She gets invited to a pool party because the mother of one of the popular girls invites her. What is great about the film is that there is no scene of humiliation, just kind of a quiet desperation. And she does decide to put herself out there and sing karaoke.

When she visits the high school she will attend she makes a friend with an older girl (Emily Robinson), who invites her to hang out with her friends at the mall. Kayla is overjoyed at this, though there is a disconnect--though only four years older, the high school kids feel like a different generation. "When did you get Snapchat?" one boy asks. "Fifth grade," is her response, and he finds this proof, as they didn't get Snapchat until they were much older. It's like every new social media platform takes over a new generation.

This is not a movie for a teen audience, although a smart teenager may enjoy it, or at least recognize the culture. From my years of teaching I noticed a few truisms, such as the principal trying to dab to appear cool. The only thing that didn't ring true was how well-behaved the kids were in the classroom. Aside from the principal, who is only briefly scene, there are no teachers seen--it's kind of like Peanuts.

Eighth Grade is R-rated for good reason, as blowjobs are discussed (there's an homage to Fast Times at Ridgemont High when Kayla grabs a banana). There is also a scene in the back seat of a car that may make fathers of daughters cringe. The film also does not go heavy on pop tunes on the soundtrack. The only song I can remember is the strange use of Enya's "Orinoco Flow." Instead, Eighth Grade covets moments of quiet and solitude. The climax, in which Kayla and her dad talk while she burns her "hopes and dreams" is a tearjerker.

Fisher, who is in every scene, is amazing. I love little details she adds, such as the use of hand gestures during her videos, or her discomfort in her bathing suit, or her hiding in a photo booth when she spots her dad spying on her at the mall. I believe a star is born.

When I was in eighth grade there was a lot of differences--no phones or computers, but the awkwardness of the age still resonates. I was miserable during middle school, and I suspect most kids were. It's like a congregation of hormonal angst. Burnham has captured that for this particular age. Eighth graders thirty years from now will have different toys to play with, but will still feel awkward.