Eighth Grade

Don't get me wrong, the movie is amazing. It's just so damn embarrassing. Like I had to pause it several times because of the second hand embarrassment I was having. It feels sooooo real.

While the cringe genre usually brings to mind over the top characters like Michael Scott and Larry David breaking unwritten social rules and making grand buffoonish displays, it rarely cuts this close to home, making you cringe because of how easy it is to relate to. That feeling when there's a conversation around you and you don't know how to jump in. That feeling when you know your lack of confidence is holding you back but you don't have the confidence to do anything about it. While we may carry these feelings into our adult lives, it was the perfect combination of hormones and naiveté that made them hit like a ton of bricks in our formative years. This film is a deep dive into this awkward anxiety that feels oddly personal while being universally relatable. Elsie Fisher is fantastic to the point where you forget she's acting and not just living as the character. The script is equal measures sweet and funny when it's not just downright uncomfortable. Whether or not you grew up with social media (and thank God I didn't), this film will bring you back to your youth and make you appreciate that it's something you only have to go through once.

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

I knew Burnham as comedy writer and performer but not as a film director. A very realistic and honest presentation of adolescent transitions and its difficulties in our modern society. Extremely accurate.

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

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