Eighth Grade

Although this was released in April 2019, I only saw it this weekend and what a surprising delight of a film it is.

What I’d expected was a fun and frothy comedy focused on our central character Kayla, who is coming to the end of her (miserable) time in middle school. However, that isn’t this film, what we actually get is a touching and heart warming struggle of a girl trying to make the best of what life is throwing at her, daughter of a single father, quiet, painfully shy and introverted. But she is also smart, funny, articulate and creative, trying to share this other her via her youtube channel, offering heart felt advice to her peers, but advice she struggles to follow herself.

The important part of the story though is she doesn’t let her reality define her, she never feels sorry for herself, she remains positive and forward looking, hopeful that high school will bring her the positive life she craves.

As a parent watching this it’s hard not to feel for Kayla, brilliant played by Elsie Fisher, you want to reach in to the screen, hug her and tell her it’ll all be OK. But she never wants that, she wants to grab life and make it better.

Her chance to step out of her Eighth Grade hell comes during a high school orientation day, which almost back fires

But in the end, this is a positive story, sensitively sharing the experience of growing up in an always connected world, but never judges that technology and accepts it as part of life.

The film never wallows and begs for sympathy and is always positive. Writer and director Bo Burnham has created a film full of heart and charm and something so much better than the teen comedy I was expecting, a truly lovely film, go seek it out.