Better Late than Never on "Eighth Grade"

This morning I finished the movie “Eighth Grade”, and now I am going to talk about it.

This movie was so many things, mostly great. In fact, it was uncomfortably great. I have put off seeing this movie for sometime now because I didn’t know what to expect. I saw the rave reviews, I am a Bo Burnham fan and I could’ve watched it in the theaters, but other stuff kept coming up. Then COVID hit, and I kind of forgot this was on my list to see. Luckily it was on Showtime last week, and I recorded it. I still waited about a week to watch, but I watched it and loved it. I was also very uncomfortable with some stuff, but that seemed purposely. This movie is supposed to be about how rough early teenage life is. It’s supposed to make us who are older remember how tough that time of our lives was. It’s supposed to make you cringe and talk out loud at the people on the screen. It wants you to have these visceral reactions. And this movie achieves that tenfold.

There was so much stuff in “Eighth Grade” that made me squirm, and then think about how I reacted when I was 13 years old. That may be the most awkward time in anyone’s life, and Burnham and Elsie Fisher portrayed them to perfection. From the pool party, to class superlatives, to meeting high school boys and girls, to having moments with your folks and finally finding your group of friends, it’s all there and it’s all wonderfully executed. Seeing Fisher, she played the main character Kayla, go through such panic when being invited to a pool party, showing up and having to interact with other kids, that was so well done. The stuff with her and her dad hit me right in the heart. From her being on her phone when he’s trying to talk to her, to him spying on her when she’s hanging out with the high school kids, to their very poignant and perfect and tear jerking bonfire talk, it was simply wonderful. I was in tears hearing him tell her how happy and proud and perfect she is. I know my daughter and I will have these moments in the future, and it was almost reassuring to see that, while it will be tough at time, it will also be so rewarding. Fisher was so so so great in the starring role. She played introverted and quiet and anxious and teenage so exceptionally. She was tremendous. It helps that she was the age of her character because she’s going through it right now.

The other kids were almost as good as Fisher. They didn’t have as much to work with, but they all played their roles great. I also liked the technology aspect of the movie. “Eighth Grade” showed how important and influential things like YouTube and Snapchat and Instagram are to the younger generation. Hearing these kids talk about how they got Twitter in middle school, or Snapchat in fifth grade, I mean that’s wild. Middle and high school was tough enough when I went, and cell phones were relatively new. I cannot imagine how much harder it is now, and how much harder and weirder it will be when my kids are that age. I have two nieces in high school, and I get glimpses how important Instagram is to them. It’s tiring to see from my perspective. This is a movie that is going to stick with me for a long, long time. I want this to be watched by kids that are in the 13-16 age range. It will ring so true for them I imagine. I also think parents of kids of any age should see this movie just to get a blip of what we are all in for in the near future.

“Eighth Grade” is a wonderful, timely and squirmy in all the right ways movie. I wish I’d seen it sooner, but at least I watched it. I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is so worth your time. Please go watch this movie if you can. It’s great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.