Review of Eighth Grade (2018) by Definitelymayb — 02 Oct 2018

Wow how is this film getting all this rave review? Is it because the director is a famous Youtube comedian and somehow that automatically makes this a great film? Eight Grade is by far one of the most generic coming of age film that literally has little plot, and has one of the most cliche/general character story ever.

The cliche oozes from the first shot of the movie, that has little to no flare and side characters that are never developed at all despite them being essential in coming-of-age films. As a person that has seen Ladybird earlier this year, which was totally amazing, this film is so weak in comparison that it makes Ladybird the Citizen Kane of coming of age films.

The main issue in this film is that although it has its sentimental moments and relatable moments with the girl and her father, the audience clearly knows where its going 100% all the time and there is little to no drama to any of what is happening on the screen.

This film is literally a Film 101 to coming of age films but its so bare and stylistically bland that it develops pacing issues despite being a very condensed film. Worst of all is the fact 8th Grade is marketed as comedy despite the fact there is hardly any comedy in it.

The lead girl is fine in her role, but everyone one else is a walking stereotype with absolutely 0 character development or anything worth of note. In fact, the majority of the time we spend in the film is just looking at the girl navigating her lonely existence, but it is weird because its seems like shes this new girl but she clearly has been there for a long time and has no friends.

I'm not sure what the message is really. 8th Grade is by no means the worst film, but its generic premise and bland execution makes it one of the most forgettable film for this year. Its a shame that film criticism or appreciation is at such a all time low, that mediocre films like this gets unanimous praise across the board when it really doesn't have much going for it.

Maybe kids will like it? But literally nothing happens in the film and I love coming of age films like Ladybird, The Way Way Back sh etc.What a shame.