Review of Eighth Grade (2018) by Tony H — 27 Nov 2018

Another directorial debut to add to this list, Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade is an incredible show of force. Burnham, known for his outlandish comedy, shows great diversity here as a director of a serious drama that only uses comedy to help express the awkwardness of that very unusual time in everyone's life that can only be described as Eighth Grade.

Technically, this movie is nothing completely revolutionary, but is still a solid piece of cinema with only some questionable choices as far as lighting, exposure, etc. go. This is hard to pin on Burnham, however, and more likely due to his cinematographer, Andrew Wehde, who is only otherwise known for comedy specials. Besides this, Eighth Grade encapsulates that unusual transitional phase between being a child and being a young adult in a way that only someone with experience being picked last for every sport ever could. Everything about this film is passionately imagined and well designed to bring the viewer back into a time in their lives when they would make their current selves cringe and wish to avoid ever showing their face again. The film is very much about the modern struggles of a thirteen-year-old and when looked back upon in the future may be regarded as an interesting period piece, but is still somehow able to relate to those not belonging to the Generation Zed through the connective tissue that is common experience. The emotions drawn out by Kayla's character are the same that most near high schoolers felt, boy or girl, and helps us to confront ourselves and accept ourselves in the same way that she does. This film may not be perfect, but it shows significant potential that will hopefully be exploited by Burnham in his future endeavors.

Eighth Grade Letter Grade: ?B+.