Eighth Grade (2018)

An introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.

Director:

Bo Burnham

Writer:

Bo Burnham

Stars:

Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elsie Fisher	...	Kayla
Josh Hamilton	...	Mark Day
Emily Robinson	...	Olivia
Jake Ryan	...	Gabe
Daniel Zolghadri	...	Riley
Fred Hechinger	...	Trevor
Imani Lewis	...	Aniyah
Luke Prael	...	Aiden
Catherine Oliviere	...	Kennedy
Nora Mullins	...	Steph
Gerald W. Jones	...	Tyler
Missy Yager	...	Mrs. Graves
Shacha Temirov	...	Mason
Greg Crowe	...	Mr. McDaniel
Thomas J O'Reilly	...	Edmund

Storyline

In his feature film directorial debut, comedian Bo Burnham deftly encapsulates the awkwardness, angst, self-loathing and reinvention that a teenage girl goes through on the cusp of high school. Given that the 27-year-old stand-up comic achieved fame as a teenager himself through YouTube by riffing on his insecurities, he is uniquely capable as the film's writer and director to tell the story of Kayla, an anxious girl navigating the final days of her eighth grade year, despite creating a protagonist w female instead of male. Like Burnham did more than a decade ago, 13-year-old Kayla turns to YouTube to express herself, where she makes advice blogs in which she pretends to have it all together. In reality, Kayla is sullen and silent around her single father and her peers at school, carrying out most of her interactions with her classmates on Instagram and Twitter. Her YouTube videos are a clever narrative tool that provide insight into her inner hopes and dreams, much like an ...

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Plot Keywords:

quiet girl | pool party | father daughter relationship | uncomfortable conversation | teenager | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eighth Grade

Filming Locations:

White Plains, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$263,797, 15 July 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$13,539,709, 4 October 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

A24

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Speaking on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, director Bo Burnham said that technology company Apple were going to provide laptops and phones for the film for free, but they were unhappy with the scene where the iPhone broke when it got thrown. As a result, the laptops shown in the film were those belonging to the crew and the broken iPhone scene was kept in.

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Goofs

In the mall scene where Kayla first walks in to meet Olivia, she walks past a number of mid-mall kiosks. One of them has a mirror and you can see the crew briefly reflected as she moves through the scene.

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Quotes

Kayla: Do I make you sad? I don't know. Sometimes I think that when I'm older, I'll have a daughter of my own or something... and I feel like if she was like me, then being her mum would make me sad all the time. I'd love her because she's my daughter, but I think if she turned out like me that being her mum would make me really sad.

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Connections

References The Lego Movie (2014)

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Soundtracks

Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)
Written by Nicky Ryan , Roma Ryan and Enya
Performed by Enya
Produced by Nicky Ryan
Courtesy of WEA Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Timely and insightful...

Eighth Grade is the best film I've watched this year (so far) and showcases comedian and former YouTuber Bo Burnham's crafty and meaningful knack for art house filmmaking. It is a timely and insightful study of the average introverted teenager. Elsie Fisher (who voiced Agnes in the first two Despicable Me movies) is a rising star, effectively carrying this low-key, off-beat slice-of-life with her awkward and relatable charm.