Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade is a 2018 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Bo Burnham (in his feature directorial debut). The coming-of-age story follows the life and struggles of an eighth-grader, played by Elsie Fisher, during her last week of classes before graduating to high school. She struggles with social anxiety but produces vlogs giving life advice.

Plot
Kayla Day is in her last week of eighth grade before entering high school. She's quiet and doesn't have friends at school, as she keeps to herself and is frequently on social media, usually making videos for her YouTube channel. She lives with her father Mark, who tries to bond with her even as she continues to brush him off.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Eighth graders are able to relate to this movie and what's happening in it due to how realistic it is. The movie's able to help them be more confident as they're in eighth grade or they're about to go to high school, just like Kayla.
 * 2) The film's able to talk about the struggles in the last week of middle school and the struggles with social anxiety, which is very impressive. The relationships, the classmates, the stuff kids get invited too, etc. It does a really great job at tackling those topics.
 * 3) Elsie Fisher does a really marvelous job at playing Kayla. Josh Hamilton has an incredible performance too as Kayla's dorky dad.
 * 4) Bo Burnham has really great direction and a well-written screenplay, considering he's a YouTuber and this is his first feature film.
 * 5) Kayla's videos she records giving advice for middle school and high school is able to inspire the viewer, with her talking about stuff such as confidence, getting out there, and being yourself, and although she gets little to no views, they're still inspiring.
 * 6) * Kayla herself's able to use her advice in order to be the middle schooler she is.
 * 7) Kayla's also a relatable character, as she faces the struggles of being a middle schooler and trying to stay confident and keeping her self-image, even when she's falling into the trending stuff.
 * 8) A ton of funny moments, such as when a boy is implied to be masturbating during a puberty video the class watches.
 * 9) It's also able to be an original school film without relying on clichés and trite crap.
 * 10) Along with funny moments, there are also moments that make the viewer tear up.
 * 11) Its use of heavy social media and traits and mental health of Generation Z makes the movie even more relatable. It even talks about sexuality and consent too.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) There are some cringeworthy moments in the movie, such as when we see Kayla's teacher dabbing when he enters the classroom.

Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 290 reviews, with an average rating of 8.87/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Eighth Grade takes a look at its titular time period that offers a rare and resounding ring of truth while heralding breakthroughs for writer-director Bo Burnham and captivating star Elsie Fisher." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 89 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".