Eighth Grade (R)
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streaming sites: Amazon; Google Play; iTunes; Max; Vudu; YouTube
So... I'm not sure I can do a very good job of reviewing this movie. (Not that I think I usually do a very good job with most of my reviews, but whatever.) The thing is, I started watching it one night, and didn't manage to finish it, and then I think it was at least a couple nights later before I got around to finishing it. And then probably a week or so passed before I could even force myself to start writing a review, just because I've been feeling very overwhelmed by depression and anxiety, lately. (But, like, when am I not?) Even now I'm not in a great frame of mind for doing anything, but I just feel like I need to get this review out of the way before any more times passes, because I feel like until I do, I can't allow myself to watch any other movies for which I'll have to write reviews. So I worry about my state of mind and everything being unfair to the movie... like it deserves a better review than I am presently able to write. Which is okay, I guess, because I'm sure plenty of professional critics have written better reviews than I could write at the best of times. And to be clear, this movie was very well-received by critics.
Anyway, it's about an eighth grader (as you could probably guess), named Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher). She makes vlogs to give advice to people, even though pretty much nobody watches them, and she isn't really the best person to be giving anyone advice. She hasn't got any friends, and is very socially awkward... well, she has social anxiety, which is something I can totally relate to. (And hey, I may not make vlogs, but I write plenty of stuff online, like my reviews of stuff, which hardly anyone reads, so there's another way I can kind of relate to her.) And she's being raised by a single father, who obviously loves her and is doing the best he can, though Kayla seems to mostly find him annoying.
One day, she goes to a birthday party for a girl whose mother had forced her to invite Kayla. At the party, she meets a boy named Gabe, who seems like he could be a potential friend for Kayla, though nothing really comes of that until much later in the movie. And... at another point, Kayla attends a program at the high school she'll be attending next fall, where eighth graders are assigned current high school students to act as guides, or whatever. Kayla is paired with a senior named Olivia, and the two of them immediately bond. Olivia later invites Kayla to meet her and a group of friends at the mall. After the hangout is over, one of Olivia's friends gives Kayla a ride home... and I don't want to say anything specific about that, except that it is the most disturbing scene in the movie.
Other than that, I just want to say that the whole movie is rather awkward, which is part of what makes it so good. (I'm normally not a fan of awkward entertainment, but I think that applies mostly to "cringe humor," and this movie, I would say, is more of a drama than a comedy, or even a dramedy, though there is some humor.) Maybe it's the drama format that made it more appealing to me than awkward comedy is, or maybe it's just how relatable Kayla is, and how... the awkwardness, much of the time, isn't necessarily about anything specific that happens, it's just how she experiences life. (I cannot overstress how deeply I can relate.) But the movie does have a fairly happy ending, in the final few scenes. I'd say most notable and touching is the bonding that Kayla finally manages to do with her father, though a scene with Gabe is also rather cute. And a video Kayla makes for her future self feels rather hopeful.
Gucci!