Eighth Grade ★★☆☆☆ | Movie Review

Synopsis


Kayla Day tried to survive the last week of eighth grade before leaving for high school.


Review


Eighth Grade was quite difficult for me to watch. I absolutely hate watching things that are awkward, and if one word sums up this film it's "awkward". I'm throwing it in the pool with talk shows and reality TV in all their cringy glory. Between those awkward moments we do thankfully see some nicer moments.

Kayla is trying to navigate the move from eighth grade to high school, the perils of friends and enemies, and how to get noticed by the right people. Like many of us have done she tries stepping out of her comfort zone with varying degrees of success. But every one of those steps helps her learn something about herself and life, things that she hopes future Kayla will remember when life seems tough.

I'm just going to skip over the things I didn't like about the movie because honestly, it's all mainly issues to do with the awkwardness I've already mentioned.

Kayla's dad is probably my favourite character in this, he is involved in some of the scenes I didn't like but overall he brings a lot of heart to the film. When he makes his speech at Kayla towards the end it's a genuinely moving moment and it brought a tear to my eye. One of the only things that I came away wondering was where was mum, she's mentioned but I don't think anything is specifically mentioned apart from "she left". Part of me thinks it's frustrating, but there was no real way to bring it up out of context.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the film, the acting was fine and although the script was frustrating it was accurate to what was trying to be achieved. This is definitely not for me though. Partly for the awkward reason and partly because I don't entirely enjoy watching films that involve things I could, or have, done myself.

What you should do


It's not one that' I'd recommend for the obvious reason above. It does seem to be liked by lots of people though so it's probably one that's worth checking out when it goes to streaming services.

Movie thing you wish you could take home


I not sure there's actually anything from this I'd like to take home with me... I don't need any more angsty teen in my life.

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