Adored Eighth Grade! But lemme clear a misconception about this movie up: it’s not cringey. Cringe is all about humiliation. The film puts Kayla in humiliating situations, yes, but never to make her the butt of the joke. What the film is is honest. It’s a more truthful examination of young adulthood than any number of misanthropic “teenagers-are-literal-monsters” dramas I’ve seen recently. (Looking at you, Liverleaf. Go sit in the corner and think about what you did.) Yes, teenagers can be cruel, but they can also be achingly kind, compassionate, and empathetic. And this movie gets that on an instinctive level. It’s also very telling for a male-directed film about female adolescence that the women in my audience responded much more happily and vocally than the men. The collective gasps of “No!” during the banana scene; the knowing exasperation when Kayla mentions Instagram nudes to her crush; the coos at Gabe trying to impress her with his archery award; EVERYTHING about the truth-or-dare scene...the women’s reactions made this one of my favorite viewing experiences in recent memory.
Rating: 8/10
Rating: 8/10
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