Eighth Grade review: Elsie Fisher shines in a story of life and growing up

Elsie Fisher as Kayla uploading a picture to post on social media.

Eighth Grade (R)

Directed by Bo Burnham

Starring Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan, Daniel Zolghadri, Catherine Oliviere, Luke Prael, Fred Hechinger

Caution: Some spoilers ahead!

Even though the era in which the students in this movie are going to school is vastly different than when I was in grade school, I still found myself strongly relating to Kayla (Fisher) and the situations she encountered and the emotions that went along with them.
That is the beauty of comedian Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade. Everyone who went to grade school or middle school understands what Kayla is going through.

Kayla (Fisher) is an introverted eighth grader during the last week of school. She is shy and lonely and mostly wants to get the school year over with. As a shy kid myself, I can relate to the annoyance of being called quiet when you feel like you have a lot to say. She films self help videos on the internet to prove she can open up but doesn't seem to get a lot of viewers or followers. The theme to Kayla's self help videos is how to take chances and try new things. These are things Kayla struggles with herself and we get to see her venture out.

Kayla (Fisher) and Gabe (Jake Ryan) at Kennedy's pool party.

An opportunity arises for Kayla when the mother of a popular girl named Kennedy (Oliviere) invites Kayla to Kennedy's birthday pool party. Kayla boldly shows up in her bathing suit and gets in the pool. She makes friends with Kennedy's nerdy cousin Gabe (Ryan) who attempts to impress Kayla with holding his breath under water and pool floor handstands. When confronted with her crush Aiden (Prael) she stumbles her way through a conversation with him and decides to head into the main party room where people are performing karaoke. Again Kayla bravely grabs the microphone and sings a song. Honestly, my only problem with this movie is that we don't get to hear her sing. It's such a bold move on her part that I wish the audience could fully witness it.
To add to her streak of trying new things, Kayla joins the shadow program in which eighth graders spend a day with high school students. Kayla gets paired up with Olivia (Robinson) who she immediately forms a bond with enough to get invited out to the mall with Olivia and her friends Riley and Trevor (Zolghadri and Hechinger).

Olivia (Emily Robinson) showing Kayla around high school.

The foundation of this movie is giving the viewer a glimpse into what grade school and middle school is like these days. We see the middle school principal "dabbing." We see many a student with their faces glued to screens. We see a lockdown drill training and unfortunately these kids are so used to them they are boring rather than scary.
Kayla lives with her father (Hamilton) who is loving and encouraging and though they seem to be disconnected at times they have a strong bond that shows itself when Kayla has a traumatizing experience with Riley after the mall trip or when she decides to burn items from her pre-middle school days. In the latter scene Kayla tells her Dad she would be disappointed to have a daughter like her. His response to that is warm and beautiful.
I have a feeling we'll see Elsie Fisher more in the coming years. Her performance is so authentic and believable it's not difficult to discern that Elsie is just as kind and good-natured in real life as Kayla is. I think Burnham and Fisher could both garner Oscar nominations for this and I hope they do. Eighth Grade is not the popcorn blockbuster type but more the type that allows you to live through another person in a realistic and relatable atmosphere.

Kayla and her father (Josh Hamilton) during their bonding bonfire.