Kayla Day, who is about to graduate eighth grade, spends what feels like an eternity to apply make up and get dressed just so she can roll back into bed and take a selfie with the caption “Just woke up like this!” She will get exactly zero likes on that Instagram post, the same number that she has on her YouTube channel where she regularly posts self-help tips about how to not be phony. And as she sends her image into the world, she’ll toss her phone onto her bed, anxious at what might come back her way.
This is the protagonist of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, a girl young enough to have grown up with the expectation that in order to be liked, you have to get likes. You have to brand yourself and act as an influencer in every aspect of your online presence in order to give the impression you have a personality. The only problem is that Kayla (Elsie Fisher) has no friends, digitally or in real life. She’s drearily alone with no actually discernable interests, and yet she is still unhealthily self-absorbed and addicted to her phone. This is an unhappy person.
And yet what’s weird about Burnham’s Eighth Grade is that it’s framed as a coming of age story rather than a commentary about life in a digital age. It strives for awkward humor and a warming story of growth and self-discovery. But watching it is sadder and more cringe-inducing than you might anticipate. Burnham may hope that Kayla represents a large swath of teens at this tricky age. But ultimately, Kayla feels like an extreme, and it’s depressing to watch a character who seems to dislike herself this much. Continue reading “Eighth Grade”