Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Eighth Grade Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 5, 2018

We’re currently in this wonderful era where the wants and needs of adolescent girls are being represented honestly on the big screen. There was “Edge of Seventeen” and “Lady Bird,” and now “Eighth Grade,” which offers a snapshot of even younger concerns, but emerges as the most authentic of the group, which is no small feat. Writer/director Bo Burnham endeavors to capture the moment junior high wonder becomes high school hell, and he doesn’t miss a beat with this small but special picture. The helmer is making a comedy, but one with deep pathos and care for its lead character, who’s a uniquely positive creation despite suffering setbacks in mental health. Burnham avoids cliché in a remarkable way, preferring to dig his own groove of cinematic emphasis and rich characterization, giving audiences time with a typically unrepresented age, now free of Disney Channel glitter and Larry Clark grime.

It’s the last week of eighth grade for Kayla (Elsie Fisher), and she’s fretting about her future. While supported by her loving father, Mark (Josh Hamilton), Kayla is trying to figure out how to be a more extroverted creature, spending her days on social media and making YouTube videos that explore the journey of growing confidence. While focus at school is on the upcoming transition to high school, Kayla is trying to make her mark with the popular kids, entering the world of Kennedy (Catherine Oliviere), a rich kid who’s forced to invite Kayla to her birthday party, while a high school mentor, Olivia (Emily Robinson), provides some much needed acceptance for the overwhelmed teenager. While suffering through the trials of a particularly harsh week, Kayla tries to keep herself together and Mark at arm’s length, shaping her personality as she enters a new phase of her life.

Burnham makes his feature-length directorial debut with “Eighth Grade,” and he’s on a specific mission to create as authentic a tale about the age as possible. However, this is a story about today’s teens, who are fully immersed in the rituals of social media and the omnipresence of smartphones, which may very well be surgically attached to the characters. Kayla lives for her phone, which becomes her world in many ways, spending time scrolling through social media pages, studying how her classmates live and maintain their image, trying to participate in the popularity race. She also creates YouTube videos nobody watches, stumbling through lessons on maturity and public courage (with speech littered with “likes”), playing the role of a leader while struggling to learn the rhythms of her classmates, including Kennedy, a disdainful girl who’s forced to include Kayla in her party plans due to her mother’s crush on Mark, permitting entrance into a world of acceptance the quiet kid strives to master, but she can’t shake habitual embarrassment.

Burnham doesn’t pay attention to a plot, preferring to exist with Kayla during the week, which takes her on trip of self-awareness and unexpected growth. For the audience, there are plenty of cringe-worthy moments to endure, but that’s the beauty of “Eighth Grade,” which creates such a powerfully authentic portrait of adolescence, including the throb of romantic obsession, with Burnham cranking EDM when Kayla spies Aiden (Luke Prael), a handsome idiot, feeling the power of the girl’s burning feelings. And there’s Kayla’s relationship with her father, lashing out at Mark when he tries to show interest in her life, staying lovably dorky and committed to his kid despite her general mortification with his very existence. Burnham grasps the hallway experience at junior high and the feel of being the odd man out in a group, but he’s best slipping into Kayla’s mind, achieving an understanding of need within the character to belong, trying hard to best her instincts to keep as low a profile as possible.

Eighth Grade Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation brings "Eighth Grade" to Blu-ray with the essentials intact, preserving the picture's sharp HD-shot look. Night and day extremes are handled well, with bright, crisp whites communicating the brightness of experiences and artificial lighting, while evening sequences manage delineation satisfactorily, only displaying slight milkiness at times. Detail is defined in full, with a full survey of skin surfaces, taking in Kayla's acne without hesitation, which helps the feature's quest for authenticity. School, mall, and suburban locations retain dimension. Colors are vibrant, with primaries holding real power through costuming and set decoration. Lighting also provides vivid hues, adding some Christmas bulbs and social media design to boost brightness. Mild posturization is found during some low-lit scenes.

Eighth Grade Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix offers a rich understanding of scoring cues, with waves of synth supporting the movie with precision and loudness, keeping their intended identification of emotional changes. Clarity is superb and fullness is welcome, creating circular environments to capture Kayla's headspace. Surrounds are also engaged with atmospherics, delivering particulars with school and mall bustle. Dialogue exchanges are clean and true, isolating Kayla's teenage pronunciation and Mark's softer concern. Group activity is also nicely arranged, contributing a sense of chaos as Kayla visits parties and gatherings.

Eighth Grade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features writer/direct Bo Burnham and actress Elsie Fisher.

• "You're Not Alone" (14:49, HD) is a making of for "Eighth Grade," catching up with Burnham, Fisher, and select cast members to discuss the creation of the picture. Dramatic intent is reinforced, with the helmer trying to achieve an uncommon authenticity in the coming-of-age genre, aiming for reality from an age range that's rarely cinematically represented. Casting highlights are offered, including Fisher's audition story and her ability to use her own life to help inform the character -- a special creative freedom permitted from the rest of the cast as well. Focus is also put on Burnham, with praise for his abilities shared, and talk of social media is included, with the director trying to seize more realism from scrolling screens and peer pressure.

• Deleted Scenes (11:55, HD) include a day in the life of Kayla, her photo shoot with another painfully quiet classmate, and extended parts of the dinner with Gabe, including small talk, mealtime conversation, and a full display of the boy's passion for performance.

• Music Video (2:33, HD) presents a kaleidoscopic visual journey through a scoring selection from "Eighth Grade."

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Eighth Grade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Eighth Grade" is filled with fine details and outstanding texture, with Kayla herself an ideal screen representation of teendom, complete with habitual hesitation and bad skin, with Fisher delivering a tremendous performance in perfect sync with Burnham's pure cinematic surges. The beauty of the picture is how much it rejects formula (touching on darkness when Kayla is confronted by an older boy), but isn't consumed with punishment. It offers a parent who's caring, not smothering, always trying to support his child despite her age-appropriate rejection of everything parental. And Kayla experiences multiple humiliations, but she's not destroyed by them, remaining a positive spirit who's trying to achieve her best self, just looking in the wrong places. "Eighth Grade" has style and confidence, but Burnham's attention to the nuances of adolescence and his respect for his lead character is downright thrilling, making a teen movie that's perfectly in step with the real thing.