History Film / EighthGrade

* StalkerWithoutACrush: while Kayla is hanging with Olivia and her friends at the mall, one of them notes dramatically that a creepy old guy has been watching them for a long time. It turns out to be Kayla's dad.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Kayla's dad stalks her at the mall and is caught by her friends, much to her embarrassment, and is so embarrassing at home with his attempts to convince her YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre that Kayla has to negotiate with him that on Fridays she gets to do whatever she wants at the dinner table, which means [[PhoneaholicTeen ignore him in favor of her phone.]]

* StylisticSuck: the middle school band's playing is realistically mediocre.

* KissingWarmUp: Kayla practices on her hand when looking at Aiden's Instagram.

''Eighth Grade'' is a 2018 American CringeComedy[=/=]ComingOfAge drama film notable for being the debut of musical comedian Creator/BoBurnham as a director and writer, initially premiering on January 19, 2018 as part of that year's Sundance Film Festival before receiving an official theatrical release on July 13 of that year.

* MostWritersAreAdults: {{Averted|Trope}} and one of the common points of praise for the film. There's a lot of [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic naturalistic dialogue]], with Kayla in particular demonstrating a lot of hesitancy and uncertainty. Her [=YouTube=] videos are rambling and difficult to follow, and even her climactic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech is full of disfluency and repetition, with the resolution coming from the fact that she stands up for herself at all, rather than the eloquence of the speech itself.

* NothingIsScarier: The "truth or dare" scene is a more realistic take on this trope that's nonetheless completely terrifying, utilizing ''long'' pauses between dialogue and absolutely no music, creating an unignorable underlying tension. Judging by reported audience reactions (including the Sundance crowd twisting in their seats and shouting at the screen), it worked with flying colors.

* LogoJoke: In the trailer, the [=A24=] logo is displayed as a clicked-on [=YouTube=] video.

* MostWritersAreAdults: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] and one of the common points of praise for the film. There's a lot of [[RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic naturalistic dialogue]], with Kayla in particular demonstrating a lot of hesitancy and uncertainty. Her [=YouTube=] videos are rambling and difficult to follow, and even her climactic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech is full of disfluency and repetition, with the resolution coming from the fact that she stands up for herself at all, rather than the eloquence of the speech itself.

-->[[spoiler:'''Kayla''': Hey. I wrote you that letter thanking you for inviting me to your birthday party, and you didn't write back or anything! I didn't even get a DM on, like, Instagram or whatever. And you know what? You're always mean to me, and I'm always nice to you, and being mean isn't nice. And when somebody does something nice to you, you're supposed to be nice back, and you're always mean to me, and I know... I'm a good person because I'm always nice to you, and you're just... And, also, that card game I got you is, like, a really fun version of Go Fish or whatever, and you'd actually know if you played it instead of trying to be cool all the time. It's, like, dumb, or whatever, but you know... It's dumb in a way that's fun to play when it's raining outside, and you'd know that if you stopped trying to be cool all the time!]]

** The unseen kid who keeps shouting "LEBRON JAMES!" during lulls in conversation, which is a reference to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeIr0FVJwGs Vine]].

** The unseen kid who keeps shouting "LEBRON JAMES!" during lulls in conversation as if it's a punchline in and of itself. It's a reference to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeIr0FVJwGs Vine]].

It focuses on the life of eighth-grader [[SociallyAwkwardHero Kayla Day]] (Elsie Fisher) as she navigates her last week of [[JuniorHigh middle school]] and struggles to prepare herself for high school. She spends her days surfing the internet on her phone and trying to make friends while posting barely-seen motivational videos to her Website/YouTube channel. As she attempts to branch out and connect with kids her age, her single father attempts to connect with her.

-->[[spoiler:"Hey. I wrote you that letter thanking you for inviting me to your birthday party, and you didn't write back or anything! I didn't even get a DM on, like, Instagram or whatever. And you know what? You're always mean to me, and I'm always nice to you, and being mean isn't nice. And when somebody does something nice to you, you're supposed to be nice back, and you're always mean to me, and I know... I'm a good person because I'm always nice to you, and you're just... And, also, that card game I got you is, like, a really fun version of Go Fish or whatever, and you'd actually know if you played it instead of trying to be cool all the time. It's, like, dumb, or whatever, but you know... It's dumb in a way that's fun to play when it's raining outside, and you'd know that if you stopped trying to be cool all the time!"]]

-->[[TheStinger "Gucci!"]]

* NothingIsScarier: The "truth or dare" scene is a more realistic take on this trope that's nonetheless [[AdultFear completely terrifying]], utilizing ''long'' pauses between dialogue and absolutely no music, creating an unignorable underlying tension. Judging by reported audience reactions (including the Sundance crowd twisting in their seats and shouting at the screen), it worked with flying colors.

Burnham based the initial idea of the film off of his own struggles with anxiety, and didn't find sufficient funding for two years. He strove to make its depiction of Generation Z as authentic and realistic as possible, and as a result the MPAA gave the film a R rating upon release that elicited controversy as it would prevent actual eighth graders from seeing it. In response, Creator/{{A24}} organized completely free unrated screenings across the US.

* AdultFear:
** Some reviewers have described the film as a horror movie for parents for how unflinching it is in its depiction of the negative impact that social media and middle school culture can have on young people, particularly introverts.
** [[spoiler:Riley pressuring Kayla into talking about her sexual experiences and almost taking off her shirt is excruciating to watch, as Kayla (and the audience) recognize the danger she is in of being assaulted. Even when she safely reaches home, the effect it has on her is absolutely terrifying for anyone with children or with experience of similar abuse.]]

* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Gabe (trying to be) acting mature in the chicken nugget scene.
* AdultFear: Some reviewers have described the film as a horror movie for parents for how unflinching it is in its depiction of the negative impact that social media and middle school culture can have on young people, particularly introverts.

** Kayla's time capsule has ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' and ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' stickers on it. Inside is a Playbill for ''Theatre/BringItOn'', ticket stubs to ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'', and a ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' toy [[spoiler:that is actually a flash drive containing her "8th grade is over" video]].

* MostWritersAreAdults: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] and one of the common points of praise for the film. There's a lot of naturalistic dialogue, with Kayla in particular demonstrating a lot of hesitancy and uncertainty. Her [=YouTube=] videos are rambling and difficult to follow, and even her climactic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech is full of disfluency and repetition, with the resolution coming from the fact that she stands up for herself at all, rather than the eloquence of the speech itself.

** The unseen kid who keeps shouting "LEBRON JAMES!" during lulls in conversation as if it's a punchline in and of itself. It’s a reference to a Vine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeIr0FVJwGs

** The unseen kid who keeps shouting "LEBRON JAMES!" during lulls in conversation as if it's a punchline in and of itself. (It’s a reference to a Vine. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeIr0FVJwGs])

** The unseen kid who keeps shouting "LEBRON JAMES!" during lulls in conversation as if it's a punchline in and of itself.

* NoSocialSkills: Kayla, her father, and Gabe are merely {{adorkabl|e}}y awkward, which is a step up from the majority of the characters who [[KidsAreCruel range from apathetic to downright mean]]. Olivia is one of the few characters to come across as socially well-adjusted.

* MostWritersAreAdults: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] and one of the common points of praise for the film.

* ParentsAsPeople: Kayla's dad consistently tries to connect with her, and mostly fails to do so. Towards the end of the movie, he reveals that [[spoiler:he was scared of raising her as a single parent, but became more brave as he saw her grow into a good person without having to guide her]].

* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: There's a lot of naturalistic dialogue, with Kayla in particular demonstrating a lot of hesitancy and uncertainty. Her [=YouTube=] videos are rambling and difficult to follow, and even her climactic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech is full of disfluency and repetition, with the resolution coming from the fact that she stands up for herself at all, rather than the eloquence of the speech itself.

* NoSocialSkills: Kayla, her father, and Gabe are the standouts in a cast that lacks them.

** Kayla's time capsule has ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' and ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' stickers on it. Inside is a Playbill for ''Theatre/BringItOn'', ticket stubs to ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'', and a ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' toy [[spoiler:that is actually a flash drive containing her "8th grade is over video]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[TagLine Based on the most awkward year of your life.]]'']]

* {{Adorkable}}: Basically anybody worth rooting for is portrayed this way, including Kayla, her dad, Gabe, and Olivia.

Burnham based the initial idea of the film off of his own struggles with anxiety, and didn't find sufficient funding for two years. He strove to make its depiction of Generation Z as authentic and realistic as possible, and as a result the MPAA gave the film a R rating upon release that elicited controversy as it would prevent actual eighth graders from seeing it. In response, [=A24=] organized completely free unrated screenings across the US.

** Kayla's time capsule is adorned with ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' and ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' stickers, she has a Playbill for ''Theatre/BringItOn'', and her "8th grade is over" video is on a ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarepants'' USB drive.
** Some of the various paraphernalia in Kayla's room include a [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Meowth]] hat, a plush of [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Toad]], a wall-sized poster of Music/JustinBieber, and a ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' calendar.