by Lafronda Stumn

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me.  As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, there are other experts out there.  Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy.  Sometimes, they save me $9 and you 800+ words of blathering.  In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for guest movie reviews.

TODAY’S CRITIC: Lafronda Stumn

Lafronda Stumn is a student at Madisonville Community College and intends to graduate with an Associate's degree in Associate of the Arts. She plans on earning a Bachelors Degree in Motion Picture Studies and English at Wright State University. Her favorite Directors are Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Spike Lee, and her favorite actors are Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Halle Berry. Lafronda contacted this page looking for a place to get published and I enjoy giving people that very kind of opportunity. This is her, coincidentally, eighth guest review for Every Movie Has a Lesson. Welcome back, Lafronda!

HER REVIEW: Eighth Grade

Being the shy, silent type is what some kids are because they are self-conscious, may have a stutter, was bullied in the past, are several reasons for being to themselves. There is a character of Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) is that type of child. She is a middle schooler who is 13 years old. Kayla is having her last week of middle school before being sent to high school in the fall. She lives with her father Mark (Josh Hamilton) where her mother is never seen or mentioned.

Kayla makes YouTube videos and advises on the struggles of being a teenager. Early in the film, she has no friends and justifies not having friends because she doesn’t like to talk. In truth, the girl is anxious and very shy. Kayla get panic attacks when she gets into a social situations. She had a crush on a boy named Aiden (Luke Prael) from afar and tries to find ways for him to like her. It turns out that Aiden likes to take selfies of his classmates and wants to perform some sexual acts. 

Kayla is invited to a classmate’s birthday. The girl named Kennedy ignores Kayla and doesn’t want her there. Nonetheless, Kayla tries to have a good time at the pool birthday party. While in the swimming pool, she meets Kennedy's cousin Gabe. They get along great but back at home Kayla is thinking about Aiden and tries to use a banana to simulate a sex act. 

Later in the film, Kayla goes to the high school she will be attending in the fall and meets Olivia (Emily Robinson), a senior. They hit it off, and Olivia invites her to spend the day at the mall with her friends. She does spend the day and has a good time. However, later on in the film. Kayla gets involved in a "situation" with one of Olivia's friends. The incident is a turning point in Kayla's personality which leads to decisions that will alter her future with herself as a teenager moving forward.

Several scenes that seem authentic are when Kayla gives Kennedy a birthday gift at the birthday party. Kennedy’s reaction is something that Kayla doesn’t expect. Another location is when Kayla tries to perform a sex act on a banana, and her father questioning what she's doing with it.

There's a school shooting drill in the school hallway, and Kayla gazes at Aiden from afar. Likewise, when one of the older high school kids she’s with at the mall sees someone watching them from above it gets a reaction from Kayla. There is also a heartwarming scene between Kayla and her father Mark with Kayla talking about being a mom when she's older.

The script does a great job describing kids communicating at that age with all the little quirks and insecurities of fitting in a world that, according to Kayla, can be intimidating to her. Elsie Fisher is perfect as Kayla. She seems very down to earth and is comfortable playing a role that a lot of teenage girls can relate to. You emphasize her plight and root for her to become more of a social butterfly and gain more confidence with kids around her age and older. Josh Hamilton is likable and wants her daughter to trust more people and have a few friends. Emily Robinson is just right as the more senior student who sees Kayla as fun to be with and sees Kayla is older in demeanor than her grade suggests.

The one thing that is missing in this film is the mother figure. There is no mention of her. We don’t know if she died or ran away from the family. I would’ve liked a scene Kayla talked about her mother to her dad about their lack of a relationship. I believe those scenes are needed, and I think the writer/director Bo Burnham should added at least one angle about the mother's lack of presence.

Overall, the film does a great job dealing with the angst of teenage life and the trials and tribulations of coming to terms with being different and the possibility of small changes here and there are at the heart of the movie.

Rating: ***1/2 out of four

CONCLUSION

Thank you again, Lafronda! You are welcome anytime. Friends, if you see a movie that I don't see and want to be featured on my website, hit up my website's Facebook page and you can be my next GUEST CRITIC!