Eighth Grade (2018)

This was a truly excellent film.
Kayla (Elsie Fisher) is getting ready to finish eighth grade. She is not pretty, with one eye lower than the other and only of average weight, and that's what makes her brilliant. She doesn't have many friends and is begging for followers on her YouTube channel. She is voted most quietest for the yearbook. Now, while that is not a compliment, I would have been thrilled to get voted any superlative in either middle school or high school.
The only reason she gets invited to Kennedy Graves's (Catherine Oliviere's) party is because of some volunteer work her father did. But she goes anyway though no one wants her there. I feel her, she's the only girl there in a one-piece. On the other hand, she meets Kennedy's awkward cousin, Gabe (Jake Ryan) who actually might be the most interesting character in the film.
So the party is a disaster but when she shadows a high schooler, Olivia (Emily Robinson), that goes surprisingly well and Olivia certainly takes a shine to Kayla so much so that they go to the mall to hang out later.
Unfortunately, the night ends in disaster. One of Olivia's friends, Riley (Daniel Zolghadri) goes to drop off Olivia though she wants him to take Kayla home first. It then gets incredibly awkward and painful to watch. Though Riley doesn't rape her, doesn't even touch her, he violates her nevertheless. He is truly one of the biggest dicks on screen this year. He wanted to take her virginity so she would know what to later. He is absolutely dreadful. We never hear from Olivia again and Kayla stops recording videos.
Instead, Kayla and her father (Josh Hamilton) have a nice touching moment, she tells Kennedy for being a bitch and has a delightfully awkward friend hang/date with Gabe and records an inspiring video for her to watch when she graduates high school.
An excellent film with a great soundtrack and gritty scenery, the film is also grounded in its completely solid performances. Fisher will have a brilliant career. The use of voiceovers is strategic and great and the cinematography is shaky but truly great. Bo Burnham gets into the mind of a teenage girl and delivers the best film of the year so far. Grade: A