Bo Burnham’s new movie Eighth Grade is quite a departure from the stand-up we’re used to seeing from him, but from the looks of the trailer, this film will be all-too-relatable.
Over a decade ago, Bo Burnham posted his first video to his YouTube channel. Since that time, his unique brand of comedy that blended poetry, music, and often strangely poignant statements on modern society captivated all of us. In the past decade Burnham has written a book, starred in his own television show, and been in several movies. But his most recent project has him behind the camera as writer and director, and it’s a bit of a departure from what we’re used to seeing from him.
Eighth Grade is an honest coming-of-age story of an eighth-grade girl named Kayla. The film follows her as she finishes her final week of middle school and prepares to move on to high school. There has been a lot of positive chatter about the film since it first premiered at Sundance, and from the looks of the newly-released trailer, we can see why.
In Eighth Grade, Burnham has written and directed a story about middle school, that time in your life, and the unique challenges that modern middle schoolers have with the influx of social media. Paired with the brilliant Elsie Fisher as Kayla, the story feels so honest that even if it’s been years since you’ve been in middle school, this trailer takes you right back. It expertly articulates what makes middle school such a bizarre and often truly challenging time of life for just about everyone.
Burnham has always had a knack for his hilarious and honest storytelling, and if this trailer is any indication, he’s done just that in his latest film. We can’t wait to watch Kayla navigate the crazy world of eighth grade when Eighth Grade hits theaters in July of 2018.