A24 has released the trailer and poster for Eighth Grade, the middle school comedy from stand-up comedian/actor turned writer/director Bo Burnham. The movie, which the comedian also wrote, follows 13-year-old Kayla (newcomer Elsie Fisher) through her final week of middle school, navigating crushes, sex education, social media anxiety, acne, and parents, and mean girls.
Eighth Grade debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back in February and made a big splash, immediately becoming a break-out success, and being picked up by Lady Bird and Hereditary distributor A24. Given the film’s eye for realism and humorous true-to-life experiences, it makes Burnham’s directorial debut a no-brainer for the indie studio, who have made an effort to distribute poignant and often times incredibly unique films over the last few years.
Check out the trailer for Eighth Grade below:
The trailer introduces us to Elsie Fisher’s Kayla, as she films an entry for her YouTube channel. This is all before Kayla is revealed to be the “most quiet” in her school, even though she is outgoing and personable in her videos. Struggling to interact in real life, Kayla finds herself connecting more easily online, but the film’s narrative pushes her into situations where she’ll have to speak to her peers at school, who all happen to be involved with their phones too. Eighth Grade looks to encapsulate that anxiety over grade school interactions. It’s filled with subtle visual humor and shows Burnham has a knack for conveying universal awkwardness, and the struggle to be yourself…Even if you decide your best self is a Panda-Ear filter. Eighth Grade is also anchored by Fisher, giving an undeniably phenomenal breakout performance.
Burnham, already well-known before his feature film directorial debut, has released three specials, and created and starred in the short-lived MTV series Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous. He originally rose to prominence with YouTube videos of parody songs he wrote, fitting given what Fisher’s character is highly involved in when we see her in Eighth Grade. Burnham has also directed comedy specials for Jerrod Carmichael and Chris Rock.
The film also stars Josh Hamilton and Emily Robinson. You can check out a poster for Eighth Grade below:
Eighth Grade will hit theaters July 13, 2018.
Images: A24
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