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'Eighth Grade' is a gently humorous and nuanced portrait of middle school

( R ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

It鈥檚 rare to see a movie about middle school years that looks and sounds as right as 'Eighth Grade,' which is written and directed by Bo Burnham.

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Linda Kallerus/A24/AP
Elsie Fisher stars in 'Eighth Grade.'
  • By Peter Rainer Film critic

It鈥檚 rare to see a movie about middle school years that looks and sounds as right as 鈥淓ighth Grade,鈥� a modest charmer written and directed by Bo Burnham about 13-year-old Kayla (a marvelous Elsie Fisher), who posts motivational monologues on YouTube about how to be confident without ever 鈥� away from the web 鈥� appearing very confident about anything.

Burnham avoids most of the 鈥淢ean Girls鈥�-style tropes in favor of a more gently humorous and nuanced approach. Given the potential young audience for this film, its R rating seems especially punitive. Grade: B+ (Rated R for language and some sexual material.)

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