Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The Second Great Film Of The Year.

NEPHEW: “Do you like Minecraft?”
ME [trying to seem cool]: “I am interested in how mines are built, yes.”

It ain’t easy connecting with kids today. Even more difficult: being a kid. It was always tricky to feel like you fit in, but now Instagram has taken it into the stratosphere. See what you’re missing and feel left out in real time.

Eighth Grade is sad and cringeworthy and funny in the right places (you don’t need a superhero plot to keep you on the edge of your seat), and you’ll leave the theater a more compassionate adult – and that’s a very good thing these days.

Earlier in the day I saw the film, I offered condolences to my 19-year-old cashier at Trader Joe’s, whose co-worker had been killed by a stray police bullet last week. “This is the world we live in,” he said. Heart-breaking grownup cynicism, and unfortunately true. There are duck-and-cover drill scenes in Eighth Grade.

The movie is written and directed by Bo Burnham, one of my favorite comedians, who came out of nowhere as a scary-talented young genius who funded his own first special on YouTube. His standup style is loud and energetic, but always thoughtful, and his first film follows suit. Extra special for me: I saw Eighth Grade in the same spot – theater #7 at ArcLight Hollywood – I saw Ex Machina a few years ago, sitting behind Bo in the audience.

Can’t recommend this enough. See it, and bring along your kids. It’s a beautiful film.