Way too accurate! The agonizing growth pains of middle school are captured in excruciating detail with humanity and humor by Writer/Director Bo Burnham. He may have crafted the best film yet dealing with the awkwardness of transitioning into high school. All the kids he cast in the film are actually middle schoolers. It’s too bad all tweens and teens should see it because the material is about them. But since it’s rated R, they’ll have to go with an adult. If there is more than one “F-bomb,” it can’t be rated PG-13 and there are five.
Burnham was a stand up comedian who made people laugh talking about being awkward and anxious himself in front of an audience. He gave it up when he got too panicky on stage. Hew says the idea for this film germinated from 14-year-old girls who approached after hearing his anxiety laced schtick saying they felt the same, too. Bingo! Empathy took over and the fictional 13-year-old named Kayla is played to a ’T’ by Elsie Fisher (Despicable Me series). Kayla became his muse. Burnham wanted to show the pressures put on tweens in the internet age and from one girl’s point of view. She also became a sounding board for accuracy updating Burnham about the habits of middle schoolers. Among other things, that included Facebook being out, replaced with Instagram and Snapchat. Fisher embodies Kayla and her mood swings with perfection.
The film opens with a really tight close up on Kayla’s acne laced face as she’s making one of Kayla’s Korner videos giving tips on being her age to other girls her age. (Burnham’s career was started by putting his comedy videos on You Tube.) This 13-year-old seems confident enough signing off with a big smile, and a hand gesture punctuated with the phrase “Gucci.” She begs others to subscribe and share, but find out she’s not that same kind of bubbly anywhere else.
Kayla lives with her Dad. You’ll wonder where her mother is for most of the film. It’s the last week of school and she’s been given the “Most Quiet Award” because she absolutely is. Ironic that in band Kayla plays the very loudest instrument, the cymbals! Other than that, she doesn’t make much noise, except when her Dad, played with extreme sensitivity by Josh Hamilton, can draw her out of silence or away from her phone. Then she acts out intolerably at him. Dad loves Kayla, but clearly doesn’t know how to handle her. He tries to be stern, yet supportive still trying too hard to be a cool Dad.
Burnham shows how Kayla really longs to be noticed by trying to fit in with the cool kids, particularly the most stuck-up, popular girl, Kennedy (Catherine Oliviere). It’s always dramatic and all about acceptance. Burnham has us follow behind her skulking into Kennedy’s birthday pool party. She hunches over, looking like she’s trying to crawl back into her own skin so she won’t be noticed and sticks on the side in the pool where she meets an entertaining, nerdy guy with goggles, Gabe (Jake Ryan – Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom). He’s the only one who’ll talk to her in between trying to impress her doing underwater handstands. Kayla’s gift to Kennedy is a card game instead of the latest trendy fashion gifts from her “cool” friends. It’s not well received.
But, she does get to pant at the handsome hunk of her dreams, Aiden, (Luke Prael). To get his attention, she tells him she has nude photos of herself she can send and teases knowing how to give a BJ. Anything sexy gets those raging hormones attention in middle school. The scenes are very funny where she actually goes to the internet to research how to give a BJ and is caught by Dad in the kitchen trying to find some object to practice on. You’ll really feel for Kayla. And that’s what Burnham wants. These are cringeworthy moments.
Burnham also informs with signs of the times. There’s an overhead shot of the kids in an assembly and all of them are on their phones, even during a disturbing school shooting drill. As if middle school kids are not anxious enough. There’s even a line saying they hate middle school so much they almost wish a shooting would happen! But they go through the drill as if it’s just another routine. During the drill Burnham has the camera follow Kayla down on the floor with the camera showing her crawling around, cell phone in tow, to get to a fellow student. The urge to say something to them too great.
It’s humiliating enough when the middle school kids visit their new high school and have to parade in a line, highlighting them as underlings, meekly walking between 2 lines of upper class types. Luckily, Kayla meets Olivia (Emily Robinson). She’s a senior who is warm, friendly, and totally accepting. What a change from middle school! Kayla gets invited to hang with Olivia and older kids and break out a little on her own, but Dad gets nervous and turns into the embarrassing helicopter parent following to spy on her at a Mall. It’s a very funny scene. Whether you’re a parent or a kid, you’ve probably been there before.
Kayla has to deal with another scene about sexuality when one of the high school kids she just met tests her with a scary round of Truth or Dare. Trying to be grown up and still protect yourself is the problem she faces here. The long pauses in this scene of Kayla struggling with what to do or say are painful, not only for Kayla, but for you, too. Burnham illustrates her predicament well. Might be good to show your teen as a learning tool.
Fortunately, Kayla finally connects with a kid who embodies awkwardness in Gabe, the nerd she met at the pool party. Their scenes together are adorably age appropriate and heartwarming.
It’s hard to be middle school age where you are betwixt and between. You’re still a kid trying to be more adult never knowing which will surface. Ah, those hormonal attitudes and mood swings. Burnham successfully displays the challenge it presents for kids and for parents. And he does it with a lot of humor and empathy. And who does he say taught him that? His Mom.
A 24 1 hour 34 minute R Reviewed July 18, 2018
