Bo Burnham's movie Eighth Grade swanned into theaters this summer with justified accolades trailing close behind. Today, as Oscar season approaches, it's doing better than ever, even as the movie scene gets increasingly crowded.
The movie's star Elsie Fisher recently picked up a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Actor, and the National Board of Review named it one of the year's top ten films. NBR also awarded director Bo Burnham for Best Directorial Debut, and, finally, the New York Film Critics' Circle named the movie Best First Film.
Not to mention, the movie is coasting at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, a number that can be hard to maintain as time elapses. Eighth Grade may have officially redeemed middle school.
A quiet, independent film, Eighth Grade premiered at Sundance in January of this year, then in theaters in July. Bo Burnham, a stand-up comedian and a product of the YouTube era, wrote and directed the film, which tells the story of an eighth grader coming to terms with herself. With a July release, the film isn't a typical Oscar contender; those puppies usually arrive in the fall or the early winter. But with scores and attention like this, Eighth Grade may just slip into the conversation. How very Gucci!