The Eighth Grade Trailer Is So Awkward You'll Feel Like You're Right Back In Middle School

If there's one thing you must know about comedian Bo Burnham's directorial debut, it's this: "Eighth grade is the worst."


The darling of this year's Sundance Film Festival, Eighth Grade follows 13-year-old vlogger Kayla (Elsie Fisher) throughout the final week of middle school. Voted "Most Quiet" by her peers, Kayla isn't actually all that quiet on her channel; she's just a little awkward. "I don't talk a lot at school," she says in the opening trailer, nevertheless if people converse with me and stuff they'd find out that I'm really funny and cool and talkative."


Cut to a painfully uncomfortable "I like your shirt a lot" interaction with the cool ladies.


But that's the aesthetics of Eighth Grade. It's achingly authentic in a way that makes you empathize with Kayla as she messily navigates her way through crushes, angst, sex education, along with a dad who so doesn't understand — while also being exceptionally grateful you never had a Snapchat in fifth grade. Or any social media. Some pictures should never visualize the light of day.


"I'm really nervous all of the time," she says. "I try really hard not to feel that way."


Don't we all.


Written and directed by Burnham, Eighth Grade will hit theaters nationwide this July.