Hey Kids, Here's Your Chance To See The R-Rated 'Eighth Grade,' And For Free

By Kristy Puchko | Film | August 6, 2018 |

By Kristy Puchko | Film | August 6, 2018 |

Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade is a coming-of-age drama that gets growing up so right it hurts. The Overlords recommend grown-ups see it, because it’s excellent filmmaking. And its R-rating be damned, we recommend middle-schoolers and teens see it however possible, because this movie might help you cope with the merciless hell that is adolescence. (We’ve all been there, pimples, pool parties, and all.) And now, on the verge of Back To School time, A24 has just made it easier for kids across the country to see the movie the MPAA thinks they can’t handle.

On August 8th, A24 is offering free screenings of Eighth Grade in all 50 states. No rating restriction will be enforced, so actual eighth graders can see the movie that has critics raving and grown-ups cringing in recognition of all-too-familiar middle school drama.

Here’s Burnham and the film’s star Elsie Fisher sharing the cool news.

8/8/18 — Join a night of free #EighthGrade screenings in EVERY state across the country. No rating enforced. If you’ve been through 8th grade, then #EighthGrade is for you. @boburnham @elsiekfisher #ThisIsEighthGrade

A post shared by Eighth Grade (@eighthgrademov) on Aug 6, 2018 at 11:31am PDT

For worried parents, the R-rating for Eighth Grade was for language and some sexual material. The language is five uses of the word “fuck.” The “sexual material” references conversations about sexting and oral sex, along with a scene where the protagonist watches a Youtube tutorial involving a banana. There’s no nudity.

To find out if there’s a theater near you participating, check out the Eighth Grade website.