Chicago Kids Can Watch ‘Eighth Grade’ For Free

CHICAGO, IL — Eighth grade is hard. It’s even harder when you have to live it every day on social media. That’s one of the reasons director Bo Burnham decided to make a film about it, aptly titled “Eighth Grade.” But one small thing that could hurt the movie — it’s rated R, so eighth graders technically won’t be be able to see it unless accompanied by an adult.

Fortunately, the folks at the film studio A24 came up with a sneaky solution to get around that rule. For one night only — Wednesday, Aug. 8 — kids nationwide can go see the movie for free. But the deal is good only at one theater.

In Chicago, kids can watch the film at AMC River East 21, .322 E Illinois St, starting at 7:10 p.m. If the seats fill up, you can always take a trek across state lines to neighboring Mequon, Wisconsin, where the film will also screen for free at 7 p.m. at Marcus North Shore Cinema 11. The movie also plays at 7 p.m. at Landmark Keystone Art Cinema 7 in Indianapolis.

At the theater, guests should head to guest services to pick up a ticket. They are limited and will be doled out on a first come, first served basis. Contact the theater or email info@A24films.com for more details.
Burnham lamented to Variety that he didn’t want the film to be rated R.

“I just wanted to portray the way kids’ lives are. It didn’t feel like our responsibility to portray the reality that we felt was appropriate for kids,” he told the trade magazine, adding that he would love if kids lived in a PG-13 world.

The film, which opened nationwide Friday, follows Kayla (Elsie Fisher) as she goes through eighth grade and navigates challenges including puberty, cliques and anxiety, and deals with the complexities of living it all on on social media.

Critics seem to love the film, which has earned a 98 percent fresh rating on the review aggregating service Rotten Tomatoes. The New Yorker said the movie offers “acute observations” on how social media has negatively impacted teens and Newsday called it “achingly honest.”

You can watch a trailer of the film above.

Patch national reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this article.

Screenshot via A24 \ YouTube