Eighth Grade: parents' guide
Best for ages 14 and up. Rated R for language and some sexual material.
An honest, often painfully funny portrait of an anxious 13-year-old's last week of middle school, and a strong film for parents and young teens to watch together. The R comes from frequent f-words and sexual material: after lying to a boy about her experience, Kayla looks up oral sex online, and in one tense scene an older high schooler alone with her in a car pushes her to take off her shirt. An active-shooter drill and her loneliness at school may also land hard. There is no nudity, drinking or real violence. We suggest 14, watched together.
What's in it
Violence
MildNo real violence. The school runs an active-shooter drill in which an adult pretends to shoot students who hid poorly, and a boy says he wishes there would be a school shooting.
Language
StrongFrequent strong language, much of it from kids: about 10 f-words by one count, plus s-words, "goddamn," "ass," crude terms for anatomy, "blow job," and middle-finger gestures.
Sex and nudity
ModerateNo nudity, but frank material: Kayla claims skill at oral sex, then watches online tutorials, glimpsing an anatomical model, and picks up a banana to practice. A boy seems to masturbate under his shirt in class, and an older teen pressures her to take off her shirt.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
MildEssentially none. In one brief gag a boy sniffs a marker as if to get high. No drinking or smoking is shown.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateThe car scene with an older boy is tense and upsetting, and Kayla sobs afterward. The shooter drill and her loneliness, shown through advice videos almost no one watches, may hit sensitive viewers hard.
Sensitive topics
- School violence
- Bullying
Worth talking about
When the older boy pressures Kayla in the car, she says no and then apologizes. What could she say in that moment, and who could she call to come get her?
On our lists
Similar picks around 14+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, moviemom.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.