St. Louis Kids Can Watch ‘Eighth Grade’ Wednesday For Free

ST. LOUIS, MO — 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 comedian and director Bo Burnham decided to make a film about it, aptly titled “Eighth Grade.” But one small thing that could hurt the movie — its R rating. 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 — kids nationwide can go see the movie for free. But the deal is good only at one theater.

In St. Louis, kids can watch the film at Ronnie's Cinema 20 starting at 7 p.m. Though, if the seats fill up — and you're desperate enough — you could always head to River East 21 in Chicago, the next nearest theater where the film will screen for free.

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 are loving the film, which has earned a 98 percent fresh rating on 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.”

Patch national reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this article.

Image via YouTube