Mid90s Movie Review (2018)
An intimate coming-of-age story, Mid90s hits hard with a mostly unknown cast and a filming style that captures the awkward, hilarious, and painful moments of a young teenager.
I am a huge fan of fly-on-the-wall adolescent and teen stories. Movies like Didi or After Sun make you feel as if you are watching someone’s real life. Where the lines are almost blurred between film and reality. I enjoy wondering how the movie could possibly be fiction when it feels so incredibly authentic.
Mid90s is about Stevie, an innocent and honest 13-year old boy who battles his abusive brother at home and has no friends, money, or safety net outside of it. Their single mother is loving, but self-involved, and does not get involved in their squabbles. When Stevie sees and overhears a bunch of older skateboarders hanging out together, he decides to learn to skateboard and try to join their group.
Written and directed by Jonah Hill, this dramedy is full of mostly unknown actors (other than Lucas Hedges, who was in various break-out roles right around this time), which compounds on the feeling that you are watching a real story. Sunny Suljic is fantastic as Stevie, with a sweetness and vulnerability that is almost jarring, and Na-Kel Smith is a standout as Ray, one of the skaters.
At first glance, it may seem like this film is a general slice of life movie, but it isn’t. There is great depth underneath. There is wanting and wishing and a desperate pull with who Stevie is and the moments that result in him trying to give himself consequences for the actions that he knows (or thinks) aren’t right. He will do almost anything anyone tells him to just to be noticed or get any kind of positive feedback. You, as the audience, hurt for him and hope for him.
In these skateboarding teens’ company is not a place where you would typically want your teen to feel comfortable, as you don’t see any real future for any of them. They hang out in a shop all day, party all night, and offend just about anyone who approaches them. But then, everything begins to take more shape, and there is a specific scene between Stevie and Ray that knocks your socks off. You will know it when you watch it.
Mid90s is both funny and, at times, hard to watch, but it reminds me of kids I grew up with and others that I see today. Kids who are just looking for a place to fit in and don’t know what they can offer the world. Watching Stevie’s journey (in this short 85 minute film) will hopefully affect you the way that it did me. It’s one that I won’t soon forget.
Runtime: 85 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
