Mid90s

Mid90s (2018, Hill, USA) is an intimate story of Stevie’s (Sunny Suljic) day to day life when he meets a group of skaters. The entire plot is laid out in the beginning titles sequence when Stevie goes into his brother’s room, after being told not to, and being amazed at what his brother has. This is a story of a kid who just wants to fit it and be cool. It’s unfortunate that he is abused by his older brother and has the expectation of not being wanted or being liked by others. When he finds Ruben, who is cool, he clings to him and his friend group, even though Ruben shows him no respect other than letting Stevie hang around.

This is Jonah Hill’s debut film, which he wrote and directed. It is certainly original and meaningful. Something I really loved was in the party scene, there was jump cuts to the music. That was creative and it fit in the atmosphere. However, the editor got too comfortable with using jump cuts and this really breaks the flow of the story. For instance, six or seven jumps cuts of Stevie falling off the skateboard is noticeably too much when three cuts would suffice. The cast was actually skaters with little acting experience.  It was natural and easy to believe their passion. The improvised dialogue worked well to continue the singular storyline. The screenplay was short and only contained one plotline. This made the film a little dull and sometimes hard for the audience to relate to the other characters and understand their actions. Mostly all the supporting characters were one dimensional and one could argue that Stevie’s arch was negative. Stevie is misguided at home and with his group of friends. Only Ray has a positive message about being grateful, though, we don’t see it actually resonate with Stevie.

Our first impression of the group is a conversation about having sex and raping their own parents. That… was a bold choice. I don’t know why Hill decided that was a good idea. I can guess it tried to convey that these kids are very relaxed and maybe open-minded? Still, that taboo can make many viewers uncomfortable, so maybe save it for the second encounter next time. The dialogue is riddled with profanity, and as that may be an accurate representation of the environment, a lot of audiences will be put off by it.

I maybe wouldn’t consider it a coming of age story, but it features the steps before maturity. It’s a small piece of real life with heavy Lady Bird (2017) vibes but without the forward-moving resolution. This film ends and it’s up to our own imagination how Stevie will change or not change after the accident.

“A lot of the time we feel that our lives the worst, but I think that if you looked in anybody else’s closet, you wouldn’t trade your shit for their shit.” — Ray