mid90s review

MID90S:

JONAH HILL’S DIRECTORIAL DEBUT IS AS POIGNANT AS IT IS NOSTALGIC!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

ADVISORY: This review contains some strong language

A24

Sunny Suljic and Na-kel Smith in mid90s

            Jonah Hill (Superbad, Moneyball, This is the End) takes us back in time to the 90s in his directorial debut, the new coming of age comedy-drama, mid90s. This man continues to impress me with his career, whenever I think of Hill I think back to his crude, foul-mouthed portrayal of Seth in Superbad, now he’s moved on to becoming an Oscar nominated actor for Moneyball and finally making the transition to directing.

            Given his background in comedy, you probably wouldn’t expect Hill to direct a movie like this, but he manages to deliver an honest yet touching story about adolescence and growing up. I don’t think it stands quite as tall as other coming of age stories like Boyhood or Lady Bird, but it doesn’t need to, mid90s accurately brings the era to life and carries a thoughtful story along with it.

            It’s clear Jonah did his homework and knew what he was doing while writing and directing this movie. The film is shot in an aspect-ratio similar to that of a home video camera, skateboarding was everywhere, and things that were popular at the time such as Nirvana, Super Nintendo, Street Fighter II, Beavis and Butt-Head, rap music, and PlayStation are present, it really feels like a time capsule put on-screen.

            The film follows a 13-year-old boy named Stevie (Sunny Suljic-The Killing of a Sacred Deer, God of War (2018 game), The House with a Clock in Its Walls) living in 1990s Los Angeles with his single mother, Dabney (Katherine Waterston-Steve Jobs, Fantastic Beasts 1 and 2, Logan Lucky) and aggressive older brother, Ian (Lucas Hedges-Manchester by the Sea, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Boy Erased). Life is rough for Stevie, he doesn’t have many friends, spends most of his time alone, and takes beatings from his brother.

            One day, Stevie comes across a Motor Avenue skate shop and befriends a group of young delinquents, Ruben (Gio Galicia), Ray (Na-kel Smith), Fuckshit (Olan Prenatt), and Fourth Grade (Ryder McLaughlin), all sorts of hijinks ensue, and Stevie finally has a place where he can fit in. He picks up smoking, drinking, and getting into all kinds of shenanigans with his new friends, however, these simple gang members may be wiser than they appear, and Stevie might even learn a few life lessons along the way.

            Overall, mid90s is a strong first directing effort from Jonah Hill and a poignant coming of age story. You can tell he’s writing and directing from the heart and the young stars sell every moment of it.

            Not going to lie but Sunny Suljic might be one of the best child actors I’ve seen in a really long time. All throughout the movie I forgot I was watching an actor and thought I was watching a real kid, he swears, gets into trouble, and breaks the rules, guess what? Those are kids and Suljic’s performance feels natural whenever he’s on-screen.

            I really like how they don’t make him out as a bad kid, despite him hanging out with a group of delinquents. Kids are allowed to make mistakes and do things that they’re not supposed to, so they can learn from them and try to do better as they grow up, and both Hill and Suljic knew this as you root for Stevie every step of the way.

            Of course, the supporting cast is just as strong as its protagonist, mostly consisting of newcomers. Na-kel Smith portrays the leader of the skater gang very well and has some great chemistry with Suljic, Gio Galicia does a solid job as the formerly youngest member of the group who eventually becomes jealous of Stevie, and let’s face it we’ve all had a friend or acquaintance like that, Olan Prenatt has some funny moments as Fuckshit though he can get a little annoying at times, and Ryder McLaughlin as the quiet member with a desire of becoming a filmmaker, basically a blonde-haired version of James Rolfe (The Angry Video Game Nerd), but I digress, it works.

            My only complaints are with the mother and older brother characters, Katherine Waterston and Lucas Hedges portray them well, but I felt there wasn’t much time devoted to them. We don’t really see what the mom does for a living or the brother’s side of the story, a lot of the times after an argument with the mom or a fight with the brother it immediately cuts back to the kid with the gang, I think they would have been much stronger characters if we got to explore their lives a little bit more.

            But, that’s not where the focus needs to be, it’s supposed to be on our young protagonist and his journey of self-identity and purpose. Those are just a couple of things I think would make the narrative a bit stronger, but as is it’s still an engaging film.

            Mid90s is a sign for a bright future for Jonah Hill as a director, and a nostalgic yet poignant trip back in time to the 90s. It’ll make you laugh, cry, and point at the screen and say “Wow, I remembered that”.