Genre: Drama
Related Titles: War Dogs, Eighth Grade, Grind, The Florida Project
By Leanne Harragan
1990s, LA, 13-year-old Stevie spends his summer traversing through a trouble home life and a bunch of new skater friends.
This film was super bizarre, like I really enjoyed it but what was the purpose of it? Following the life of Stevie, a young 13-year-old boy trying to traverse through the difficulties of the the early teen years while dealing with a less than perfect home life. It's very similar to the recent Florida Project, almost a social commentary or just a chance to capture a moment in time that doesn't really go anywhere.
From the get-go, the time frame of this film is give away (ignoring the title of the film!) The tine frame of the 90s is shown in the t-shirts the characters wear with Ren and Stimpy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Street Fighter being just a few of the references that immediately denote popularity of the time. This is also shown by the hobby of the teens being skateboarding. While it's still popular today, it's definitely not as prevalent.
Recording in an MTV-esque style this film features kids but it's definitely not one for kids to view. It's full of underage drinking, smoking, sex and partying - a look into what comes across as a less innocent time to grow up in. As it's made up from a bunch of almost different events, the film doesn't follow a typical plot pattern but rather like a retelling of events from the perspective of kids. This doesn't take away from the flow, it's still an interesting watch and it definitely had me intrigued as to what was going to happen next.
The cast in this film are incredible by using mainly unknown actors, it felt very gritty and real, almost to the extent that it could quite easily have been a documentary rather than a feature length film. Sunny Suljic portrays the star Stevie, watching his character develop from being the quiet awkward kid into someone much more confident and outspoken in all aspects of his life was amazing, it was almost like having two different characters given the extent of the change. The friendships he developed with different characters really affected his personality and this was portrayed fantastically by Suljic. Katherine Waterston was probably the most recognisable face in this film, closely followed by Lucas Hedges, both portraying their roles of mother and brother well but given slightly less screen time due to the focus being towards Stevie and his friends.
While the film doesn't really go anywhere, it's a fantastic way to capture a moment in time and there are a number of deeper conversations that take place throughout the movie. These conversations give these characters a bit more and show that despite first impressions there's much more behind the scenes. I think the portrayal of the difficulties these kids faced at home is interesting as I'm certain these kinds of families are more prevalent than we realise and it really shows how it can affect people's growth in these key teen years.
Mid90s definitely won't float everybody's boat, but it's an interesting film and a pretty solid directorial debut from Jonah Hill. If you can appreciate camera work this film has plenty of cool usage of that too. Definitely worth giving it a go if you're on the lookout for something different from the big blockbuster releases that flood the market.
Rating: 6.5/10
By Rebecca Mannick
While Mid90s wasn't a bad film, it also wasn't amazing or life changing. Jonah Hill makes his directorial debut with this snapshot into the 1990's culture through Stevie. Stevie is a thirteen living in California who during summer break finds a new group of friends and spends time skating and get exposed to more mature aspects of life. While it's called mid90's and set in the 1990's I wouldn't necessarily say it is an accurate representation of a whole society in that time period. While it doesn't represent a whole time period it does indeed gives a very full and precise look into life of a thirteen year old living in Los Angeles with a single mother and into skate culture.
Home life for Stevie is difficult as his mother is out working making a living while his brother Ian (Lucas Hedges) takes out his teenage angst and unresolved anger issues out on him, physically. One thing Ian does is trade his skate board with Stevie which allows him to practice - once he gains enough confidence he befriends a group of skaters. Ray, Rueben, Fuckshit and Fourth Grade are quick to become his best friends and all Stevie wants to do is be in with the crowd. He aspires to skate as well as Ray and Fuckshit and does some crazy stunts trying to gain their respect.
As a thirteen year old boy Stevie is exposed to so many things before his years. You see him high on drugs and intoxicated, also losing his virginity. It takes something really serious to reign in the behaviour. To be honest there is no real storyline as such, its just following Stevie's life in a chronological order. It really reminds me of films like Boyhood and The Florida Project in the sense that there isn't a purpose and more of a display of a life. The way in which it works is that its real to the audience - you can image its the life of some kid in California. You can believe that this culture got the better of people but also gave kids a sense of belonging.
I can't really rate it too highly but I'm not writing it off either. I appreciate the style and that it is different to current releases. I also like how it was kept authentically 90s in the way in which it was shot and even the size of the image on the screen. I wouldn't ever watch it again but also wouldn't be shouting too loudly about it either.
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