Mark Reviews Movies: MID90S

Become a fan on Facebook Follow on Twitter

Review by Mark Dujsik | October 26, 2018

Jonah Hill's feature directorial debut doesn't tell a deep story, but it does tell an honest one. It's easy to recognize parts of Mid90s, whether or not one grew up within the film's self-contained culture of skateboarding. The screenplay, written by Hill, is assembled of pieces of fractured familial bonds, tenuous friendships, half-remembered parties, and nostalgic items of the film's time period. We don't leave with a comprehensive understanding of each of these pieces. Still, the whole of the film leaves a strong impression of what it was like to be young and uncertain and searching for some place, some friends, and something to call your own.

At the story's center is a 13-year-old boy named Stevie (Sunny Suljic), whom we first see getting knocked into the wall, held to the ground, and repeatedly punched by his 18-year-old brother Ian (Lucas Hedges). All brothers fight at some point or throughout their lives, but what we see here isn't a fight. It's a cruel and seemingly unmotivated beating.

Even so, the next scene has Stevie sneaking into his elder brother's room, after the brother, departing for whatever he does with his spare time, gives his kid brother a vulgar reminder to stay out of there. The look on Stevie's face—staring at Ian's collection of baseball hats and expensive sneakers, checking out his closet and making certain the clothes are exactly as he found them, and taking notes on his CD collection—is one of curiosity bordering on awe.

It's a look to which we become accustomed, because Stevie has lived a fairly sheltered life. Everything that he is about to experience is new to him.

From some throwaway dialogue, we learn that he has moved to Los Angeles recently. His mother Dabney (Katherine Waterston) had Ian when she was 18. Ian remembers a string of men coming into her life when he was a kid, but she apparently has changed since Stevie was born. Maybe the difference accounts for the divergent personalities of the brothers. Ian is angry—perhaps because his mother ignored him for her youthful lifestyle. Stevie just sort of disappears into the background—maybe because his mother ignored him when he was younger, while trying to put her life together.

The film doesn't necessarily care about Dabney, except that she's mostly absent and only becomes involved in Stevie's life when it starts to get out of control, or Ian, except that he's the first of Stevie's idols whom the kid discovers is a disappointment. This is exclusively Stevie's story, watching as that curious face grows into a smile and as that smile fades with the realization that he's pretty miserable.

The kid's next idols are a quartet of local skateboarders, who ride and do tricks around town, while irritating any nearby figure of adult authority. In other words, they're the perfect fit for Stevie, who's just realizing that his older role models are letting him down in some way.

The group's leader is Ray (Na-kel Smith), the oldest and wisest of the skate crew, who wants to become a professional skateboarder and might just have the talent, as well as the work ethic, to make that happen. Ray's right-hand man is played by Olan Prenatt, whose character's nickname is a coupling of two four-letter words (The teens really like those words, as well as some homophobic slang). He and Ray have been close for a long time. They used to dream of becoming professionals, but Ray's closest buddy has become almost dependent on alcohol and drugs to have a good time.

Fourth Grade (Ryder McLaughlin) records the skate sessions and wants to make movies when he grows up, and Ruben (Gio Galicia), the youngest of the group until Stevie arrives, helps the new kid become part of the group. He quickly regrets that decision, as Stevie becomes their favorite youngster.

There's no real plot of which to speak. Hill's screenplay simply follows Stevie, as he becomes an official part of the skate crew, grows angrier at his family (seeing his brother as a lonely guy, who takes out his frustrations on his kid brother, and annoyed that his usually inattentive mother is getting in the way when she takes an interest in his life), and starts doing a lot of stupid things to win the attention and affection of his new friends. There are some intentionally harrowing moments, such as when Stevie tries to jump a gap in a roof, and some unintentional ones, such as when a drunk and stoned Stevie is seduced by an older girl at a party (The scene is immediately discomforting, given the age and physical discrepancies, and becomes increasingly so, especially once it goes into a bedroom, but strangely, Hill treats it as a triumph for his young protagonist, who doesn't even look as if he has hit puberty).

Stevie's adventures become quite uncomfortable, but such is the reality of growing up and finding one's place. We see most of his role models fading in his mind, but the silver lining here comes from Ray. If the other crew members are perennial screw-ups, Ray is the one who knows why and tries, in his own way, to encourage them to be better. It might be too late for the other three (at least in the ways that a teenager can help them), but he becomes an actual role model for Stevie. Mid90s gives him a late speech that would be the perfect send-off for this tale. It goes on, with some unnecessary drama involving the other kids hitting rock bottom, but at least the film gives us some hope onto which to latch.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products

Buy the Soundtrack (Digital Download)

Buy the DVD

Buy the Blu-ray