Mid90s Movie Review
By Mario Bishop
October 31, 2018
By Mario Bishop
October 31, 2018
Thursday, October 25th Jonah Hill released his debut feature Mid90s, a film produced by A24, a studio that seems to be very interested in putting comedians in the director’s chair. In 2017, A24 gave us James Franco’s The Disaster Artist and earlier this year they gave us Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade. Both of these films relied heavily on comedy while still telling a compelling story.
If there’s one thing you should know going into Mid90s is that it’s not like The Disaster Artist or Eighth Grade. It’s a film that will drag you out of your comfort zone, which is in no way a bad thing. The movie wants to make the audience uncomfortable just like how a kid’s film wants to make the audience happy and a horror movie wants to make the audience scared. You can’t say a movie is bad because it made you feel the way it wanted to.
Mid90s is about a thirteen year old named Stevie who doesn’t have the best relationship with his family. He’s distant from his mom, and his older brother, Ian, abuses him just for going in his room. Stevie clearly wants his big brother to like him. He goes out of his way to get him a brand new cd only for him to reject it without saying a word. After this Stevie seeks acceptance from a group of skateboarders he sees on the street.
The film focuses on a feeling that is only specific to childhood, the desire to be cool. The desire to be the kid who gets away with anything, has parents who let him do whatever he wants, and seems to have fun all the time. When you grow up, you remember that cool kid and start to realize that the truth is he had a terrible childhood. He got away with anything because he had neglectful parents who never really loved him. He’s not a bad person he just comes from a dysfunctional home, and what do you do when you have a dysfuncional home? You leave it so you can find a new family.
As the title suggests the film embellishes itself in the nineties. Stevie plays Street Fighter, Nirvana can be heard in the background, and it’s shot on sixteen millimeter. It’s not in your face like a lot of films set in a previous decade. You could easily remake this movie in 80s, the 2000s, or the 2010s. All you’d have to do is remove the elements that are specific to the 90s. This makes the film more timeless. Someone who grew up during the decade can appreciate the references and someone who didn’t can still relate to the characters.
The film has effective use in common editing and cinematography techniques. There are a lot of moments where it establishes that something is about to happen and then it cuts to the aftermath of the event. It’s a small thing but it contributes to the overall experience.
I think the reason why A24 has given comedians jobs as directors is because they are people, too. We tend to forget that especially when it comes to comedians like Jonah Hill, someone who’s known for raunchy comedies like Superbad, and 21 Jump Street. They have their own opinions, their own problems, their own emotions, and their own voice. Movies like The Disaster Artist, Eighth Grade, and Mid90s allow them to express themselves and analyze a topic that’s close to them. Whether it’s being passionate about a project, the awkwardness of middle school, or the desire to hang with the cool kids.
If there’s one thing you should know going into Mid90s is that it’s not like The Disaster Artist or Eighth Grade. It’s a film that will drag you out of your comfort zone, which is in no way a bad thing. The movie wants to make the audience uncomfortable just like how a kid’s film wants to make the audience happy and a horror movie wants to make the audience scared. You can’t say a movie is bad because it made you feel the way it wanted to.
Mid90s is about a thirteen year old named Stevie who doesn’t have the best relationship with his family. He’s distant from his mom, and his older brother, Ian, abuses him just for going in his room. Stevie clearly wants his big brother to like him. He goes out of his way to get him a brand new cd only for him to reject it without saying a word. After this Stevie seeks acceptance from a group of skateboarders he sees on the street.
The film focuses on a feeling that is only specific to childhood, the desire to be cool. The desire to be the kid who gets away with anything, has parents who let him do whatever he wants, and seems to have fun all the time. When you grow up, you remember that cool kid and start to realize that the truth is he had a terrible childhood. He got away with anything because he had neglectful parents who never really loved him. He’s not a bad person he just comes from a dysfunctional home, and what do you do when you have a dysfuncional home? You leave it so you can find a new family.
As the title suggests the film embellishes itself in the nineties. Stevie plays Street Fighter, Nirvana can be heard in the background, and it’s shot on sixteen millimeter. It’s not in your face like a lot of films set in a previous decade. You could easily remake this movie in 80s, the 2000s, or the 2010s. All you’d have to do is remove the elements that are specific to the 90s. This makes the film more timeless. Someone who grew up during the decade can appreciate the references and someone who didn’t can still relate to the characters.
The film has effective use in common editing and cinematography techniques. There are a lot of moments where it establishes that something is about to happen and then it cuts to the aftermath of the event. It’s a small thing but it contributes to the overall experience.
I think the reason why A24 has given comedians jobs as directors is because they are people, too. We tend to forget that especially when it comes to comedians like Jonah Hill, someone who’s known for raunchy comedies like Superbad, and 21 Jump Street. They have their own opinions, their own problems, their own emotions, and their own voice. Movies like The Disaster Artist, Eighth Grade, and Mid90s allow them to express themselves and analyze a topic that’s close to them. Whether it’s being passionate about a project, the awkwardness of middle school, or the desire to hang with the cool kids.