Jonah Hill’s Carefully and Passionately Curated “mid90s”

I decided that the best way to establish my voice as a professional movie-goer, and now blogger, would be to write my first post about a film I LOVE.

In early 2018, the word was spreading that the hilarious actor phenomenon, Jonah Hill would be writing and directing his own film called “mid90s”. And so, I braced myself for the sitcom of the century. I assumed it would be a hilarious feature about the awkwardness of Hill’s teenage years because the title obviously refers to a time frame that would fit that assumption. Then, the movie trailer came out… I’m not ashamed to say that it made me cry. The simple yet impactful choice of dialogue, music, camera filter, even down the font chosen for the title were all clearly well thought out and important. Before even seeing it, I could tell that this feature would scream passion project. So this wasn’t going to be the sitcom of the century; it would be the directorial debut of the century.

My initial assumptions about the film were almost all completely incorrect. However, I was right about one thing: the film did explore the emotional conflict of the teenage self, but it wasn’t in a way that sought to make fun of it, instead it was in a way that empathized with the struggles of being a teenager. Who am I and who do I want to be? Where do I fit in? What is my purpose? These are questions that exist as a given part of the human psyche, but instead of just exploring these questions as a generality, Hill beautifully explored them at a time in life where they’re all too poignant. As a teenager, ideas of self worth and value are beginning to develop for a simple reason: when you’re a teenager you’re being greeted with the heaviness of reality for the first time in your life. And, instead of laughing at this idea of belonging, Hill reminded the viewer of the innate desperation that comes with wanting to fit in. This is all personified in the main character Stevie, warmly referred to as “Sunburn.”

The film follows the life of preteen named Stevie played by the remarkable Sunny Suljic. He lives with his single mom (Katherine Waterston) and his emotionally, and sometimes physically, abusive older brother, Ian (Lucas Hedges). In the film, the tone within the confines of the house doesn’t feel altogether warm. It’s made clear that Stevie doesn’t find his self worth from how his family makes him feel. So, he seeks to find meaning in a group of skaters who hang out at a local skate shop. They’re rowdy, explicit, and years older than Stevie. But, it’s not these things that draws him to them, it’s their confidence and self awareness. Ray (Na’kel Smith) leads the tribe , his aspirations are clear cut and he devotes all of who he is to his passion for skating. Fuckshit (Olan Prenatt) isn’t as sure of who he may be in the future, but he is extremely self aware right now. He knows what makes him happy, and he doesn’t really care what others think. Fourth Grade (Ryder Mclaughlin) unapologetically pursues a dream of making a film despite the fact that even his friends make fun of him for it. And, Ruben (Gio Galicia) finds his identity simply in being a part of the group. These guys know who they are, or at least they seem like they do, and so Stevie does all that he can to join and stay in this group. The specifics of the storyline don’t seem all that important in conveying the themes and messages of the film, so I’ll spare you the details (and the spoilers.) To keep it mostly vague and brief: Stevie pursues a part in this group so he can finally fit in. He does things that are shocking and sometimes hard to watch because he, like all of us, so badly wants to be who he looks up to.

It is made clear throughout the duration of the film that Hill drew a lot of inspiration from his own life in making this story. He set the film in the 90s because that, for him was a time where he was seeking to belong. The desired group was a bunch of skaters, because that was a people who breathed acceptance into his life. In creating this film, Hill so wonderfully honored the culture of skating in the 90s. It was made clear that this story was one that hit close to home for Jonah Hill. Yes, this film told a universal story, but because Hill so thoughtfully created it, it struck a different chord than most coming of age films do. Somehow, Hill created a marvelous dichotomy of intimate personal experience and general relatability. This wasn’t just a stereotypical, arbitrary story that could apply any given teenager, it was the story of Stevie. This feeling of individuality placed on Stevie’s experience made it so that the viewers could harken to their own experiences, thus creating a relatable film.

I could honestly go on forever about Mid90s, but I won’t… for now at least. The only appropriate way to end this is to encourage any one who hasn’t seen this movie to watch it. You will not regret it, I promise.