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''Mid90s'' (stylized as ''mid90s'') is a 2018 American
coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
skate film written and directed by Jonah Hill, in his feature directorial debut. The plot follows Stevie, a 13-year-old boy in 1990s Los Angeles. To escape a troubled home life, he begins spending time with an older group of
skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...
s. The cast includes Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-Kel Smith, Alexa Demie, and Katherine Waterston. ''Mid90s'' served as a passion project for Jonah Hill, who was inspired by his experiences growing up in Los Angeles in the 1990s. Influenced by filmmakers like
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
and
Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...
, Hill aimed to authentically portray 1990s skate culture. Filming took place in various Los Angeles neighborhoods. ''Mid90s'' was filmed with a 4:3 aspect ratio reminiscent of VHS skate tapes, using Super 16mm
film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...
on skate videos. The soundtrack featured 1990s hip hop music. The film had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
on September 9, 2018, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 19, 2018, by A24. It was well received by critics, who called it a "promising first outing for Hill", and praised the sense of nostalgia. It grossed $9.3 million at the box office on a budget of $1.7 million.


Plot

In 1996, 13-year-old Stevie lives in Los Angeles with his physically abusive older brother Ian and single mother Dabney. One day, Stevie bikes past Motor Avenue Skateshop, admires the boastful camaraderie of the skateboarders outside, and returns the following day. Back home, he trades with his brother for a skateboard, brings it to the shop and befriends young skater Ruben, who introduces him to the rest of the group: charismatic leader Ray, loudmouth "Fuckshit", and quiet "Fourth Grade". Although an inexperienced skater, Stevie is drawn to the group and aspires to imitate their daredevil behavior and anti-social attitudes. Stevie is nicknamed "Sunburn" by Ray, and his acceptance into the group causes Ruben to resent him. While attempting a skateboard trick between two rooftops, Stevie falls and suffers a head injury. Dabney's concerns are dismissed by Stevie, who continues to admire the group. Later, Ian has a tense standoff with Fuckshit as Stevie watches, but Ian appears intimidated by the group and leaves. Stevie begins smoking, drinking, and experimenting with
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
. At a party, he has his first kiss and sexual experience with an older teenage girl named Estee. After Stevie comes home intoxicated, he and Ian get into a violent fight. Ian has an emotional breakdown when Stevie says that he has no friends and, following the conflict, a distressed Stevie attempts to
asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...
te himself with a cord from a SNES controller, one of several self-harm incidents. The next day, Dabney forbids Stevie from hanging out with the boys. Stevie lashes out and refuses to obey. Having alienated his family, Stevie sits alone behind the skate shop. Ray consoles Stevie, telling him even though he thinks his life is bad, the other boys have it worse: Fourth Grade is poor to the point of not being able to afford socks, Ruben's mother is an abusive drug addict, Fuckshit's reckless partying is worsening, and Ray lost his younger brother, who was hit by a car a few years prior. Ray takes Stevie out to skate at night, and they fall asleep outside the Santa Monica Courthouse. The shop hosts a party in the back of the store. Ray hopes to make a career in skating and chats up two professionals as potential sponsors, but Fuckshit embarrasses him in front of the pros and Stevie is provoked into a brawl with Ruben. Discouraged, Ray tells everyone to go home. However, an intoxicated Fuckshit insists on driving the group to another party. Talking animatedly and driving inattentively, Fuckshit crashes and flips the car on its side. Stevie is knocked unconscious and is rushed to the hospital. Stevie later awakens in a hospital bed, and sees Ian in a chair alongside him. Ian gives Stevie a container of orange juice to comfort him. Dabney enters the hospital and sees Stevie's friends asleep in the waiting room. Dabney encourages them to visit Stevie's room. After a while, Fourth Grade, who has been filming their adventures, says he has something to show them. He plugs his camera into a TV to play them a skate video of their daily activities. Fourth Grade has titled the film ''Mid90s''.


Cast

* Sunny Suljic as Stevie "Sunburn" * Lucas Hedges as Ian, Stevie's abusive older brother * Na-Kel Smith as Ray * Olan Prenatt as Fuckshit * Gio Galicia as Ruben * Ryder McLaughlin as Fourth Grade * Alexa Demie as Estee * Katherine Waterston as Dabney, Ian and Stevie's mother Additionally,
Jerrod Carmichael Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael ( ; born April 6, 1987) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he later moved to Los Angeles, where his career began in the early 2010s comedy club scene. Carmic ...
makes an uncredited cameo as a security guard whom Stevie and his friends taunt. Filmmaker Harmony Korine appears briefly as a sexual partner of Dabney.


Production


Development and casting

''Mid90s'' was Jonah Hill's first project as a writer and director, a passion project drawn from his own experiences growing up in Los Angeles. Influenced by filmmakers like
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
and
Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...
, Hill sought to create an authentic portrayal of 1990s skate culture and the experience of youth at that time. Hill consulted Jonze, who encouraged him to create something personal. On March 30, 2016, it was announced that Jonah Hill would be making his directorial debut from his own
spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...
, ''Mid90s'', a film he would not appear in. In March 2017, Lucas Hedges joined the cast. In July 2017, it was reported that Katherine Waterston had signed on and that Sunny Suljic was cast in the lead role. It was also revealed that principal production on the film had commenced. On August 1, 2017, Alexa Demie joined the cast.


Filming and music

The set design recreated the director's childhood experiences. For example, Stevie's room started out messy with posters of
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
, but was later changed to reflect his new individuality. To familiarize themselves with the time period, some cast members listened to songs from the 1990s on an
iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...
. ''Mid90s'' was shot in various Los Angeles locations, including
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...
. Hill and cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt employed a 4:3 aspect ratio to echo the look of VHS skate tapes. Filming with Super 16mm stock matched the aesthetic of skate videos. Although some of the cast members were actors, Hill used real-life skateboarders who had little acting history. Hill collaborated with editor Nick Houy in editing. ''Mid90s'' features an original score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, as well as recordings by Pixies,
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
,
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
, ESG,
the Mamas and the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...
, Souls of Mischief,
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
,
the Pharcyde The Pharcyde is an American hip hop group, formed in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles in 1989. The original four members of the group are Imani (rapper), Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson ...
, Misfits,
Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an ade ...
and various 1990s hip hop music.


Release

''Mid90s'' had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
on September 9, 2018, and was also screened at the
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...
on October 7, 2018. It was released in select theaters in the United States on October 19, 2018, with a wide release the following weekend. The film was released in UK and Irish cinemas on April 12, 2019.


Home media

''Mid90s'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 8, 2019. The film made $480 thousand in DVD sales and $470 thousand in Blu-ray sales.


Reception


Box office

''Mid90s'' grossed $249,500 from four theaters in its opening weekend for an average of $62,375 per venue, good for the third best of 2018. It expanded to 1,206 theaters the following week and made $3 million, finishing 10th at the box office. In its third weekend of release the film made $1.36 million. The box office closed, grossing $9.3 million.


Critical response

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 228 reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Mid90s'' tells a clear-eyed yet nostalgic coming-of-age tale that might mark the start of an auspicious new career for debuting writer-director Jonah Hill." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an 83% overall positive score and a 62% "definite recommend".
Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
of '' Variety'' called the film "a coming-of-age tale that's unvarnished enough to believe," specifying, "the fact that a star like Hill built this movie from the ground up, and did it with so much integrity and flair, lends it an undeniable hipster quotient." Writing for ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', John DeFore said, "in emotional punch and shoulda-seen-this-coming skill, it is more like Hill's '' Lady Bird'', a gem that feels simultaneously informed by its author's adolescence and the product of a serious artist's observational distance." Michael Phillips of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said, "Vivid in bits and pieces, ''Mid90s'' feels like a research scrapbook for a movie, not a movie. The more Hill throws you around in the name of creating a harsh, immediate impression, the more the impressions blur." Connore Lagore of ''Vox Magazine'' said, "But despite some stop-and-go moments between the highest highs and the lowest lows, Hill crafts ''Mid90s'' into an ultimately charming nostalgia trip." Liam Gaughan of '' Collider'' connected ''Mid90s'' with mental health struggles associated with youth. Gaughan noted the ending ambiguous note of ''Mid90s'', saying, "This was perhaps the best decision Hill could have made on his first feature". Sarah Fingerhood of the ''34th Street'' made connections of the actors and the attitudes of their characters, concluding, "''Mid90s'' is Jonah Hill's debut as a director and what a startling debut it is; a visually beautiful and carefully crafted film that has a timeless message to all those that see it." Some critical reviews called attention to the film's use of homophobic and
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
slurs, as well as its treatment of toxic masculinity. Sam Adams of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' wrote, "The skaters' dialogue is liberally spiced with homophobic and occasional racist slurs, and while anyone old enough to remember the 1990s can attest to the accuracy of their omnipresence, the movie's inclusion of them feels like another cheap shortcut to verisimilitude." Other criticisms cited a scene of juvenile sexuality between Stevie and Estee for its uncomfortable undertones given the ages of the characters and actors. In response, Hill commented, "The point of the movie is that nothing's black or white. I'm not a moralist; I'm not here to tell an audience how they should feel."


Accolades


References


External links

* * {{IMDb title 2018 films 2018 comedy-drama films 2018 directorial debut films 2018 independent films 2010s American films 2010s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s hood films A24 (company) films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American independent films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films Films about brothers Films about drugs Films directed by Jonah Hill Films produced by Jonah Hill Films produced by Scott Rudin Films scored by Atticus Ross Films scored by Trent Reznor Films set in 1996 Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Jonah Hill Skateboarding films