When an actor is consistently cast in a similar role time after time, the depiction of that person as anything other than the character he or she plays feels odd — they’re typecast. Such is the position Jonah Hill found himself in a few years ago when the long-time comic relief actor had a desire to make new projects, but this time as a director.
Mid90s, Hill’s directorial debut, came out of this desire. At its most basic level, it’s a coming-of-age story. Facing an overbearing mother and an emotionally and physically abusive brother at home, 13-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic) turns to the outside world to establish an identity. He finds his purpose skateboarding with a group of boys he desperately wants to fit in with.
Often times movies or shows will chronicle teenage life in an absurdly inaccurate and cheesy way with jokes that don’t land or using slang that doesn’t exist, but Hill avoids this plague. He is able to portray teenage life as it is with a mix of humor and lightheartedness as well as important conversations. Mid90s includes all the usual string of teenage milestones (girls, drinking and drug use), but smartly shows the dangers that accompany them.
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With a name like Mid90s, viewers might anticipate an overwhelming feeling of sentimentality for this fondly-remembered decade or, even worse, a film with an “only 90s kids remember” essence, but that’s not what you get.
“The two rules were no skate porn and no nostalgia porn,” Hill told IMDB in September.
Mid90s delivers neither, but instead gives viewers a story that could exist in any era with a few simple changes. Hill is still able to exceptionally show audiences the vibe of this era. The artists he picked to play music from (Wu-Tang Clan, Morrissey, A Tribe Called Quest, Nirvana), the clothes (baggy jeans, oversized t-shirts, flat brim hats) and the skate brands (World Industries, Girl, Chocolate) all fit the 1990s perfectly.
Suljic, who was born two years before Hill starred in the 2007 movie Superbad, gives a layered and thoughtful performance that one might not expect from someone of his age. Lucas Hedges sheds the nice-boy role he took on in films such as Lady Bird and plays Stevie’s brother Ian. I kept having to remind myself that it really was Hedges as his buzz cut and tank top look was transformative.
Na-Kel Smith — a Supreme team skateboarder and Odd Future contributor who has never acted in a film before — was also a surprise star. Smith plays Ray, the most talented skateboarder in the group, and delivers serious acting chops in some of the most emotional scenes.
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Ray tells Stevie during an emotional breakdown, “A lot of the time we feel like our lives are the worst, but I think if you looked in anybody else’s closet, you wouldn’t trade your shit for their shit.”
Perhaps this film meant more to me than it did to others. I’m a self-confessed Jonah Hill super fan and a lover of skateboard culture, but it’s almost impossible not to see at least part of yourself in Stevie. Young and conflicted, Stevie is trying new things with the hope of finding a group of friends he can truly connect with.
For a first-time director, it is impressive that Hill is able to tap into these elements with success. He may start to find himself settled into a new role — that of a director.
4/4 Shells.
