Review: mid90s (Jonah Hill, 2018)
Oscar joins Raquel on Drive-Thru Cinema for a chat coming of age films and a review of Jonah Hill’s directorial debut mid90s.
Synopsis
mid90s is Jonah Hills directorial debut. It follows 13-year-old Stevie who lives in Los Angeles with his aggressive older brother Ian and single mother Dabney. One day, Stevie bikes past a Skate-shop, where he sees a group of older teenagers. Back at home, he trades with his brother for a skateboard, which he then takes to the skate-shop the following day, when he befriends Ruben, who introduces him to the rest of the group: Ray, a talented skateboarder, Fuckshit, Ray’s best friend and the only driver in the group, and Fourth Grade, who films everything they do. Despite not being very good at skating, Stevie joins the group and begins to imitate anti-social attitudes. He is nick-named “Sunburn”.
Expectations (00:21)
This is what we hoped for before entering the screen!
Raquel: Hopefully won’t be boring!
Oscar: Cautiously optimistic.
Review (08:51)
This is what we thought of the film. Score is out of five stars.
Raquel (★★★★½): mid90s is a great film, the script and performances are incredible, the story and how it was executed was amazing! However, the protagonist’s family could’ve been a bit more developed.
Oscar (★★★★★): Amazing! Best film of the year so far. Even though the story was small the stakes were really big. It deserves as many stars as the system allows!
What did you think of mid90s!? Leave your comments below!
Transcript
Hello and welcome to a new episode of Drive-Thru Cinema. I’m Raquel, your host and driver and with me is Oscar. Hey, Oscar. Welcome to the show.
Hello. Excited to be on it.
Hopefully won’t be on crash. Well, so tonight we’re going to see mid 90s, which is a film by
Jonah Hill. It’s his directorial debut. He also wrote it. I’m not sure whether he’s written the film before, but it’s definitely not directed one before.
Yeah. So you’ll know Jonah Hill from a bunch of comedy films especially, I guess Superbad in 2007?
Jump Street.
Yeah. So he’s been he’s been in a lot of stuff, I think, mainly comedies.
So he’s definitely really a comedy actor, I think, although I haven’t really seen him in anything for the last few years. So maybe he’s changed a bit.
Well, he did say that what he wants to really like he’s always wanted to be a filmmaker.
Watching the trailer for this, it didn’t really seem like that much of a comedy. Like, the vibes I got from it was like the Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is like, it’s definitely like a drama or maybe like has hints of comedy, but it’s definitely more of a drama. And that’s definitely what I what I got from this, although I don’t really know what it’s about too much. And it looks like it was a coming of age drama about skateboarders in the 90s in LA. It’s about as much as I know
Shot on 16 millimeters four by three.
Love me a four by three.
Yeah, so coming of Age dramas. Do you like them? I know you do.
You know I do. That’s a massive leading question. Yes. I love coming of age dramas. Both films I’ve made at uni have been coming of age dramas. Yeah, I know I suppose there’s just something about them that I suppose everyone has come of age at some point. And I think it’s just something that everyone can relate to. So whether obviously you get like lots of indie coming of age dramas, but they’re also like really mainstream, like even like Love Simon from last year, or lots of, I mean, lots of films coming of age, like even when you think about it, The last Jedi is a coming of age film. So spoiler alert, having Ray realize that, like the identity of her parents, and actually like, she doesn’t have some big like, magical force that makes a special, it’s just like herself. She’s just like a regular person. That’s definitely like a coming of age narrative because it’s her realizing like, she just has to stand on her own two feet and essentially grow up and become an adult rather than rely on like this magical force.
So what would you say are some other kind of staple elements of coming of age films?
Well, there’s a documentary on BBC I player that literally breaks down what a coming of age film is, but I haven’t watched it yet. It’s been on my less than it’s got like three months till it disappears off iPlayer. So I’m gonna, I’m gonna watch it. I don’t know. I mean, I suppose they all start people aged between like 10 and 20. Generally, like sometimes you do have older ones. Like there’s a novel I studied at Sixth Form called The Kite Runner. And that’s the coming of age drama. That’s like a coming of age. Yeah, drama about I think he’s called Asad. And it’s a it’s about like when, like the Russians invaded in the 90s. But it follows his life from when he’s like 10 to when he’s like 30. So although it does, like feature him when he’s a 10 year old, like, juice of the things that build throughout the novel, like the catharsis, of and the payoff of all this is like while he’s 30, so although he is an adult, so I would say he’s not probably come of age until the end of the novel when he is that old by suppose. Yeah, most of them are like between 10 and 20. Like you get like the younger end. So things like Billy earlier, obviously, he’s like 12 or whatever, and then you do get them, got people in the middle. So I love Simon. He’s like, what my 17? The age of 17. That’s literally in the title, she’s 17. So, what are some other ones?
Well, there’s loads and loads of coming up. This was some comparative as well to Boyhood.
I haven’t watched Boyhood.
Yeah, I’ve not seen it either.
It was on my Netflix list. I don’t know whether it’s disappeared off Netflix now, but I definitely want to watch it.
Yeah, so I’m just moving on or maybe moving back to mid 90s as well. It does seem like like, obviously, it starts with like, I don’t know and I think it’s something to do with coming of coming of age. Films that it starts with like, there’s definitely this kid who lives in kind of a company conflicted environment that you can see from the trailer. He’s got issues with his brother. There’s a single mum…
Yeah, although every, like, like I said, everyone comes of age, which is like, why everyone can relate to them and I suppose in real life like coming of age is normally like an event and occurs over like, a few months. In real life, coming of age is like a process that occurs over like, it’s not a binary thing because over the years by thing like coming of age definitely like you tend to have some kind of like broken home type thing or like even like, love Simon where like, the like, the whole thing was that he was gay even though he has like a very, like, cute middle class domestic family setup. So it’s, I mean, I suppose in every narrative ever, the characters have turmoil. But yeah, I think it’s basically like you have to, you don’t come of age and you don’t become like the massively and adults until you’ve like, come over some kind of — some kind of hardship and again, like it normally involves some broken home or like Dear Evan Hansen, the Broadway musical that involves like, he is like got like heavy anxiety and he finds it hard to, like, relay and find his place in the world. And I suppose that’s also what coming of age dramas are really about. It’s about finding where you fit fit into the world. And yeah, finding like who you are and who you’re meant to be, I suppose.
Yeah. So um, what are your expectations for mid 90s, then?
Not really read any reviews? I think? I’m not sure. So like, I don’t really know. Like, obviously it’s Jonah Hill’s directorial debut. So I don’t really know what he’s like as a filmmaker. Like I said, I got like, The Perks of Being a Wallflower vibes. I did quite like that. Like I say, I do like coming of age film, but sometimes films like this and it is certainly featuring skateboarders I don’t know whether that is going to be boring. But I mean, I’m cautiously optimistic.
Yeah, I will say and I do from the trailer think it’s gonna look good. It at least looks really 90s
Yeah, I watched the trailer and I immediately thought about the people vs. OJ Simpson. So it definitely looks authentically 90s even like with the, like, it’s, you can tell like the cut with the color grading and the four by three. It’s like meant to be like 90s.
Oh, yeah, so it already looks like they’ve at least nailed the fact that it is mid 90s. And on that note, we’ve just arrived at the cinema, so we’ll just leave you with the trailer and then we’ll chat about our immediate review as soon as we get out of the film.
Right, so we just got out of the cinema from watching mid 90s. So what were your first impressions?
I thought was amazing. In my mind, I don’t know what films have I seen the saw this year? I was gonna say it’s the best film I’ve seen thus far, but I didn’t know I’d have to think about it. It was really incredible. It was quite a small story as opposed to like, I know like Avengers or something where it’s like are the end of the universe like it will felt like really massive stakes. Like Yeah, despite being a small store it was really gripping like I was there like biting my hand and like holding my knees at different points. Cuz I was like, Oh, man. Yeah, it was incredible. I’m like so shocked that Jonah Hill’s directorial debut was that good and he should clearly be behind the camera more and it’s like, although bits of it were funny wasn’t a comedy.
We didn’t say what the story was because we didn’t know and but roughly I guess yeah we did say before we got into the film that it was about this guy kind of what hangs out with this skaters and and then I suppose with the thing is there isn’t really much more story to it than that. It’s just this like kid who’s like hanging out with these guys who like escape has an older than him and cooler than him. And it’s because he has like, I know like problems with his brother and clearly like his relationship with his mom is and what it was.
But I suppose it’s like, I suppose everyone like can relate to that just like trying to hang out with the older cooler kids by saying. It was like a US version of This is England very I got very much this is England vibes and there was one scene was like, this scene is like directly out of This is England.
Yeah I am I really really enjoyed it as well I feel like the length was also really good. Like I feel like yeah, it is a small story. And it is a short film like you just have like, if one hour and 20 minutes he fat and I feel it was like the pace was really really good. The colors and the cinematography like it genuinely look like it could have been like film by one of the characters.
Yeah, it was very 90s like the whole. That was a really are when his mom said Blockbuster I was like, what a reference.
Yeah, it just hit the right spots, I think. And I know for us like we’ve not lived in in the 90s like we do.
Yeah, but it’s not the same thing. I can’t remember any of it. My My first memory is from the 2000s
well, I think overall, the film was just, I don’t know, it was really something.
Yeah, it’s really hard to describe.
Yeah, all of the characters like it was developed in their own way like you can see that each of them has got a completely different thing and like they all have nicknames and even though the film is short, you do get to see each of them. And I don’t feel like maybe the brother could have used a bit more yeah development especially because.
I mean, maybe spoiler alert, like two thirds, three quarters the way through the film, Stevie or someone who’s the lead and his brother like, kind of had like a big fight and then the brother just like started crying. And it kind you kind of got hints that like the brother wasn’t really happy with his life and didn’t know what he was doing and was just like how to break down But yeah, I didn’t really didn’t really expand on that. But it was debt It was so obviously semi autobiographical. There’s one character called fourth grade, he was like a filmmaker. And it’s like our, I suppose he’s meant to be Jonah Hill, although I feel like Jonah Hill probably put a lot of himself into Stevie like it was. It was just so obviously, just like Jonah Hill telling his life of how when he grew up in 90s, LA and went skateboarding.
They mentioned the Simpsons and like if you go to Jonah hills and Wikipedia page and says like, oh, he always wanted to write episodes for us in terms of like stuff like that. Yeah, so I feel like there are some bits that are definitely I know just like amazing and it’s such a it’s such an easy one of those films that you just like, is great, but it’s really hard to describe sort of like it’s really hard to describe I think it kind of like you like Breakfast Club. Breakfast Club is really hard to describe, although, considering how much I like coming of age films, unpopular opinion Breakfast Club is a bit overrated, controversial.
I will say and it was the first of its type films like this, just like so many people and like lots of my family are like this. They’re like, Oh, why would I want to watch an indie film when I can watch like big explosions CGI blockbuster, and it’s like films like this just reminds you like I mean, obviously get some boring indie films, like get some boring studio films, but films like this. Just prove like how good like some indie filmmaking is, and it’s like the best film I’ve seen this year and to be far apart. We haven’t seen many big studio films this year. But it’s definitely like it’s definitely far much better than say like something like Antman and The Wasp from last year and that’s like millions and millions and hundreds of millions of dollars film and then this like small film, I think was looking much more like, gripping. And it’s like I think it is because it’s just like a slice of life as to why maybe it’s so gripping because again, like, there wasn’t really a story. I mean, there was a bit but it was very loose bones. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t amazing. Yeah, I feel like what they were trying to achieve. They definitely did it. I did watching the trailer. I was like, I really hope this isn’t like boring. Yeah, I want to show you earlier and I was like to be honest, I don’t know whether it will be a bit boring. And also I’m like, another coming of age film set in LA in the 90s and the ghettos and stuff is boys in the hood… But this was just like very, very good.
Was there anything that you thought that could have been better?
Oh, no, I definitely remember thinking like, Oh, I wish they like expanded on that a bit more. I think I think you’re right. I would have liked to see more about the brother. Oh, well, right at the end of the film after an incident. Stevie doesn’t have a scene with his mom again. And I wanted Stevie to have another scene with his mom. Although he did have one with the brother and that was really good. I think that’s probably like just about said maybe like, as far been more of his relationship with his family.
Overall, the film was just, I mean, we’ve said it like 10 times now but it was just so beautifully done. It was and I think there was some there are some really gripping moments like the whole cinema, we just go like, Oh, no, that’s just not about I was like, speaking quite loudly like oh, no, and like I was getting I was being like…
I wonder whether the people behind me really annoyed and like I said, I was like, by my hand at bits. And at the same time, even though there were like, really like moments with a lot of suspense and like, Oh my god, what’s gonna happen now film was really brutal at times. And it had some really like poignant moments. It’s basically like, I’m a big fan of coming of age films and like films I’ve made, I’ve been those and if I wrote that scripts, I’d be like, well chuffed with myself.
I also really appreciated that even though it had really tense moments when it was funny. And it was like, just the right tone. And, and also, like, lastly, I will say the performances, were just, oh, yeah, that was just good. Yeah.
And it’s like, if it really felt real, like I said, it was very, like verite, in a slice of life. And it was just like, lightning like awkwardness and especially like Stevie, like, like, trying to be friends with a big old kid and then how like, they’re kind of like, took the mic out of him and then he kind of just like, felt sad, but then brushed it off like, my I remember that happening in my life. Like really it was. Yeah like the aesthetics as well like big fan of like the film look four by three. If you know me, I’m a fan of four by three. big defender when it’s used for an aesthetic purpose like this and I think it really works.
Yeah. So um, I guess the last thing is what would you rate it out of five?
I give it a five. How could it be improved from we had like a few small notes so yeah, five, five.
Okay. I think I give it a 4.5
I give it 10 out of 10 stroke, five out of five, stroke three out of three
100 hundred out of 100
Basically just as many stars as the system allows.
Wow, amazing. And so thanks very much for coming on the podcast. Hope you liked it. And I hope every anyone that’s listening to it likes it as well. If you have any comments do review us and if you liked it or not, that would be a massive help.
