Mid 90s seen by an International Teenager

Mid90s is a coming of age movie released in 2018 by famous actor Jonah Hill. To put it simply, the movie is a story about skaters and how they become friends with a 12 year old. The story in of it itself is very simple and not very complex or particularly interesting. However the story lies in the messages and the connections that you make with the protagonist, Stevie. When those messages are added to beautiful pictures and one of the best soundtracks I have ever seen in a movie.

The first aspect of the movie that I want to talk about is the story and more exactly how we can all relate to the story. As already stated the story talks about a 12 year old boy becoming friends with seniors (y13). However it is not as simple as that. This 12 year old kid has family issues. He has a bad relationship with his brother and he ends up having a bad relationship with his mother when he ends up being pressured by his brother to steal money from his mom. This is one of the first situations where we can understand the mixed feeling that we will have all along the movie, especially with Stevie. As the movie goes on, his relationship with his mother worsens and so does his relationship with his brother. We feel a strong compassion for Stevie as we see his evolution from going to a standard 12 year old who worked for school, did his chores, to a standard 18 year old.

The movie depicts the skaters in a rather pejorative way the whole movie. However when being negative about the skaters, they make sure to make them have fun. In a way they are describing them how most parents see them, drinking, smoking, skating and partying. Those are all considered “fun” activities but unserious in a way. That is the description for all but one of the members of the skaters, Ray. Ray is one of the two “leaders” of the group. To me, his whole character is very much like the one of Hubert in La Haine. By that I mean that he is the only one who wants to believe in his future. For Ray this means meeting and talking to pro skaters to be able to build connections and eventually become a pro himself.

What I personally enjoyed most about the movie was the reality of the movie. The movie immediately appeals to you as it is very realistic. None of the elements of the movie are futuristic or overly violent. It’s a movie of life, normal life. To add to the beauty of the movie, it’s filmed as if it was really a movie from the 90s. The image is a bit grainy and almost feels like it was filmed on a camcorder. Then there is the music. The music is just incredible in this movie. We truly sense that music was a key part in the reality of the movie. None of the songs feel out of place or from a different timeline but they remain modern and current. My favourite one is by far “Passin’ me by# by Pharcyde.

In conclusion this movie is for a must watch as it really is a heartwarming story, especially in the end. All of the characters feel real and the acting and writing makes it feel as if you were really watching a friend group in real life. None of the actions or characters feel fake, which is very rare. Especially for a move that tries to be as realistic as possible to the era that it is supposed to represent.

An International Teenager,