The SPECTRUM

Volume 31

The SPECTRUM

The SPECTRUM

Mid90s brings retro to the screen

“Mid90s” is a movie directed and written by Jonah Hill, an actor who is well known for his role as “Smichdt” in the movie “21 Jump Street”. The movie is based about on a thirteen-year-old boy living in Los Angeles during the 1990’s. The protagonist Stevie is played by a young skater named Sunny Suljic. Jonah Hill said when talking about the movie that he wanted Mid90s to not have actors become skaters, instead, he wanted skaters to become actors. Hill did this to make the actors and the movie to connect.

Mid 90s is about coming of age and friendships in the 1990s, discusses coming of age and friendships. The movie was very raw as it showed the difficulties of growing up and the negative influences that the people you look up to have on young adolescents. The movie shows an emotional roller-coaster through the life of Stevie,who is trying to fit in with high school boys he looks up to. Stevie wants to be included with them, so he joins them one day at their skate shop called The Motor. The boys are very inviting of Stevie and soon, they become good friends. Throughout the movie, we see the boys hold each other together because they all have emotional times, whether it be from family relationships, money, or school.

Stevie’s life is very emotional; he has a single mother and an older brother has anxiety and anger that he often puts out on Stevie. Though Stevie goes through this hard time, his friends are there for him. One of his best friends is Ian, a hip-hop artist and to be pro-skater. Ian is someone who always protects Stevie. In the 90’s skating community, drugs and alcohol are a common topic. When F*cksh*t (FS) offers Stevie drugs, Ian tries to protect him because Ian has seen what kids who take drugs starting at a young age go through. Ian acts Stevie’s father-figure since Stevie never had one there for him. FS is a drug addict and alcoholic; Ian says that every week FS just wants to go out partying and do things that will later ruin him. FS used to be just like Stevie, an innocent boy who liked to skate because it made him happy. Ian wants to protect Stevie and make sure he is safe; he is the father that Stevie had always been missing. I think that it is beautiful that the movie has this because it shows the greatness of friendship.

The topics that Mid90s addresses are sensitive, however, they are topics that affect many people and even people close to us. This movie is for those coming of age because it shows how tough it really is to be a teen, and how decisions and friendships can ultimately change your life and those lives around you.

That’s why I liked the movie so much because it addressed those topics that other coming of age movies often miss because it can be painful to see. However, some of the pain that we see in this movie we can find inside of us, there is an emotional connection that “Mid90s” tries to find deep inside of us.

Though this movie was emotional, it also had a very comical side. The comedy in this movie is directed at teenagers. That means it could get crude but also connects with those that are coming of age. The comedy and emotional connection to teens in this movie really show who the target audience is.

Jonah Hill was obviously trying to make a movie that teens would relate to. Hill could have also been trying to share this movie with adults because it can take them back to the time when they were growing up. Seeing this movie, adults will connect with the small joys that they had with their friends and heart-shattering moments that happen when it is hard to get back up.

The way this film was edited was interesting; the screen was square; They made it look like a 90s skating video that you often see pro-skaters make. Not only did this look cool, but it also made you feel like you were in the time period.

The music in “Mid90s” was also outstanding. The movie played some classic 90s songs that went with the movie well. There were songs that played as the skaters were skateboarding down a hill that made you feel the freedom the boys had at that moment. What made the music so cool was how it would relate with the character’s emotions. Hill also had moments where he didn’t play music, which made the movie feel raw. They did this because, in the movie, music was relating to what the characters felt, but Hill wanted no music and made it quiet so you could either find your own emotions for the characters or make you feel empty for the character.

Last, I enjoyed the soundtrack of the movie because not only was it a very 90’s soundtrack, but it also incorporated music that we hear now. The music has some classic 90s rap groups and bands like Wu-Tang Clan and Bad Brains. The theme song that we hear in the trailer is called Gyöngyhajú Lány and it fits in perfectly with the theme of freedom and coming of age in the movie. This song is also found at the end of New Slaves by Kanye West. Gyöngyhajú Lány was first released in 1992 and later on West’s song, New Slaves, in 2013. This shows that the movie was trying to connect with our generation of teenagers and the generation in the 90s.

“Mid90s” was a movie that sums up the emotional struggles and joys of young adults. The movie shares comedy with those teenagers and those who once were teenagers. The music works with the generation of the 90s and even our generation. Overall, this movie hits all the targets to show what it is like to be a teenager, living through tough decisions and emotional moments. I think this is one of the best movies that I have seen because I connect with it on an emotional level. The movie is also edited in a unique way that shows the time period and the theme of the movie. I left the movie having a better understanding of how a true friendship is and how similar growing up in the 90s really was to growing up now; we all have struggles and they happen to everyone no matter when it was.

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