'Mid90s' Is a Charmingly Good Nostalgia Trip

Mid90s is a drama film set in mid-90s (hence, the title) Los Angeles, and tells the story of a 13-year-old boy named Stevie (Sunny Soljic) who spends his summer navigating between his family – his abusive older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges) and their struggling single mother Dabney (Katherine Waterston) – whom he’s becoming distant with, and his newfound skater friends – Ruben (Gio Galicia), Ray (Na-kel Smith), “Fuckshit” (Olan Prenatt), and “Fourth Grade” (Ryder McLaughlin) – whose companionship he’s been reveling in.

Nostalgia is a hot commodity nowadays.  And this is what Mid90s is heavily selling.  The movie is obviously designed to appeal to those who have lived in the 90’s, particularly those who had their formative years in that decade.  Not only is the story set in the 90’s, but there’s painstaking effort to make it look utterly authentic.  This can be noticed in the overall atmosphere of the production as well as the small details – the video games the characters play, the devices they use, the clothes they wear, the slang they speak, etc.  Moreover, it was also shot and edited in a way that makes it look like a film that was made in the 90’s.

But what really makes this film strongly nostalgic is the relatable depiction of Stevie and his friends’ behavior and camaraderie.  Everybody watching this movie is going to be reminded of their own gang of friends at that age.

Getting into trouble together.  Goofing around.  Acting like complete jerks. Being inconsiderately loud.  Learning good and bad habits (probably more of the latter) from each other.  Obtaining satisfaction in wasting time just sitting and loitering.  Laughter-filled conversations often becoming ridiculous and inappropriate, rarely ever profound, but feeling ironically meaningful.  These are the things that we look back to as adults with a mix of cringing and grinning.  And the film effectively captures all these.

Overall, Mid90s is charmingly good, albeit occasionally tedious.  The beats of its coming-of-age plot are somewhat hackneyed, but they still hit because of the striking sense of authenticity resonating in the delivery.  Thus, it’s effective in its attempt to be a solid nostalgia trip.

Props to Jonah Hill (yes, that Jonah Hill), who wrote and directed (his first time!) this movie.