Mid90s 2018 * * * Stars

Director: Jonah Hill
Year: 2018
Rated R
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Gio Galicia

"F*ck, sh*t, that was dope". The lowdown flick I'm about to review teeters on the edge of greatness so yeah, it's kinda dope. Did I mention the proceedings are also filmed with a Super 16 millimeter camera that feels like it's peering in on pimple-faced adolescence?

Anyway, Mid90s is an uninhibited coming-of-age endeavor that doesn't feel the need to push its cultured envelope. It highlights non-actors acting and portrays 1990's Los Angeles as the land of smutty, surfin sewage. With scenes that sometimes have a documentary feel, Mid90s features 13-year-old Sunny Suljic giving a fervent performance in the lead role. Mid90s also has Lucas Hedges going from playing a timid, nice guy character in other movies to playing a total d bag character this time around.

As far as fall releases go in 2018, Mid90s is a mere snapshot of a certain time and place. It's a film that puts a small smile on your face yet at the same time, feels kinda unfinished. Don't worry all you skateboard fanatics, malted 40 oz drinkers, and Tony Hawk wannabes, I'm still gonna recommend Mid90s. Really I am.

So OK, Mid90s chronicles newly-christened teenager Stevie (Suljic). Stevie gets bullied daily by his brother Ian (Hedges) and fails to connect with his aloof mom (Katherine Waterston as Dabney). Bored and looking to find his place in the world, Stevie befriends a group of poorly yet talented skaters and forms a bond with them. Said skaters nickname Stevie boy "Sunburn". They take him to parties where he relentlessly smokes weed, hooks up with older females, and gets drunk. When I was in my teens I was still watching cartoons and munching on my favorite Post cereal. Sigh.

Now Mid90s is a neutered, West Coast version of Kids coupled with personas straight out of Saturday Night Fever (everyone involved is looking for a way out of their existence even though their futures aren't too bright to begin with). Directed by two-time-Oscar-nominee Jonah Hill, Mid90s has an assured vision as Hill creates atmospheric LA in ghetto bird fashion. He's like a more contentious version of Larry Clark.

All in all, I loved the improvised dialogue in Mid90s which makes it one of the rawest indies ever made. I also liked Hill's elongated shots of the skateboard artists weaving down a turning lane with the camera being firmly placed in the distance. Bottom line: Mid90s with its enthralling soundtrack lounging between The Mamas & the Papas, old school rap, and grunge, gets a tripling 3 stars. I can't wait to see what lived-in, personalized vehicle Jonah Hill tries to concoct next.

Written by Jesse Burleson