mid90s (2018)

Mid90s feels special because it doesn’t “recreate” adolescence so much as drop you right back into it—awkward, funny, bruising, and strangely beautiful in the way a summer can change you without asking permission. Jonah Hill directs with a documentarian’s eye for detail and a storyteller’s tenderness, letting the skate shop hangouts, sunbaked streets, and casual cruelty of growing up in L.A. play out with lived-in authenticity rather than movie polish. Sunny Suljic is terrific as Stevie, giving the film a beating heart that makes the laughs land and the harder moments sting, while the supporting cast captures that intoxicating mix of belonging and danger that comes with older friends. It’s not for everyone—there’s a lot of harsh language, messy behavior, and emotional rough edges—but if you want a coming-of-age story that feels honest instead of sanitized, this one earns your time.

mid90s is Jonah Hill’s love letter to scrappy skate-kid adolescence, aiming for lived-in authenticity over tidy storytelling, and it often nails the texture of the era and the awkwardness of growing up. The trade-off is that the plot can feel familiar and a bit on rails, with uneven pacing that drifts like a series of moments rather than a sharply escalating story. It’s also not a breezy nostalgia hangout: the language is aggressively raw, and the underage drinking/drugs and hints of abuse are presented with a blunt, uncomfortable matter-of-factness. If you want a tightly written coming-of-age arc or something lighter and funnier, this may test your patience, but if you’re up for a gritty, observational vibe with strong atmosphere and a solid lead performance, it’s worth a look.