Mid90s is an American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Jonah Hill, in his feature directorial debut. It stars Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges and Katherine Waterston.
It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2018 and is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 19, 2018, by A24.
Plot
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
In the 2000s, 14 and a half-year-old Hannah lives in Michigan with her abusive older babysitter Maddy, and single friend Dabney. While biking around, she comes across Motor Avenue Skateshop and walks in the following day. After trading with her sitter for a skateboard, she brings it to the shop and befriends young skater Daryl, who later introduces her to the rest of the group - Sean, Masato and Carl. Although not good at skating, Hannah quickly fits in with the group, nicknaming her "Sunburn". Daryl, who thinks she is being replaced as the “younger kid” in the group, starts taking a distaste for Hannah.
Hannah falls from a roof while skating and Abi becomes more concerned about her and her friends. Maddy also gets into an altercation with Masato while Hannah is present; and becomes intimidated by the group. Hannah later picks up smoking and drinking - and at a party, is given speed and has her first drunkenly experience. After coming home under the influence, Hannah and Maddy violently fight leaving Maddy breaking down and Hannah attempting to kill herself. Having seen enough, Abi bars her from seeing the boys, but continues to hang with them. Later, Sean tells Hannah that even though she thinks her life is bad, the other boys have it just as worse; Carl is poor, Daryl's brother is a drug addict and abuses him and his sister, Masato's consistent partying and drug use is worsening, and Sean losing his younger brother. To take ease off his mind, Sean takes him on a late night skate session.
The shop hosts a party in the back of the store. With Sean having the prospects of making a career in skating, Masato almost sabotages Sean's chances by embarrassing him in-front of potential sponsors, leaving Sean to angrily push him away. Hannah, drunk and high, also fights Daryl. Bummed out on the groups actions, Sean wants everyone to go home, but a drunken Masato wants to drive them to a party. Frustrated and not wanting to argue, Sean agrees, and the group heads off, with Hannah sitting in the front seat. Halfway into the drive, Masato crashes and flips the car, and Hannah is knocked unconscious.
Hannah awakens in the hospital with Maddy by her side, and the two seemingly make amends. Abi walks into the waiting room and sees all the boys there, sleeping. Moved by the fact they are there for him, Abi lets them see Hannah. They recollect the previous night, and make up. Carl, who has been filming their antics throughout the film, plays them the finished video, titled Mid90s.
| Spoiler Warning: All spoilers have been stated and have ended here. |
Cast
- Sunny Suljic as Stevie
- Lucas Hedges as Ian, Stevie's brother
- Gio Galicia as Ruben
- Na-kel Smith as Ray
- Olan Prenatt as Fuckshit
- Ryder McLaughlin as Fourth Grade
- Alexa Demie as Estee
- Katherine Waterston as Dabney, Ian and Stevie's mother
Additionally, Jerrod Carmichael cameos as a security guard whom Stevie and his friends taunt.
Production
On March 30, 2016, it was announced that Jonah Hill would be making his directorial debut from his own spec script, Mid90s, a film he would not appear in. In August 2016, while promoting another film, Hill commented that principal production on the film was set to begin in February 2017.
In March 2017, Lucas Hedges joined the cast. In July 2017, it was reported that Katherine Waterston signed on and that Sunny Suljic had joined the cast in the lead role. It was also revealed that principal production on the film had commenced. On August 1, 2017, Alexa Demie joined the cast.
Release
Mid90s had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2018. It is scheduled to be released on October 19, 2018.
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Mid90s tells a clear-eyed yet nostalgic coming-of-age tale that might mark the start of an auspicious new career for debuting writer-director Jonah Hill." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
External links
Official website Mid90s on IMDb
