‘Mid90s’ Takes You Back to Baggy Pants, Super Nintendo, and the Skater Boy Era

The era that was the years of 1990-99 was interesting, to say the least. The video game takeover, the evolution from the golden age of hardcore hip-hop to flashy rap, the explosion of skater culture and the last great generation of kids that hit the playground like we owned it, wrote love letters without a care, went to the library cuz homework, scraped knees cuz youth, and had curfews instead of being glued to a phone screen. Yup, once upon a time it was cooler to be street smart instead of tech-savvy.

No shade, but this movie is tailor-made for 80’s babies who know what’s really good. Late millennials (born after ’89) will get a crash course in what it was like to grow up without instant communication, finding a squad in your hood to call your own, chillin’ with the homies sans social media and navigating the deadly ramifications of peer pressure. Written and directed by Jonah Hill, this movie is straight out of the Superbad division of films, but with much more grounded storytelling and honesty. At its heart, Mid90s is a quintessential coming of age story about an abused boy who finally finds his path in life after linking with a crew who help mold him into the teen he never knew he wanted to be.

Jonah Hill uses his own upbringing to tell this tale that starts off with the realness. Thirteen-year-old Stevie is our movie’s protagonist. He is immediately seen getting the brakes beat off him by his 18-year-old brother. Don’t get it twisted…this isn’t a playful big bro rou…