Similar to Mid-90’s, North Hollywood holds the tension of being in a group of friends who have contradicting life paths, even it seemed like they were on the same page before, and sometimes, when doing stuff like skating, it still feels that way. The pacing of the movie was a little off, I honestly couldn’t tell what time period the movie was trying to set itself in with the sets and outfits until I realized it was supposed to be a Gen Z thing. With some awkward acting and some questionable casting, not to mention the whirlwind of an ending in the last ten minutes, it was clear that this was a movie that I wasn’t really watching for a good movie per se, but because of the relatability of the story portrayed: why my head has been at while growing up with kids like this, talking like this, doing things like this. I think about what my wolrd would be like if I had stayed on one path or another then, would I have found a place for myself where there was no one like me anyway? It’s a little weird now, not having people to talk to this about, the people that this makes me nostalgic for. I’ll sit with that. I was glad to see Nico Hiraga though I wish he got to play a stronger role. I have no intention of watching Booksmart (2019) or Moxie (2021) which are comedies. I think I also became conscious that without knowing a lot about how skate reels are done it can be hard to follow why certain cuts are highlighted over others: doing the same trick over and over and sometimes it’s not the same guy, sometimes it pans to other people in the background, I couldn’t tell if it was part of the plot at first but by the end of it I kind of just let it go. It was definitely much less explicit than Mid-90’s, and for a coming of age film, this wasn’t really about the jokes. I’m almost a little reminded of Submarine (2010) (which has some awesome music by Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, probably some of my favorite songs by him on there) in terms of drama and vibe, but Submarine still was meant to be a comedy too. This film has an emphasis on loneliness and the real consequences of being lower-middle class. It’s kind of wild to think that this movie was produced by Pharrell Williams and Noah Centineo (among others). While more tame than the Mid-90s it’s also why they got turned down by Sundance for this one, but again this film showcases kids who grew up in a certain era, from the color blocking to the slang used.