Kid 90

If you were a 90s kid or a 90s teen, this will definitely take you back down memory lane. However, I thought it left a lot of things vague and much to be desired. Still worth the watch.

In the summer of 1990, I turned 16 years old. This documentary hit me hard with sad nostalgia. I was sad that certain things happened and sad that I can't go back to relive it. All of these young stars were having fun but also going through difficult life situations. One of the crushes of my youth was Jonathan Brandis when he was starring in SeaQuest. That part of the documentary hit me really hard. Most of us think that Hollywood stars are immune to pain because of the fame and money, but that's just not true. You get to see the human side in this documentary. There are no Hollywood masks outside of a film shoot. These were kids being kids before the age of social media and instant judgments from jealous haters. This footage is important. It was as if the universe wanted her to record these memories to share in a future documentary. I was very anxious while watching it because of the nostalgia of my youth, but it was worth every minute to get a glimpse into the lives and struggles of these young stars. If only the ones who left this world too soon were still with us today.

I was very excited to see what kind of 90s goodness would be in these home videos. For the first half of the movie or so, I was ok with it. The longer it went on, the more it just became all about Soliel. And I don't just mean that she was the main subject; she is the intended audience. As she reads through more diaries and poems and looks back on moments that are only interesting for her, it becomes clear that this project was put together solely for her "growth." That might have been ok if it was the least bit entertaining, and it first it seems like it might be, but that stops as things get more repetitive. You can see in her current day interview footage how proud she is that she has learned so much by looking back at these tapes, but we don't get much out of the deal.

Let me start with two things-I usually disagree with most reviews and as a 90's kid this was up my alley. But the reviews got it right this time. There's lots of great home footage which as expected is all famous people. But as others stated, when a narrative developed the film would immediately cut and move on. As an example, even when the death of a friend happened, it would be difficult to surmise whom. No picture of a news article or archive news footage, not even a current interview about how much the lost friend meant. I can't imagine losing one of my childhood friends, creating a film for Hulu and not honoring them with 30 seconds. Other topics get the same treatment which is what makes reviewers say JUMBLED and NARCISSISTIC to which I agree. Having said that, the footage existed and I don't blame her, having grown up famous. But it could have told a much deeper story in better hands.

I'm glad she was able to put the archival footage together in a film. But she doesn't go into too much detail about some of the people in it. She speaks in very vague and juvenile adjectives "he was sweet and I could tell he was sad". As a forever fan of Jonathan Brandis, it was nice to see candid footage of him. But it felt as if she took advantage of his friendship. I just see someone who was surrounded by people gushing over her but I didn't see her giving much back. Perhaps that's why the documentary felt so empty- she was so self-absorbed that she literally had nothing meaningful to say about other people. "New York is when I met the skaters and the punks". Ok. What more can you tell us about these people? What more can you tell us about the subculture and the scene? Finally we saw she had a Black friend in NY, but apart from that, not much of a diverse group. If it weren't for this footage, I doubt she would remember much of anything.