Rent: The Movie
Walking into the theater, I hoped that it would not be a disaster. The stage version moved me (4 times) and I would hate to see what happened to A Chorus Line when it transferred to film.
It is an imperfect film with many wonderful moments.
Jesse L. Martin is the best thing in the film. His acting, voice and winning smile light up every scene he is in. He make the relationship with Angel seem real and unforced.
Wilson Jermaine Heredia who won the Tony for Angel did fine, although the break-out number Today For You fell a little flat and the costumes did not seem nearly as creative and outrageous as they did on stage.
Rosario Dawson as Mimi made me wish for Daphne Ruben Vega. A capable performance but missing the vulnerability that Daphne brought to the role, the part that makes you care about her. After all, it's not easy to like a heroin junkie, stripper, cheater.
Idena Menzel did her best to look the part of Maureen but was only really successful in the performance piece Over The Moon and in the wonderful duet Take Me Or Leave Me, one of the better numbers in the show. Her acting in non-musical scenes doesn't work for me.
Taye Diggs was surprisingly good as Benny, adding a nice humanity to the villain of Avenue A.
Adam Pascal's songs seemed really trite in screen. He has a nice presence on film otherwise.
And finally, Anthony Rapp. He is so slight in person, but on stage, he makes Mark Cohen a large powerful narrator. On film, he just comes across as a whiney little man with a camera. It's too bad, because his talent is so big.
Anna Deavere Smith, Aaron Lohr and Sarah Silverman had some wasted cameos.
I still feel like this is a wonderful film worth seeing by anyone who likes interesting musical theater with a plot that is more than fluff, even if some of the moments come across as a little saccharine. Particularly when Roger sings life back into Mimi's dead body. Who knew a bad song could resuscitate an Aids victim so quickly.
posted by JerseyEd1 at 4:26 AM
1 Comments:
I didn't care for the Broadway musical at all and actually found the movie more bearable than the stage version. Ed nailed it pretty squarely on the head with his review. Some of the performances work and some don't.
Best musical scenes for me were the Tango Maureen, Take Me or Leave Me, and I'll Cover You. La Vie Boheme was well shot, but I think the song is lyrically inconsistent and cloying.
I thought Out Tonight was the standout number on stage. It was hot! Rosario Dawson didn't do it justice, and I missed Mimi's blue rubber pants from the stage version. I missed Roger's plaid pants, too.
Perhaps this was all very moving and immediate 10 years ago and in particular for the few tens of thousands living this life on the lower East Side in the 80's and early 90's. I don't think it wouldn't have had nearly the same impact had Jonathan Larson not died when he did.
The Tony and the Pulitzer? It was a big musical revival year (King & I, Forum, Company). What was it up against - Noise/Funk, Big, State Fair, Victor/Victoria. Only reason it got the Tony in my book was that it had no competition. And the Pulitzer should have gone to Master Class that year.
I can't get too invested in these characters who create all this drama for themselves. Drugs, cheating on partners, not working, stealing, setting fires, rioting. You dig a hole for yourself, go lie in it.
Benny is actually the HERO of this story. He grew up, became responsible for himself instead of whining about what the world allegedly owes him, and got a job. He hangs back around the gang too long and gets pulled back into their drama.
Maureen calls Benny a sellout for marrying a wealthy woman. But Maureen has hitched herself to lawyer Joanne who is, I'm sure, paying both their way through life. Why Joanne is slumming with this crew is beyond me.
They should get jobs to pay their damn rent like the rest of us. Mark's movies were home movies, not art. Roger's songs stink. Mimi works in a club selling sex, not dance. Maureen's performance art is painfully bad. Tom is smart enough to teach at MIT & NYU and dumb enough to use his brains to steal from ATMs. If their artistic passions run that deeply, they should be able to use their youthful energy to both support themselves with paying jobs and pursue their "art" in their off time.
What to say about Angel? A likeable character. But I'd have much preferred to see a gay male relationship where both the men behave like men. Feminizing one of the couple is playing it safe and furthering stereotypes. The straight couple kisses a lot, the Lesbians kiss a lot. The gay couple gets one kiss and then a bunch of smiles and wistful glances. And, of course, if someone, has to go, let it be a cross-dressing gay character. That's nice and safe for everyone. Not as big a loss as a real person.
Okay, I feel better now.
8:26 AM
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