|
|
|
|
|
No other road; no other way...no day but today.
One cold, snowy March Saturday in 1996: I woke up early, caught a morning train into Boston, and waited outside the Shubert Theater for nearly ten hours in the hopes of scoring a last-minute $20 rush ticket to the touring production of the smash Broadway musical, Rent. I was lucky enough to get a ticket, and I spent the next two hours immersed in Jonathan Larson’s world of early-90s bohemian New York.
Almost ten years later, November 23, 2005: I drove to a movie theater 30 minutes away, paid $20 for two tickets, bought some popcorn, and settled into my seat to finally watch the long-awaited theatrical release of the film version of Rent.
Two very different scenarios, but the end result was the same both times: Rent blew me away.
Rent chronicles a year in the life of eight very different friends: Mark (Anthony Rapp), an aspiring filmmaker; Roger (Adam Pascal), his musically-inclined roommate; Collins (Jesse L. Martin) and Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), an HIV-positive gay couple very much in love; Maureen (Idina Menzel), an outspoken performer; Joanne (Tracie Thoms), an uptight lawyer who also happens to be Maureen’s on-again-off-again girlfriend; Mimi (Rosario Dawson), a drug-addicted stripper; and Benny (Taye Diggs), an old roommate of Mark and Roger who now owns their building.
It’s difficult to describe the story because Rent has always been one of those shows that's much more character-driven than plot-driven. The action, such as it is, begins on Christmas Eve, when Benny reneges on his promise to let Mark and Roger live rent-free in his building, and it ends with the following Christmas Eve. In that time, the characters go through everything from experiencing the bliss of a new relationship to overcoming past issues to dealing with illness and the death of a friend. It can be sad and uncomfortable at times, but in a lot of ways, Rent is really a celebration of life.
I always enjoyed the stage show, but the movie version is really phenomenal. It’s not your typical movie musical—you won’t see Julie Andrews twirling on a mountain or gangs of kids dancing in the streets here. Like last year’s Phantom of the Opera, Rent is almost entirely sung-through, so at times it feels more like a long, but really good, music video instead of a movie. And the music is just fabulous—the new orchestrations give the songs a much stronger rock vibe than the original stage version ever had.
Fans of the original show will be pleased to see some familiar faces in the movie—in fact, six of the eight characters are played by the actors who created the roles on Broadway. The two newcomers—Rosario Dawson as Mimi and Tracie Thoms as Joanne—are amazingly good and fit in seamlessly with the rest of the group. Of all of the recent song-and-dance movies, Rent easily has the strongest cast. They’re all incredibly talented singers and actors, and they’re so much fun to watch—especially Anthony Rapp as Mark and Jesse L. Martin as Collins (television viewers might recognize Martin from the TV series Law & Order).
So, should you see Rent? I can’t tell you that. I can tell you this, though: if you’re a fan of well-sung and well-acted movie musicals, then add Rent to your must-see list. If you enjoy big production or dance numbers (like “El Tango de Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge), then this movie is worth it solely for the “Tango: Maureen” and “La Vie Boheme” numbers. And finally, I’d recommend this film for anyone who likes really, really good music. Rent on stage was well worth my $20 ten years ago, and the movie is definitely deserving of the price of at least one movie ticket.
Performances: A+
Direction: B+
Total: A
|
|
|
|
