Film: tick, tick . . . BOOM!

 

GENRE: Musical, Drama, Biography
RATING: PG-13 for some strong language and drug references
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 55 minutes
PLATFORM: Netflix
STARRING: Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge, Amazing Spider-Man)
Robin de Jesus (Boys in the Band); Alexandra Shipp (Love, Simon)
DIRECTOR: Lin-Manuel Miranda (newcomer – but wrote Hamilton)
WRITER: Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen, Fosse/Verdon)
PLOT: A promising, young theatre composer tries to get his first musical produced for Broadway.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m actually not a fan of Rent. Sue me.

STORY STUFF: I often enjoy stories that explore the creative process. This one is no exception. I love seeing writers work through writer’s block; getting inspired by big and small things; navigating victories and failures; and learning more about themselves. This film has all of that as Miranda and Levenson adapt Rent composer Jonathan Larson’s one-man autobiographical performance. The story is well-paced as it jumps from short performance pieces to longer vignettes of Larson’s life as he writes a musical called Superbia. If you like musicals, you’ll probably like this.

ACTING STUFF: Garfield does a stellar job as Jonathan Larson. I didn’t know he could sing that well. There a few times he’s too whiny and there are moments where he sounds a bit like Miranda, but overall, awesome work. While the rest of the cast brings their A game, the highlight for me is a scene that takes place in the famous Moondance Diner (Monica and Mary Jane worked there) where there is a fantasy sequence that includes a large number of famous Broadway stars. I didn’t know all of them but I could pick out 2/3rds. Must have been a fun day of shooting.

ARTISTIC STUFF: If you are looking for songs from Miranda, there aren’t any. All songs are from Larson. There is a relationship song that reminded me of “We Both Reached for the Gun” from Chicago. I wonder who influenced whom? Miranda does a fantastic job of moving the camera around and creating dynamic fantasy sequences. Along with the diner scene, I particularly liked the scene at the swimming pool. I’m sure there were a number of Rent Easter eggs in this film, but they didn’t stick out to me except maybe Vanessa Hudgens lending a hand.    

VERDICT: Four and half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You love musicals and the creative process.
UPCOMING REVIEW: Being the Ricardos, West Side Story