Rent the Movie - my long-winded review

[tommygirl]

Yes, it's very long. And it contains spoilers throughout the movie, in case you've never seen the show and/or movie.

Rent the Movie – the Review

Pre-Movie Fun

I guess no real review can begin without the fun beforehand. We got there very early and there was already a line. I turned to the best friend (a fellow original renthead) and said, “It’s like the old days of the line before the lotto.”

It was interesting listening to certain people in the line talking about the movie:

“The guy from Law and Order is in this!” (No sir, the guy from Rent is in Law and Order – get it straight!)

“I hear Taye Diggs is in this!” (Well, he was in the original cast!)

And, of course, the one that made me happiest, from other Rent aficionados:

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to take Rosario Dawson as Mimi.”

We get into the theater, I’m there with eight people in total, five of whom are obc rentheads, some of whom I met because of Rent. So we do pity the people around us. Because we’re going to be opinionated...because this isn’t just a movie to us…this is something we’ve been hearing about for TEN years and are finally getting to witness. We’re going to be giddy and excited and a little peeved if they screw with things too much.

My sister and Ricky turn to me and Shannon: Are you two going to get sucked back into your Adam obsession?

Shannon and I (glancing at each other): The hair might save me from full reversion back to crazy Adam love.

My sister: Just remember the one Wetlands concert! Remember it!

Shannon: I was so disillusioned that night.

Me (nods): Though it was fun telling Jesse that night that his best friend was a stupidhead that I no longer liked.

Finally, the lights dim and the trailers come on. We momentarily forget the excitement of Rent because there is Jake and Heath and the gay cowboy movie trailer! My heart was all a flutter.

But then a weird looking preview for some Cillian Murphy came on and Rent retook my excitement…

The Movie Starts

The familiar music starts and there is a stage filled with the cast. Flashback to many a show at the Nederlander. Flashback to the stage doors with the picture of the cast from that song, the doors that creepy fans used to kiss and I would gag a little. “Hey mom, look at me! I made out with a picture of Adam as Roger! Now I have to go Lysol my lips since many people TOUCH that door!”

“525,600 minutes…525,000 moments so dear...”

God, I’ve missed Ant and Jesse and Taye and Idina and Adam…especially Ant as he gets into his clapping. He takes it very seriously. I see Wilson and lose it and clap and squee as silently as possible.

Songs should not be sung on Bicycle. My new rule.

Okay, so that's the first moment of laughter. The music for “Rent” should never begin while Anthony is on a bicycle. He starts singing as he rides through the streets of New York City and I laugh and laugh...

And there is Roger, with his guitar, trying to write his one great song when the power goes off and he only has his disturbing hair to comfort him.

But not to worry, Mark returns with his bicycle and they begin to set fire to the eviction notices and their unfinished scripts and songs. And their neighbors are like, ‘Wow, that’s a fucking BRILLIANT idea! Let’s burn down the whole block!” So everyone goes out on their fire escapes and burns the eviction notices, tossing them down (lit mind you) to the street.

Take that Benny, yuppie scum in a very ugly sweater!

It kept throwing me off when they would speak the lines they normally sing. I realize it is a movie, so that’s expected, but very weird.

We get to see Angel playing his drums! And then he finds Collins! And I died a little because God, I love Wilson! I could recount tales – because as much as I loved Adam, Wilson is the only one I ever got tongue-tied around repeatedly. So seeing him back in the role just swelled my heart.

This is the first glimpse we get that Jesse really had more to work with as Collins in the movie. He totally ROCKS! The delivery of lines is so much better for his character when spoken. He’s one of the characters the movie enhances!

That said, why do I picture Christopher Columbus pulling Wilson aside and saying, “Let’s make this GAYER!” Wilson stares at him befuddled because he, like the rest of us, realize that a six-foot guy dressed in drag will not need to be any gayer to get the point across. But Christopher Columbus insists, “It’s just not queer enough! You need to work on that! Make Angel as gay as they come!”

It’s also really nice to know that after FOUR hours, Mark is concerned enough to go looking for Collins, especially since he had called from downstairs.

“Hhhmm...hey self, Collins hasn’t come up with key yet. Even if he got distracted by shiny lights, it shouldn’t take him four hours to get up here...hhhhmmmm...maybe I should go look for him.”

And now that Mark is gone, Roger can go up to the roof and brood properly because he’s trying to write one great song before he dies. And rather than how they do it in the musical, which is much more succinct with “Zoom in on Roger, his girlfriend April left a note saying we’ve got Aids before slitting her wrists in the bathroom.”, we have to suffer through flashbacks of Roger with April. But hey, at least this flashback montage doesn't involve him singing only in his head (But we'll get to that later).

However, flashback montage had Roger hair. Still no Roger pants, but Roger hair! I love the Roger hair!

And there were knee bends! So “One Song Glory” was good, despite the flashbacks. It had a harder edge to it than from the play, but I still enjoyed it a great deal.

I’m going to try not to focus on anything Rosario Dawson. I’m not a big fan of her as an actress to begin with and just every single interview for this movie that I’ve seen has made me dislike her more. Now I realize that Daphne was way too old for the role (She was ten years too old for the role ten years ago), but they had to go with Rosario?

Needless to say, she wasn’t horrible, but she wasn’t good. I put it at the level of Richard Gere in Chicago - he didn’t make me want to cut my ears off, but I don’t think he added anything to the movie.

So the Mimi/Roger stuff was already spoiled for me. Plus (and the same applies to Maureen/Joanne), it wasn’t quite there…not the way it was with Angel and Collins – because they have that chemistry, those nuances from working together for over a year as their characters…and neither Roger/Mimi or Joanne/Maureen have that. And it does show. Not in necessarily a negative way, but if you step back and compare it to Angel/Collins it’s really obvious.

Let’s go right to “Today 4 U” – again, Jesse really shines in his scenes as Collins much more in this movie than he did in the play. And I loved him in the play, but it looks like he had so much fun with Collins for the movie and that makes it that much more fun for the audience.

And Angel comes in dressed completely in drag, remembering that Christopher Columbus wants UBER GAYNESS. But it’s fabulous all the same because it’s Wilson and he can move. Though, uh...we didn’t get as much dancing as we used to from Angel. I won't complain too much because he still did the table jump (that no other Angel did that I’ve seen) and the spinning. I miss the dancing. But still good. Frankly, Angel could stand there and recite math problems and I’d probably insist that it’s very good.

They’re interrupted though because Maureen calls for Mark. Collins finds out that Mark was dumped, but that he’s still whipped. Many giggles are elicited. So Mark runs off to save the protest and Collins & Angel head off to a life support meeting. Leaving Roger to his brooding once again.

Tango Maureen is one of my favorite parts of this movie. I loved it! Mark is still the one from the play and Majandra from Wonderfalls was a really good Joanne. I especially loved the Tango sequence with Maureen in the red dress. First, Idina looked so, so hot. Second, this is one of those moments where a movie has more room to expand on a scene than the play for the better. Loved the whole thing.

We get to the life support meeting...and there is Marty from Gilmore Girls! And he has a pretty voice! I knew Rory Gilmore let her chance slip by, stupid girl. Because Marty can sing! And he’s a New Yorker, so fear is his life.

And that segues into Mimi performing at the Cat Scratch Club. I find myself pondering the question, “Do guys really want their strippers singing?” Because I don’t think they do, and she didn’t make much money that night. And because of that, she breaks into Roger’s loft, wanting him to take her out tonight.

But Roger is having none of that. He was brooding, and you can’t stop brooding all willy-nilly. There is a process to it, dammit. So he sings to her angrily, but she counters with “No Day but Today.” Well, Roger doesn’t care and he kicks her out. However, he doesn’t seem to realize he’s kicked her out. The Mimi we see on the street is a hallucination, because he screams down to her from the fire escape, “The door is that way.” Is this a metaphorical door? Because Roger doesn’t seem that bright.

And then Mark, Angel, and Collins join Mimi on the street. They sing up to him, “No day but today” and I think, “Finally an intervention about that freaking hair. Cut it! Give me Roger hair.”

But Roger scorns their help. It’s very sad and now the audience will continue to suffer through bad hair.

But something gets through to Roger because he shows up at the Life Support meeting and joins the others in wondering if they “Will lose their dignity.” (Frankly, Roger, if you have any dignity left after that hair...and is it just me or is it getting BIGGER throughout the movie?) I love this song. I love it so much and I loved the panning around the circle.

And then the most awesome song of the whole movie occurs. “Santa Fe” is another one of those songs that is enhanced by the movie. The dancing on the poles of the subway! Gah! Collins, will you marry me? I know you love Angel, but I love him too. So I’ll marry you both! And I never thought of this song as DIRTY, but Jesse is gifted, and I love him for it! I’ll put the sauce on your meat! Bend over!

But alas, the song ends and the boys get off the subway. Mark drags Roger off with him and then Christopher Columbus reminds Wilson and Jesse once again, “uber gayness!” So they run and skip along the street singing to each other. In case anyone doubts that they are into each other. Because the kissing at the end isn’t clear, so we need the skipping and running against the wind!

“Over the Moon” rocks because it’s perfect. Because Idina always did it right – as a Maureen who didn’t see it as silly, whereas so many of the other actresses playing Maureen always make it a parody. That’s not why it was originally funny. While it’s hysterical, she doesn’t see it that way – it’s performance art. So yeah, I missed a good “over the moon” and Idina delivered. Though here’s a note, don’t pan the camera to Joanne during the performance. Let’s stick with Maureen for the whole thing. And the television sets ROCKED!

La Vie Boheme features awesome white boy dancing in slow motion from Mark, so that can’t go wrong. Though I’m not used to Roger and Mimi being there at the end – they’re supposed to be off somewhere getting it on, not dancing on tables. But it’s okay by me. And y’all will be happy to know – I still know the La Vie Boheme dancing from the beginning.

The one thing I’m not sure about is why they switched around who said what about each other – like why did Collins introduce Maureen and Mark introduce both Mimi and Roger...strange thing to change.

Random scenes of everyone being happy, and we all know that it can’t last, but we’ll enjoy while we can. Benny is once again villianized – yuppie scum!

How much did I love that “Take Me or Leave Me” occurred at their freaking engagement party? First, how much does it rock that Maureen was wearing leather pants and a tee-shirt to her engagement party? I turned to my friend and said, “Is this going to happen here?” Basically, this is a rocktastic song – it’s pretty hard to mess it up, especially with Idina’s amazing voice. But it was even better because of the rest of the cast, who pointed, gawked, and then followed Maureen and Joanne while they fought.

“Without You” isn’t so good, I’m afraid. There are bits of the song where it seems they are only singing in their heads. I like the lips moving when someone is singing, please. But even more than that, the song loses a bit of meaning when he walks out the door (without shouting "happy spring" like he should) and only five seconds pass before Mimi sings about how awful it is without Roger. Dude, he hasn’t even made it back to his apartment yet. You can’t miss him that much. And it doesn’t help that the scenes of Roger/Mimi for the song are just so extreme – they’re like that couple we all know that’s all drama, drama, drama and you want to kill them or yourself. Plus, it still kills me, after all the viewings I did of the goddamn play, watching Angel get sicker and sicker, while Collins tries to comfort him. Gah. Kills me.

But Wilson didn’t get his shining final moment – like he does in “Contact”. I guess an onscreen orgy is too much for movie audiences to handle?

I fell apart all the same though, like I always do. Because Angel’s death rips me apart, as does the reprise of “I’ll Cover You” – and Jesse brought the kick-ass to the song.

The cemetery scene felt off because suddenly they sing when they’ve been talking through the rest of the movie. Then they only do part of it – we don’t get the Mark & Roger fighting. And we don’t get to see Benny show that he’s not a creep. He pays for Angel’s funeral, dammit. It’s one of the few examples you get that he’s not some insidious, greedy bastard, but no, can’t let that happen. He’s the big bad!

And, while I’ve mocked a lot of this movie, I’ve loved every second of it, but here is where I get angry with Christopher Columbus. Because “What You Own” is my FAVORITE song from the entire play. My favorite! And he ruined it! How can I take my song seriously when Roger is singing in a convertible as his out-of-control hair whips in the wind? Or while Mark once again sings on his bicycle? And then it’s suddenly a bad eighties video as Roger stands out in the desert, opens up his arms, and sings! (Hair still billowing in the wind – really, it has gotten bigger, I think! It’s a MONSTER!) They’re finally actually on the screen together, but apparently Mark is deaf and can’t hear someone singing five feet away from him.

And the looks on their faces! My god Roger and Mark are so freaking in love! They want to make out.

I also flashback during this song to one of the times I saw it from the front row – Adam spit on Ant while singing (like right on his face – so gross) and then Ant proceeded to spit on us in the front row. It was so gross, and from that point on, I wore a raincoat when in the first few rows.

Anyway, “What You Own” ends, I weep silently in my seat, but it’s time for the finale and the wrap up. Where Mark is so nice to Collins, “Don’t get mugged this time.” Bitch.

Maureen and Joanne bring Mimi to see Roger. She’s very sick and my friend turns to me, “I’ve never wanted Mimi to die before tonight.” I shrug because I’m too caught up in Adam’s hair and the really unflattering camera angles.

Especially during “your eyes” – it scared me! He’s a MONSTER! He wants to EAT her eyes – feed them to his hair!

It’s bad. Very bad Roger moment. If I were Mimi, I would die to get away from that hair and the really gay song. I mean, that song took him a year to write? (Of course, that’s not the movie’s fault – I’ve always thought that was the dumbest song ever.)

But Mimi is okay! She saw Angel and he made her come back...and then it’s a mix of the cast around Mimi (group hug, group hug) and the documentary. And while Angel doesn’t come back out on stage (err...movie set), he’s the last shot in the movie. And that makes me happy.

To Sum Up

Don’t get the wrong idea. I did love it. I really did like every second of it, despite my mocking, and I think now that the initial differences have been dealt with, I can go a few more times and enjoy it for what it is.

The star of this? Jesse! My God. I’ve always liked him as Collins, but his character is so much better in the movie version! Jesse owns me now! I love him so much more.

The villain of this movie? Adam’s hair. I had nightmares last night about being attacked by his hair. Really. It’s worse than his shaved head phase (and that’s saying a lot).

Over all, it’s a good adaptation. The actors did the best they could with what they were given. The best I can say for Christopher Columbus – he didn’t completely fuck it up. Though I’m still not sure why he was chosen as director, but whatever.

It is definitely worth seeing, even if you never saw the play before. It’s a good story about friendships and family and trying to make something of your life while you can.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

And that will probably become 5 of 5 stars once I grow immune to both Rosario Dawson and Adam’s hair.



So that's one viewing down and about twenty more to go!

So what did y'all think?

Comments

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

The villain of this movie? Adam’s hair. I had nightmares last night about being attacked by his hair. Really.

*dies laughing*

I totally agree, OMG. The hair has to GO. Especially when they teased us for 3.2 seconds of hot Adam in the "Glory" flashbacks.

How much did I love that “Take Me or Leave Me” occurred at their freaking engagement party?

How much did I love that Joanne's parents threw them an engagement party in a swanky hotel/country club/whatever? And Idina + Pool Table = OTP!

and there is Marty from Gilmore Girls!

OMG!! I was trying so hard to figure out why that dude looked so familiar! GAH.

La Vie Boheme features awesome white boy dancing in slow motion from Mark, so that can’t go wrong.

Anthony is so white.

Songs should not be sung on Bicycle. My new rule.

I'll second the motion.

The star of this? Jesse! My God. I’ve always liked him as Collins, but his character is so much better in the movie version! Jesse owns me now! I love him so much more.

OMG YES! WHY OH WHY is he on L&O where he *doesn't* get to sing? He needs to record albums so I can listen to his pretty, pretty voice more.

So that's one viewing down and about twenty more to go!

*nod* I'm hoping to get there at least once more this weekend... possibly twice depending on how things go.

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

I should be going on Saturday evening with other friends. So will see how it goes on a second viewing - will I still burst out laughing at parts? Will I find myself adding the lines they took out?

During Rent, the four of us kept adding Joanne's lines, surely annoying those around us.