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Directed by: Chris Columbus Starring: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Taye Diggs RENT is the story of a year in the life of eight friends who live in New York, from December 24th 1989 to the same date, 1990. It is heavily based upon the Broadway production of the same name. The there are several plotlines to follow in the film. There is the relationship between Collins (Jesse L. Martin)and his lover Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), Mark (Anthony Rapp) and his roomate/best friend Roger (Adam Pascal), between Roger and his potential love Mimi (Rosario Dawson), and the overarching conflict between all of the above and their landlord and ex-roomate, Benny (Taye Diggs). Many of the characters in the film have AIDS, and much of the drama and tension comes from each character with the virus coming to terms with their own mortality and learning that there is truly "no day but today." The film adaptation of the theatrical production is relativly painless. Several original songs were cut from the film, but for the most part it is not a noticible difference, and the flow of the story is not interrupted unless you know in advance what you're missing. The core theme of the stage production remains, the film does an excellent job of conveying Jonathan Larson's (original theater writer) message, and is also enjoyable to watch. I give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars. A good film. RATING: 4/5 PROS: Remains true to the spirit of the theatrical production CONS: Several original songs cut from the film ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/
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Nov 24, 2005 04:39
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Just saw this tonight with my girlfriend who happens to think the Broadway production is the best thing since orgasm. She loved it, as did I (who, I will admit, has never seen it). I'd recommend it for anyone who loves the play, or loves the music. 4/5 Edit: As for the comedy, I think all of it was well placed. The only time my theatre actually had audible laughter was The entire 'La Vie Boheme' song (my sister.. mucho masturbation... to marijuana... we're close). and After 'Take Me or Leave Me' when Maureen's mother says to Mark, "Now maybe you can get back together with her." the_aids fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Nov 24, 2005 |
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Nov 24, 2005 08:05
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Gotta keep this short cause I have a killer headache and need to sleep. I went to a sold out showing tonight with a group of Rent-heads who have seen the play a bajillion times. I however, have never seen it. The movie started off very slow and the only good song in the first act was "One Song Glory." The movie did pick up during and after "La Vie Boeheme" (ugh i butchered that i'm sure). A lot of the characters were annoying as hell including Angel and the lesbian protester and took away from the emotional impact of the movie for me since I didn't give a drat about what happened to them. I'm giving this movie a solid three. (Side note: my Rent-head friends loved it, if that says anything.)
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Nov 24, 2005 08:52
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I just got home from seeing it, also with a friend who had seen the live production. She's obsessively in love with the play, but when I saw it, I was kind of so-so on it. I'm still so-so about it, now with the added concerns that transferring a creative work from one medium to another brings. First off, the translation from stage to screen is indeed very smooth. Along with the story remaining relatively unmolested, the atmosphere and overall feel of the thing is transferred. Which is more important than people usually realize. The stuff they had to alter or cut to make it workable as a movie works in pretty well, and added dialogue is either taken from a song or fits in seamlessly with the other lines. However, it still doesn't feel completely "right" as a movie. For one, the writer loves him some dramatic cliches. Can't get enough of them. There were several scenes where I went to myself, "Oh lord, he can't possibly do this... he did, god, I am drowning in a lake of cheese". I don't want to give some of them away, as they're hilarious in their own merit. The fact that "The Producers" was advertised right before it in a preview is unbelievably ironic. Due to this, there are some plot holes of a rather gaping manner, such as the "year passes, but absolutely no one's hair, clothing style, or even style of facial hair changes" thing and the "how do the police completely ignore a streetful of people lighting papers on fire and throwing them out of windows?" thing, and just... yes. Let's just say, if you aren't a fan of the play, there will be places your brain catches on and goes "wait, what? what just happened. that was really dumb!". But here's the thing: it's entertaining. I have absolutely no idea why. Rent is like the band you know can't play their instruments or properly write a song or keep time but you love for some reason you're not aware of. You know you shouldn't be liking it, but some part of you is. Some part sort of wants to cry when people die, or exult when they exult. Rent is a movie you can acknowledge as awful intellectually but moving emotionally. And that's okay. Because then you can giggle at the corny bits. Three out of five, but this is really going to differ for different people.
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Nov 24, 2005 09:02
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I'm not a RENT-head, but I do enjoy the musical. I've seen it on Broadway twice. I was very pleased with the movie. It cleared up a view confusions I had about the broadway show (i.e. Roger's history with April). I thought Rosario Dawson played a good Mimi, but her performance didn't blow me away. The performances that did blow me away were Collins, Mark, and Roger: the actors were excellent. But, this was expected since they were part of the original cast. 4/5
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Nov 24, 2005 17:37
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Wow, what can I even say. I am a die hard Renthead, and I, like most others I know, was skeptical of the transition from stage, where the intimacy of theater brings this show to heights of greatness. When I heard that Chris Columbus was directing, I became even more skeptical (First 2 Harry Potter movies anyone?) Also, the news that most of the original cast was returning, that brought me mixed feelings. On one hand, hell yeah, original cast is what made me love this musical. On the other hand, they are 10 years older, will the "young artist struggling" message be conveyed as clearly with actors in their 30s? Needless to say, all of my fears were for naught. This was the best movie I have seen all year, with no exception. The stage show uses abstract set pieces with pipes and platforms and levels, and there is no change from set to set, the cast drives the storyline along. The transition to using "locations" and "set changes" having the story take place where it would in real life really worked. It brought me closer to the story emotionally. The cast was fantastic, with extra kudos to Rosario Dawson (Mimi), and Jesse L. Martin (Collins). The former, a new addition to the cast, was the most 3 dimensional character in the film, and her triple threat of singing, acting, and dancing, made me believe that she was a junkie stripper. The latter, of recent "Law and Order" fame, is reprising his role as Collins from the original Broadway cast, and he shines. He showed the full range of his abilities, from the subtle face acting that makes him enjoyable to watch on L&O, to his amazing singing voice that brought him to show business in the first place. He had, for me, the most emotional moment in the film. All in all, I felt a connection with the characters that I wouldn't thought possible outside the theater. Amazing movie, I recommend to everyone!! 5.5/5
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Nov 24, 2005 18:55
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I saw this with my girlfriend (neither of which had seen the musical) and her cousin, and cousin's friends (who had seen the musical). We all absolutely loved it. Most of the parts that the entire theatre erupted in laughter at were intentionally funny parts, and some bordered on the line of intentional and not so intentional (dont read this unless you have already seen the movie, because it might spoil a great scene) - (such as most of the protest - OH MY GOD LOOK AT THOSE FACES ON THE TELEVISIONS). The acting was phenomenal, and the music and songs were great. The cast really did a great job. It was a really sad movie, and I had tears in my eyes at some points. EDIT: Did I mention that the small theatre we went to, which wasnt sold out but it was close to 75%... had no loving heat? So the songs about being cold, and seeing everyones breath fog up when they sung/talked, had more of an impact because everyone who had them was wearing their gloves, big winter jackets, and a few people even brought loving BLANKETS. It was so loving cold. Fun fact: When you are with your girlfriend who has gloves, in a very cold theatre (or any other place where you are sitting, for that matter) - and you do not have any - do not panic, because she will happily put your hand between her thighs. All in all, I would give it a 5/5. XtG fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Nov 24, 2005 |
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Nov 24, 2005 20:30
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(I haven't seen the production.) I saw Rent last night and I thought it was quite good, though not quite 'excellent'. I'm a big fan of the musical genre, and I enjoyed the songs very much. The plot, however, left a lot to be desired. Some of the characters were a hard swallow for me to believe. This was due a lot more to the screenplay than the acting (which, for the most part, was wonderful). Mark, for example, didn't seem at all bothered by Maureen/Joanne. Overall, I did enjoy it and would see it again. The music is excellent (as are the visuals). I'd recommend it for any fan of the genre. 4/5 admiraldennis fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Nov 28, 2005 |
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Nov 24, 2005 22:49
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Went to see this last night with fellow goon TwitchCannon. What can I say...I was blown away. I had seen the production only off-broadway, so I really didn't have the gold standard comparison. It really appealed to my bleeding heart side, so I was enthralled by that and it had a good mix of laughs and sadness. Best movie I've seen in a long time. I was kind of surprised that the nerdy dude from Road Trip was the lead actor, though. 5/5
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Nov 26, 2005 15:35
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BlitzburghBucco posted:I was kind of surprised that the nerdy dude from Road Trip was the lead actor, though. I saw it on opening night, and I think it was very well done. There are plenty of naysayers out there, but they're just nitpicking and missed what the film was trying to portray. Sure, it might seem a little dated to us, but the issues are still relevant, in fact now more than ever. 5/5
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Nov 26, 2005 20:13
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nimper posted:He's part of the original Broadway cast from 1996. Yeah I know, I just wasn't aware of that fact before I seen it. 
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Nov 26, 2005 22:28
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I have been waiting for this since my sister first turned me on the musical gift Johnathan Larson bestowed on this world when I was probably in 6th grade. I have dreamt abuot a movie version of Rent and don't know that I've been anticipating a movie this much in a long time. I can't say I was all in all blown away, I was even dissapointed a little bit at some things, but I still thought it was pretty darn good. I won't go into full scale analysis of each scene ill just do the good and the bad. The Good: Jesse L. loving Martin- One of the best performances I've seen in a long long time he was far and away the highlight of the movie for me. Energetic, passionate, loving, emotional. He was flat out was amazing. Rosario Dawson- I was skeptical when I heard she was cast, but I thought she was great. Idina Menzel- So funny and Over the Moon was great. Tango Maureen- One of the greatest scenes in a movie musical ever. The first scene at life support was so amazing. It was very subtle and quiet but you could really sense the fear and desperation in all of the people and it really struck me. La Vie Bohemn- Always great. The Bad: Chris Columbus sucks I didn't like how it was about 35% dialogue, it slows it down to me I wish they had kept more as it is in the musical where its 95% singing. Everything up until La Vie is on christmas eve, thats supposed to be part of the irony that Bennie is trying to force people out on the night that preaches giving. Adam Pascal was uncomfortable on screen, he just didn't do it for me. Maureen/Joann engagement, wtf? I didn't like how they took out bennie's redemption. They really just kinda glossed over the second act which was weird 4/5
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Nov 27, 2005 20:29
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I was so surprised by how much I liked this movie. Growing up a theatre nerd, I heard the soundtrack to this show non-stop throughout high school. Once I actually saw the show, I was kinda underwhelmed. The story didn't really grab me and I actually thought the lack of real dialogue kinda sucked (it's a concept I've honestly never cared for). Well I don't know what got into me when I saw the movie version, because I loved it throughout the entire thing. The original cast totally made it. I'm sick and tired of Rosario Dawson but I can't say she did a bad job here. Really pleasant surprise. 4.5/5
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Nov 28, 2005 05:49
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I've seen the movie twice already, and each time I cried during the reprise of I'll Cover You. The entire movie is emotional, and funny, and sad, but that scene, driven by Jesse L. Martin's amazing performance as Collins, gets me every time. I thought Phantom of the Opera was an amazing movie musical, this show blew it away. La Vie Boheme is an amazing showstopping number. I want to be on Broadway some day, and this show is why. 5.5/5
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Nov 29, 2005 23:20
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I really enjoyed this movie. I went in not knowing what to expect and came out extremely pleased. I loved the Light My Candle exchange in the early part of the movie. 4.5/5
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Nov 30, 2005 17:57
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I hadn't seen the Broadway version before but knew some of the songs. The made the plot easy to follow and they mixed the dialouge with singing seamlessly. Several hillarious parts the protest, La Vie Boheme and Marueen's mother and I thought the actors portrayed their characters and sang very well. Definately one of the best movie adaptations of a Broadway musical I've seen. 4.5/5
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Nov 30, 2005 19:43
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As Blitzburgh mentioned, I went to see this the other day, and I was quite happy to find that my jaded, cycnical self actually LOVED this movie. Perhaps it was the youths, the subject matter (even if I wasn't bi I'd be attracted to Rent's themes....not to mention attracted to Jesse L. Martin  ), or the incredible songs. There were a couple of questions left in my head at the end of the movie, but they did not detract in any way from my experience. Excellent movie, never saw the play, but I'm so happy I finally saw a movie in the past 6 months I actually like 4.5/5 I do wonder how so many people saw the movie without knowing about its themes. Half of the audience we saw the movie with mumbled amongst themselves after the first onscreen gay coupling, much to my confusion.
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Dec 1, 2005 04:33
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I saw this with my girlfriend who is a musical whore. I am not. My favorite musical is South Park The Movie. I liked most of the songs but found the story hard to follow (though powerful none the less) through a couple of the long songs. It felt really long to me but I enjoyed the themes and most of the song. If you like musicals then this is definately for you, if not, you'll still most likely enjoy it but may choose to only watch selected scenes in future viewings. 3.5/5
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Dec 3, 2005 05:57
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I agree with CallMeDan...see above...somewhere... I actually didn't think Rosario Dawson did too well on screen, but I think it was Adam Pascal's fault - the guy just isn't great with the camera. Yes, Chris Columbus sucks. I love Rent, but the Movie was a weird combination of really good scenes and really terrible ones, so it unfortunately came out to be average overall. But the music...strangely I'm finding myself listening to the movie soundtrack more than the original recording. I love what they did with Seasons of Love and Take Me or Leave Me. I also favor Rosario Dawson's voice over Daphne Rubin-Vega's at the moment, and have a soft spot for Tracie Thoms. The soundtrack's edgier overall.
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Dec 10, 2005 00:23
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Team America ruined this movie for me; I couldn't enjoy it lest I feel that Trey Parker would be sneering at me... Everyone has AIDS! AIDS AIDS AIDS! AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS! Everyone has AIDS! mod edit: I took the liberty of cropping off the next five verses. Folks, this is how not to write a review. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST) Somebody fucked around with this message at 06:37 on Dec 20, 2005 |
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Dec 20, 2005 05:28
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I have little to no complaints about the movie- I think it was a great stage to screen transition. My only complaint? The fact they cut the most important parts of "Goodbye Love." Aside from being an amazing song, it contains important plot development- the fact that Mimi was going into rehab, the argument between Roger and Mark, Benny paying for both rehab and Angel's funeral 5/5
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Dec 23, 2005 06:59
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I hadn't seen the musical before I watched this, and to me this was the longest loving Bon Jovi music video ever made. Maybe the musical is better. 1/5
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Mar 13, 2006 11:19
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Rent, a Review I had never seen the musical "Rent" as a stage production before the movie came along. All I knew about it was that it reminded me of Stomp, but not for any specific reason. I think perhaps the original commercials showed multi-ethnic types beating on pipes and the like, so I thought, "Hey, another Stomp-esque production." Not that I was a fan of Stomp either, but I do enjoy percussion in its many forms, much like I enjoyed the percussion of banging my head against a wall five-hundred-and-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred times during the course of Rent. Let me start with the title of the movie, which might imply several things. You might take from the word "Rent" that this is a production about struggling youths attempting to pay their monthly dues. Perhaps "rent" is a word that brings up memories of living month to month, paycheck to paycheck. Maybe it even reminds us of holding on to our youth, refusing to settle down and buy that big house on the hill. I'm going to spoil the movie for you right now if you haven't seen it; "Rent" is not about rent at all. Rent, as a noun, is a minor part of the story and seemingly a topic of disinterest among the principles of the show, who haven't paid theirs' for a good year. No, the movie would have been better titled, "AIDS: The Musical." Everyone has AIDS, or is at least HIV positive. That's not entirely fair. Three characters are believed to not have AIDS, two of which are lesbians and the other being a struggling photographer who just happens to live (rent free) with his buddy, who is HIV positive. Saying that 80% of the characters are HIV+ is entirely accurate. Apparently, despite being a debilitating disease, the little virus is unusually adept at making people break out into song and dance. Really bad song and dance. For an episode of Buffy, that is comedically laughable. For a musical, it is highly unfortunate. In fact, were it not for one catchy number and one enjoyable character, I doubt I would have anything positive to say, but in the interest of fair time, let's explore the bright spots. "La vie Boheme" was the catchiest tune in the whole movie, and the only one I really care to hear again. While I can't say I agree with the message that being a driftless slackers is the best path in life, the song did at least catch my ear. The other bright spot in the whole movie was Angel, a wayward drag-princess played by John Leguizamo. It was indeed a stretch for him, playing a Puerto Rican cross-dresser, but somehow he managed to pull it off. For those of you are scratching your head and saying, "But I though that other Puerto Rican transvestite played Angel," you're wrong. There can be only one, and Leguizamo will rend the other actor's head from his body, thereby absorbing his man-fatale wiles and essentially absorbing credit for the role along with it. It is the natural order of things and you're just going to have to trust me on this. I don't really feel it necessary to expand on the story line in great detail, so here's the gist; Two buddies share an apartment in the ghetto, don't pay rent, have wacky friends, go on zany adventures and eventually grow up and move on with their lives and their dirty, diseased friends and acquaintances. Striking another blow at the heart of the movie, the one enjoyable presence on the screen doesn't even make it to the end, setting up another 45 minutes of bullshit that could just as well have ended after the opening number. From a technical standpoint, I don't have many qualms with the movie. It was shot with a respectable budget, costumery was acceptable and set design was ideal. For that, the movie gets a +1. In short, I hated this movie, I'd probably hate the stage production and I don't recommend it to anyone who either doesn't have HIV or is a festering sore on the genitals of society. 1.5/5
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Mar 28, 2006 20:05
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Technically RENT holds up great, and since most of it takes place around a loft with other non-intrusive sets, I felt it translated well from the stage production. Strong acting from all characters except Benny, who seems kind of transparent and insignificant the time he's onscreen. I felt it could have been shortened as well (there's too much break-up/make-up) and the themes and songs were just so sappy and pretentious I couldn't get into them. (The backing soundtrack was really tinny and sterile and made me laugh a few times). But I suppose that's common to musicals and if you're into the genre, or at least not as jaded as I am, I'd recommend it. 3.5/5 Boy Howdy fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Mar 30, 2006 |
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Mar 30, 2006 14:10
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The pacing of this movie bothered me more than anything. The first half takes place in about 10-20 days, and then the rest of the year is covered in the second half. A whole lot happens in that second half, and I didn't understand a lot of what was going on. Relationship changes are not adequately explained, characters take off for no apparent reason other than to have them dramatically come back, and everything feels rushed. Aditionally, I thought that most of the characters were pretty weak. I enjoyed Collins, Mimi, and Angel, but no one else felt like they had any depth at all. Particularly guilty of this are Joanne, Maureen, and Benny. Overall, it's not a bad movie, but it doesn't tell its story particularly well or involve the viewer in the characters enough. 2.5/5
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Apr 12, 2006 16:17
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I've never seen the actual musical RENT. Maybe that's why I didn't like this movie. The story was miserably hard to follow and none of the characters were very deep at all. It was like they had absolutely no substance and they were impossible to connect/relate to. The musical numbers felt unnatural, attempting to make spectacles out of anything they could. The movie impresses from a technical point of view, but that's about it. I just didn't like it. 1.5/5
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Apr 23, 2006 06:57
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Notes: I haven't seen the original production. I really like musicals. I was hoping to like this, as I haven't seen the original production, and I was told that I would. I didn't like this film, but it had nothing to do with the direction, production values or adaptation. -The music was hit-and-miss. There are some spectacular songs (like One Song Glory) and some horrible songs (like La Vie Boheme). Some songs are too complex to be memorable, and are about nothing. It almost seemed like they were merely singing really bad, mundane dialogue. -Of all the characters, I liked three--Angel, Tom Collins and Joanne. The rest to me seem like purely self-serving bohemians. I must not 'get' the rest. Yeah, steal! cheat! fight the system! who cares! you show them squares and yuppies! (Example, after Mark's mom's voicemail: "You know, there are times when we're dirt broke and hungry and freezing, and I ask myself "Why the hell am I still living here?" And then they call, and I remember." That ungrateful little bastard. I guess I identify with his parents better.) -I guess the film left out a few key numbers, which is too bad--Though, had Chris Columbus not excised those numbers, it would be entirely too long to sit through without a proper intermission. I was squirming about 2 hours into the movie, after having taken the intermission. -I know that all musicals are overdubbed, but this one was way too obvious. For instance, Roger would be singing but looking like he's merely talking, while his voice is crooning. -I liked the direction. I thought Columbus did a good job here--I'm sure it's difficult to take a cult Broadway musical and turn it into a film that even half of the audience that had seen the play would like. Summary: Pretentious musical with so-so musical numbers. 2/5. If you like it, that's fine. It just wasn't for me.
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Jul 2, 2006 21:13
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I've never seen the theatre version, but I have seen a lot of live musicals and generally enjoy them. I thought the acting in Rent was horrid, the characters were contrived stereotypes devoid of any real humanity, the plot was laughable and the themes ignorant. The music was bland and forgettable. 0.5/5 total waste of my time u fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Jul 9, 2006 |
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Jul 9, 2006 20:59
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The movie is a lot like the bland pop rock it features: trite, immature, and utterly devoid of depth and sophistication. The characters were stereotypical and a little cartoonish. It has a few spots of decent drama that keep it from being truly awful, but it never rises above bad. 2/5
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Jul 10, 2006 01:03
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Vapid, shallow, transparently manipulative, self-satisfied garbage. Musically, it is about on par with second-string rock videos that aired on MTV circa 1983. The characters were for the most part lovely human beings with delusions of grandeur, presumably because a combination of self-inflicted poverty and trendy diseases makes you part of the Cool Kids Club. The term "Pretentious" is overused a lot when talking about films that try to do more than loop CGI car crashes for 2 hours. But this movie really deserves it, because it clearly thinks it is some profound commentary on the human condition, when in reality it is just a bunch of stuck up rear end in a top hat characters singing the antithesis of good rock & roll music. It has nothing to say, and doesn't say it in an interesting way, but I guess because it is OMG BROADWAY WITH ROCK MUSIC! we are supposed to be impressed. Having said all that, it does have a kind of superficial entertainment value. 2/5.
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Jul 12, 2006 23:07
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I enjoyed quite a few of the songs in the film, however I felt that after watching the first half of the movie I didn't need/want to watch anymore. The songs seemed toalmost repeat themselves in a way, they all had the same feeling to me. I still liked the first half of the movie. Another complaint is that (at was mentioned before) a lot of the characters seemed really unreal and unnatural. What's more, it bothered me that the characters roles often times seemed very iresponsible. 3.5/5 edit: I want to point out that in general I enjoy the "standard" musicals (Chicago, Mulin Rouge (sp?), Phantom of the Operah, etc). Also I've never seen the musical on broadway shoelessone fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Jul 15, 2006 |
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Jul 15, 2006 02:22
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