(Somewhat) Movie Review: Rent

[sarahmichelef]

Damn... I don't think that show will ever not kill me.  I've seen it on stage twice (once in Minneapolis in the summer of 1997, and then again in London in the summer of 1998 - the London cast included Adam Pascal, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, and Anthony Rapp) and been reduced to tears both times.  Ditto for the movie...

I started crying when Angel died and didn't stop until the credits were rolling.

I loved:

• Rosario Dawson.  Perfect as Mimi.
• Jesse L. Martin.  How can you not?  Lovelovelove.
  
• The production values.  The whole neighborhood throwing fire during "Rent'?  Brilliant.
• "Take Me or Leave Me" set against the snooty engagement party.  And Maureen's mom's comment to Mark was fantastic.
• The increased realtionship between Joanne and Mark.

I really didn't love:

• The changes in the chronology.  To me, it's important that Christmas Eve is just this amazingly intense, crazy night.  Spreading that action out over 2 days drastically reduces the whirlwind pace at which events unfold, and for me, that pace is very important.
  

I was really worried that it wouldn't hold up over 10 or 15 years, but it did fine.  My other concern was that the ACTORS wouldn't hold up - that they'd look too old.  But that was fine, too.  (Sidenote:  how is it possible that there's no official IMDB picture for Jesse L. Martin?  That's just wrong.)  All of the really important pars were kept, things that didn't advance the plot (the whole convoluted scheme by which they get back in to the apartment on New Year's, for example) were cut, and (besides the objection noted above) those cuts worked just fine.

Overall, I'm very, VERY pleased.  I may well wear this DVD out.  But I don't think M will ever watch it with me, because i can't NOT sing the entire show.