THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
One way or another, music brings people together and a great example is through In the Heights.
PLOT
Based on the stage musical by Lin Manuel Miranda & Quiara Alegría Hudes, the film takes place in Washington Heights, New York. Usnavi, as in US Navy, tells his daughter and a group of her friends a story that happened in his neighborhood 10 years prior. He ran a bodega with his cousin Sonny and plans to move to the Dominican Republic, where he first grew up. He knows basically everyone in the area: his best friend Benny who works at the taxi company that belongs to his girlfriend Nina’s father Kevin Rosario, a trio of salon ladies (Daniela, Carla and Cuca), local vendor Piragüero (Miranda), the matriarch Abuela Claudia and a woman he crushes over, Vanessa. He made a bet with the latter that whoever moves out of the Heights first is owed champagne. Vanessa seems to be prepared to be on her way as she’s applying for an apartment to start her career as a fashion designer, but her application gets rejected. Usnavi finally asks her out and she says yes. He also asks his Uncle Gapo (Marc Anthony) if Sonny can come with him to the Dominican Republic, but he implies that he can’t because he is an undocumented immigrant. He even gets a call from one of the lottery companies that someone from the bodega has the winning ticket of $96,000. Nina comes home from her first year at Stanford University and reunited with Benny and her father. When visiting the salon, she announced her decision to drop out and doesn’t know how to tell her dad. At night, the central characters have dinner at Abuela’s and things get tense. Benny calls out Kevin for selling the taxi company without warning the staff. He defends himself by saying that the money will be for Nina’s tuition. His daughter then announced that it was pointless of him to do that because she dropped after experiencing racism at Stanford. This abruptly ends dinner and the rest blow off steam at the salsa club. Afraid to dance with Vanessa, Usnavi allows her to dance with multiple men. Thinking she’s making him jealous, he retaliates when dancing with another woman. A blackout then happens throughout the neighborhood. As this happens, Usnavi & Vanessa dismiss each other for what happened, while Benny & Kevin do one last shift at the taxi company. Nina and the salon ladies join Usnavi to take refuge at Abuela’s, but things take another turn for the worst when the matriarch dies in her sleep, as a combined result of the stress from the heat and not taking her medications. Some time after this event, Nina attends a protest for DACA and when she discovers that Sonny’s undocumented, she decides to go to back to Stanford to find a way for undocumented children to find a pathway in life. Usnavi does find Vanessa’s rental application and convinces Daniela to co sign. She is moving the salon to the Bronx, due to rising rents in Manhattan. Before she takes off, she and Usnavi rouse the neighborhood into a celebration of their shared Latin culture and let go of their worries. Their power of positivity puts the blackout to an end. A month later, Usnavi finds out that Abuela had the winning lottery ticket, in which she left for him. He does see Vanessa and she thanks him with champagne for the application. She tries to convince him to stay, but he refuses. This breaks her heart because she feels that it is too late for her realization of feelings for him. Usnavi decides to give the ticket to the accountant Alejandro (Mateo Gomez), to use it for Sonny’s legal fees as he applies for his documentation. Vanessa tries one more time to make him stay by showing him something special: Her new fashion line that she found inspiration overnight thanks to taking notice of colorful rags by local artist Graffiti Pete (Noah Catala), who made murals in the bodega that honor his father and Abuela. While Usnavi’s story ends with him deciding to stay, the film ends with him celebrating with his family and the neighborhood that he does not regret staying in what has been his true home all along. There is also a post credits scene where Piragüero raises his price of shaved ice when his competition's ice cream truck breaks down.
THOUGHTS
For someone who enjoyed Hamilton a whole lot, I was ready for Miranda’s music to blow me away again. I feel so lucky when I say that I was when checking this out on (HBO)MAX. Director Jon M. Chu took care of this story and with Hudes onboard as screenwriter, it was able to be perfected. Like every musical before it, it ensures that you're invested with every passing second from start to finish. Every well choreographed dance helps make the musical numbers feel more powerful to hear. This one makes its mark because of a strong message that is targeted towards the Hispanic/Latinx community: Your DNA may be different from others, but it is your dreams that will drive to keep you moving forward. Everything you do matters because you have an effect on everyone around you. I am half Mexican and I took this with stride as I first watched this film and afterwards, I felt motivated to be the best version of myself I can be. Hell, both the opening title track and 'Carnaval Del Barrio' are such pleasant tracks because they're on point encouraging us to be ourselves and embrace your culture. All of these messages would not be overall clear without the presence of a diverse ensemble. Anthony Ramos originally auditioned as Usnavi in the original musical, but was rejected at the time. He proved that it was a mistake when joining the film in his first lead role. He was great for portraying him as a nostalgic person. He desires to be back in the Dominican Republic because he misses his parents and wants to keep their spirit alive. However, he realizes that embracing the present and focusing on what's in front of you is more important in than reminiscing. He kept thinking that his home was far away, when he was actually already there because home is where love resides, new memories are always created, laughter never ends and friends/family belong. He could've used the lottery ticket to rebuild his dad's bar, but the humble side of him decided to give it to another that needed it more. Considering that he was able to share his story to his daughter, it comes to show that regret does not come to mind with his choice. Melisaa Barrera was also a great standout in the role of Vanessa. She was someone determined to succeed and had to accept that success comes a long way. She and Usnavi came together as one because they admired each other's determination to achieve their goals, which defends their bet of champagne bet. If it wasn't for her, he would never understand that the Heights was his true home and they would never have a happily ever after. I love Gregory Diaz IV as Sonny because no matter what situation he is in, he can turn a negative into a positive and doesn't get phased of his obstacles because he is determined to overcome them. He has a big one in front of him, that is his documentation test, and I am positive that he overcame it. Leslie Grace debuts strongly as Nina. She shows her to be one who feels lost. She is smart, but does not know where should she take it with best intention. But after personal experience, she realized that she will use it to help people that deserve a chance to succeed. That philosophy of putting others before yourself is always a neat motive to see and I respect that she chooses to go forward with this as she plans to change people's lives for the better. Corey Hawkins surprised me as well in the role of Benny because aside from his great singing, he portrays him as one who also has that motive to look out for others. He connects with Nina so well because he understands the hardship she goes through and the pressure to make her dad proud. Their song 'When the Sun Goes Down' is so beautiful to hear because it explains how no matter how far apart they are, they'll never stop loving each other. Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco were such a delight as the salon ladies because they are the most positive figures in the neighborhood. They're all about living in the moment and when they hilariously gossip through 'No Me Diga', it's clear that they have somewhat of a fun way to do it. Jimmy Smits also leaves a good impression as the loving father Kevin. He chooses sell his company because he refuses to let his daughter waste her opportunity of success. And with a reason like that, it's hard not to respect him. Last but not least, I have never seen such a heart as big as Abuela's. Olga Merediz was able to accurately portray her as the guardian angel of Washington Heights. Since she never had kids of her own, she chose to love everyone around her as they were her own and encourage them to be themselves. Her death was indeed sad because without her, the whole block would feel lost. However, she chose to continue watching over when leaving the ticket behind. Her song 'Paciencia y Fe' is the best song for me because it explains how she went through hell & back and she accepted her time to rest. Death is not something that is comfortable with us all, but it's a part of life we all must go through, which is why her acceptance is a moment to respect. I’m normally enjoying this film but despite this, I can admit I have admit to have notice some issues when re watching. For starters, how did no one find Abuela’s ticket before Usnavi? I guess you can say they respected her belongings, but I feel like it could’ve been possible for them to find it by accident. Also, why did everyone who played the lottery take their tickets with them at the public pool and keep it on them as they were swimming? I mean, you’re just damaging the ticket and ruining the chance of a cash in. Musicals bend reality as usual, but why would Piragüero leave his cart unattended during his number? That is a bad move in his line of work because he could’ve got jacked. I know we need moments of suspense to elevate the plot, but why would Kevin leave the door open and unlocked if he wants to have his meeting to be private? Since we know what the meeting is later on, that is pretty careless because anyone other than Benny could’ve walked in and the revelation could’ve had a much worse fallout. And lastly, did anyone in Washington Heights get warned of the blackout beforehand? Because looking at the aftermath, it didn’t look like anyone did, which doesn’t sound right. Other than that, you’ll still have a good time after ignoring those said issues. To wrap up, In the Heights is a musical that delivers in bringing people together, sharing nothing but positively throughout its runtime, which was necessarily at the time it was released. If you love to sing and dance, this movie is the one for you.
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