THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There have been so many musicals that have been made in the said genre. It’s not easy for me to decide my favorite from what I’ve seen. But when it comes down to it, I’ll generally say Jonathan Larson’s Rent.
PLOT
The film starts in 1989 Christmas Eve in New York. Aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen and guitarist Roger Davis are roommates and best friends, irritated that they must pay rent which was previously waived by the landlord. Their new landlord and former roommate Benjamin Coffin III has married into a wealthy family and offers free rent if Mark can convince his ex girlfriend Maureen Johnson to cancel her upcoming protest. Their other former roommate Tom Collins returns from MIT to visit his friends. However, he gets mugged before entering the apartment. Lucky for him, he is aided by Angel Dumott Schunard, a man who dresses in drag. When the power goes out in the apartment, Roger meets his neighbor Mimi Marquez, who dances at the club 'Cat Scratch'. When she asks for his request to light her candle, he turns down her advances because of taking notice of her addiction to heroin. He makes this decision because he lost his last girlfriend April (Mackenzie Firgens) who committed suicide after her own addiction resulted in being HIV positive. By Christmas morning, Collins introduces the guys to Angel and they welcome him with open arms. Mark chooses to help Maureen instead of Benny by fixing sound equipment. There, he meets her new girlfriend Joanne Jefferson and they get along when they agree of how promiscuous she is. After being a helping hand, he visits a Life Support meeting to support Angel and Collins who are both HIV positive, while also filming it for his own documentary. At night, Mimi meets Roger again after her shift at work and takes another shot at him, but he rebukes her again and angrily kicks her out. The next day, he joins a Life Support meeting, as he gained his HIV diagnosis during his time with April. After that, he goes with Mark to help Maureen one more time before the protest. When they take off, Angel & Collins decide to date each other. On the night of the protest, Maureen calls out Benny for selling out, causing standby police to start a riot. Benny does try to apologize, but Maureen doesn't accept it. Because Mark caught the riot on his camera, The news show 'Buzzline' wants to present it on television. The newly formed group celebrates at the Life Cafe and both Roger & Mimi decide to give their relationship a chance when both confess to being HIV positive. On New Year's Day, Benny padlocks the apartment, but Angel breaks it and they discover that Roger and Mark's belongings were taken. He decides to apply for a job at Buzzline and Joanne serves as his lawyer to negotiate his contract, resulting in agreeing $3,000 per segment. Sadly, she would end her relationship with Maureen when for her ongoing act of flirting with other women. Benny does try again with making amends by returning the belongings to Mark & Roger and offers a free rent mortgage. But instead, Mark chooses to pay him with his first check in advance. Benny explains that he chose to help thanks to being convinced by Mimi. Mimi does explain to Roger that nothing happened between the two despite dating two years prior. He chooses to ignore her because he is upset that she didn’t tell him what she was doing. His distrustfulness towards her resulted in their relationship to end as she would resume taking drugs and date Benny again. As the year progressed, Angel would sadly succumb to AIDS. When his funeral occurred on Halloween, the group would have a bitter argument before deciding to go their separate ways. However, Maureen & Joanne decide to reconcile their relationship. Roger goes to Santa Fe to find a new inspiration for his song and Mark quits Buzzline to focus on making his film. Roger would come back to New York, missing Mimi deeply. Around holiday season, the group would start a search party for her when Benny alerts them that she went missing. Just as Mark & Roger reunite with Collins at the apartment, Maureen & Joanne find Mimi at the park, whose on the brink of collapsing. When they bring her to the apartment, Roger sings his song to her that confesses how much he loves her, which saves her. As she regains consciousness, the film ends with the group celebrating by watching Mark’s finished film that concludes with Angel in the final frame.
THOUGHTS
I first saw this on a plane trip back from Washington to LA. When I later saw it again at my home, I honestly couldn’t believe what I saw because it amazed me each time. Director Chris Columbus and writer Stephen Chbosky knew that they had to treat this story as delicate as possible. And looking back, I think they were able to make it such a spectacular experience to witness to the point where I believe Larson would be proud of what was made. I feel this way because about every song hits their mark and we learn every lesson he learned in his lifetime. When I hear songs like ‘Seasons of Love’ and ‘La Vie Boheme’, they do nothing but make me smile and when you get that feeling, you know you’re doing something right. There were various lessons I learned throughout, which I find each of them just as important: You can be broke as hell but rich in friends, express yourself no matter what others say/think, don’t take loved ones for granted and stand up for what you believe in. Obviously, I would not have learned this without the genre’s most diverse ensemble to date, with a mix of actors who were in the Broadway play along with a mix of known actors that were part of it before. I could never stop appreciating Anthony Rapp as Mark. I loved him throughout because he is an artistic person who prefers to be true to what he wants to craft. My respect for him went even higher when he still chose to befriend Maureen after breaking up. It comes to show burying the hatchet can be possible and is worth it in the long run. Adam Pacal is honestly remarkable when playing Roger. He is a damaged soul who has been through hell and back, which is explained beautifully through 'One Song Glory'. After all the pain he put himself through, he was afraid to go through it again. But when Mimi came around, it changed for better and worse. Enter Rosario Dawson, who was meant to play this character. When hearing her express her joyful spirit through 'Out Tonight', you respect that she lives in the moment, but that is also a facade of whatever pain triggered her addiction. She pushed him to give her a chance because she knows she's on borrowed time and wants to share whatever is left of her life with someone that will love her till the end. Thankfully, he was just that for her. Jesse L Martin and Wilson Jermaine Heredia will forever be the highlight of this movie as Collins and Angel respectively. These two connect so well because they don't let their diagnosis stop them from enjoying their lives. When you first hear 'I'll Cover You', it is so cute to hear because it is their vows of how much they love each other. But then when you hear the reprise, it is goddamn tragic because Collins knew the day would come and hates that it came. However, I found it adorable that his ATM code is named after him because it shows how he'll never forget him. Idina Menzel and Tracie Thoms were a dynamic pairing I didn't think I'd enjoy. Thoms presents Joanne as the most mild mannered, whereas Menzel shows off Maureen as much of a free bird as her friends are, which is why 'Take Me or Leave Me' expresses how they fell for each other at the wrong time. Since they do choose to try again, I do hope that things continue to work out for them. And lastly, Taye Diggs is spot on despicable as Benny. He's someone who tries to have it both ways and fails miserably. He acts like he cares, but clearly does not throughout. If he did, he would've supported Maureen and tried harder looking for Mimi. Even though he sings soulfully in 'You'll See', you still feel a bit of slime in between. Now just because I’m regularly smiling does not mean I didn’t spot some things that bothered me. Like for starters, why would Maureen ask Mark for help when she knows damn well Joanne would be uncomfortable at first? Sure the two got along, but it could’ve went sour. And why was Benny invited to Angel’s funeral? Those two were not friends at all, like had not connection, and it blows my mind how the others didn’t react until afterwards. And also, why would he go to the one cafe that he knows his friends would go to? This guy just does not know his friends well. And lastly, why would Mark invite his parents to Joanne & Maureen’s reception? I really didn’t see the point of them being there at all. Other than that, I can still enjoy what’s given. Overall, Rent will always be a good musical for being one of the boldest in the genre. If you want a musical to move you, see this one now.
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