For the first time in some while I thought I’d go ahead and post one of my movie critics, if you want to call them that (their more like ramblings of whether I liked it or not with most of the reasoning being nothing more than own personal opinion). Either way, Lena and I got to see a couple of movies this weekend, thanks to the Thanksgiving weekend visit of my parents, one of which happened to be Rent.
For those of you not familiar with the story it’s about a group of people that come together, both as friends, and as lovers, due to a common bond. First, they all (for the most part) have contracted HIV in one way or another, and second they are all struggling to make their mark. While the plot follows an on going struggle between Benny and the group of friends, to keep the buildings in which they live intact (as Benny and his investors want to turn them into a studio), the true story is one of love, heartbreak, sorrow, and friendship that teaches you that every moment you have to live is one that is precious and should never be taken for granted. It’ll make you laugh, and it’ll make you cry. So, if your looking for an action flick, or mystery, this is definitely not for you…
The main reason I went to go see this is because I’m a huge fan of the musical. Now I know that many people jumped on the Rent band wagon after the it won a Tony, but I fell in love when I got to see them in their first year, Off-Broadway. That performance had me to tears and hooked as a fan for life. I remember sitting in the car on the way back home from the air port asking my parents if they still thought whether Media Play or something like that was open so I we could go pick up the soundtrack.
Anyways, fast forward back to this last weekend, and the performance was just as powerful. It was blatantly obvious where they removed pieces, while many of them I can see were for cinematic reasons. This happens in any case where either a book or musical is put into the hands of a movie script. The catch to this is, how well the conversion from musical to movie is executed, and how much of the original story, and feel, is kept. In the case of Rent, the major parts of the story were handled very well while the cuts were minimal and effective. The “Would You Light My Candle” scene was definitely done with true justice, while changes such as “Out Tonight” starting in the Cat Scratch Club, instead of the entire piece being performed at her apartment, were ingenious.
Obviously, I loved it. I think that any true Rent fan would be proud of what the movie accomplished, while not loosing to much of the original story and it’s purpose. Chances are, and many of the critics you can see this, if you don’t like musical theater in the first place, you probably won’t like this movie. However, for those of you that do, I think the true meaning of the story, is carried well through this rendition, and I highly recommend it.