tempestuously (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tempestuously) wrote2005-11-24 01:10 am
tempestuously) wrote2005-11-24 01:10 am
Entry tags:
RENT--the extensive review
Yes, that means spoilers.
1. For idiot Rent fangirls, respecting Collins/Angel is not so much about respecting art as respecting love. If you're going to support the couple for the sake of the play, at least have the balls to do it for the right reasons.
2. If you've already seen the play, telling me that you didn't have investment in the characters is BULL, as it's already ingrained in you. Only first-timers can make this claim.
3. You people need lives.
The Rundown:
I admit I was a bit concerned for the first bit of the movie. I thought the stage singing of "Seasons of Love" was off in a movie because of how fidgety everyone looked. They just wanted to get out and dance. The montage of New York City worked for Mark's introduction, but "Rent" was also one of my least favorite scenes. It was supposed to be cool with everyone burning their eviction notices at once, but it didn't feel smooth to me. It was very jerky. Mark's entrance on the bicycle was the best part just because bike-singing is cool. I also didn't get why Mark and Roger were burning their work just to pour it over the railing. Those weren't notice they were firing up. I thought they were burning their stuff for the heat. It all looked too forced and showy.
The dialogue around this point was also awkward. Although the production staff cut numerous transitional songs, they left in the rhyming dialogue, which was extremely jarring at times. This showed throughout the conversation with Benny. "You'll See Boys" still worked and Benny shone as he always does. I did think the song lost a bit of its humor by being done before Angel is introduced, meaning lines like "That boy could use some Prozac" or "I like boys. Boys like me" were lost. The scene where Angel finds Collins had its own style, separating it from the musical and allowing the audience to finally step into the movie realm.
The movie had another ridiculous moment when Roger ran up to the roof to sing "One Song Glory." Aside from that, the scene added some insight on Roger and April. I'm not a big fan of fadeouts and found them obnoxious, but the clips really gave a better view on Roger's state of mind, seeing him performing live, helping April shoot up and eventually reading the HIV notification with her. We jump into "Light My Candle," which also seemed off in a way I can't quite describe. However, Mimi's quirky personality saved it, with her in-your-face flirting and the way she stole back her drugs, slipping them from Roger's pocket during their dance. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a new Mimi, but the actress brought her own flare to the role. She was a much more spicy Mimi than the one I was used to.
Roger and Mark had some impromptu scenes that brought back the "movie" atmosphere. Love the calls but miss the bouncy, singing quality to them. Then Collins burst in with his "Merry Christmas, bitches" and I was sold from that point on. I did find Roger a bit too cheery during "Today 4 U." I remember him being more grumpy in the first half of the play. I also wasn't sure what to think of Angel's dance, but I recall experience the same thing at the Broadway showing so I won't knock the movie for that. Loved the teasing of Mark for rushing to Maureen's aid and the whole Joanne thing. "Tango Maureen" allowed for more characterization between Joanne and Mark than the play and the sense of rivalry was more ingrained as was Maureen's flirtatious behavior. Having an actual tango with the proper attire was beautiful, an example of what film can add to Broadway musical thanks to its special effects.
Not much to say about "Life Support," except that it wasn't properly linked with the later "Another Day." "Out Tonight" blew me away with Mimi's stiptease. WOW! "Another Day" brought in Collins, Angel and Mark since the life support group ensemble was removed, but the highlight was just seeing Roger belting out lyrics from the top floor to everyone on the street. It helped the sequence of the song make sense and showed Roger wanted Mimi to leave him be, while his friends argued otherwise. Wonderful transition to film. "Will I" gained some additional emotion by having Roger enter the life support meaning, after receiving Mark's advice about picking up Mimi at Maureen's show. I just love the emphasis on the buddiness between the main characters, and Collins is just adorable.
"Santa Fe" delighted me with Collins and Angel's play on the subway poles, looking absolutely cuddly. The movie Collins is so flexible and lithe. We go from that into "I'll Cover You," where the two continue to frolic down New York streets and take their cuteness to a level that even the play couldn't reach. The relationships in the movie really stole the show and this was one of its finest moments.
We lost "Christmas Bells" but managed to work in a Roger/Mimi moment, where he steals her from her dealer and apologizes. "Over the Moon" always frightens me, but Maureen was still beautiful, especially with her motorcycle entrance. I did like watching her futilely plead for control after a riot broke out and the gang all trying to rescue each other from the cops. A lot of stuff is interjected before "La Vie Boheme" so that the song isn't broken up, such as Mark's footage getting received, the riot, ect.
"La Vie Boheme" deserves its own paragraph because it was just that awesome. I think this matched or even topped the stage performance. Everyone was all over the place and being naughty. Mark was the star. I've always loved Rapp's voice and the "brothers" and "sisters" moments were joys. As was the moment when it was revealed the dog Angel killed belonged to Benny. I love the expression on Angel's face.
"I Should Tell You" reminded me a lot of Raoul and Christine's snowy rooftop scene "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera. But I like how the movie chose to separate them from the rest of the cast for the song.
"Season of Love" takes up the intermission through another clip show via Mark's camera. We lose "New Year's Eve" but got a few scenes of everyone in their zany outfits and quick shot of them breaking into the padlocked building, which was originally mentioned during the second half of "La Vie Boheme" in the play. Some additional bonding between Joanne and Mark as they work on Mark's career with Buzzline. Maureen and Joanne start showing signs of disagreement again, which leads to a touching scene where Maureen gives Joanne a ring and promises to be faithful.
I love the life partner ceremony if only for the irony of having "Take Me or Leave Me" happen there. It's great to see Maureen flirting right after her "wedding." The song itself has much more zest than the play's version and you can actually follow the fight and rise of tempers. Also another chance for Maureen and Joanne to strut their stuff and show up the couples of Rent. It's a fairly hot scene.
After some dispute between Roger and Mimi over Benny, "Without You" takes us through the state of our cast. We watch Mimi struggle through recovery from drugs and withdrawal, including a great scene where she attempts to buy again and Roger confronts her only to storm away disappointed. Also her gradual return to Benny. Obviously the Angel/Collins moments were hard since you could see Angel fading fast from moments of Collins just holding him to Angel being in the hospital with friends to Collins finally clutching Angel's dead body. I think this was more artistic than the play's "Contact," essentially an orgy that occurs right before Angel's death. Also the disappeaing of life support group members as the song went on. This was yet another moment where the play benefited from the extra abilities of film.
The funeral came very close to making me cry through the character speeches and Collins' rendition of "I'll Cover You." I was deeply saddened that "Goodbye Love" was cut short, lasting only through the initial shouting match between the characters. I feel a lot of the relationship between Mark and Roger is given during their dialogue in the play's version of "Goodbye Love." Also, considering Mimi and Roger brought up the backage thing during a pause in "La Vie Boheme," Mimi's line from the play, "You don't want backage without lifetime guarantees" no longer would work as well. It's funny to note that the movie soundtrack still lists this song as "Goodbye Love" even though the actual Goodbye Love part was removed from the movie. Mimi never says Goodbye Love in the movie.
Here, things get funky again, skipping "Halloween" and rushing through scenes during "What You Own." I dislike the method of this song immensely. "What You Own" is one of my favorite songs and moments from the play because I adore the Roger/Mark dynamic and this version really hinders that. It shows Roger suddenly selling back his guitar without any real reason. We lose the part where Collins and Roger discuss it later in a reprise of "Santa Fe." The movie only uses partial dialogue from the reprise. I also disapporve of the stupid scenes of him walking along either desert or the Grand Canyon. Again, an attempt to be showy that did not work out. I did like seeing him work on his song on the bus. However, Mark's side is handled well with his shooting for Buzzline and his working on his documentary. The last verse brings the two together and almost redeems the song as Mark and Roger watch each other with truly happy expressions. There's genuine emotion there and you just want to hug them both.
The problem with this handling of this portion of the story is that it brings the ending on the audience too quickly so that before they even realize it, everyone's frantically searching for Mimi and Joanne and Maureen are bringing her sick body to Roger. "Your Eyes" remains beautiful, but the whole "death and then not-dead thing has always bugged me about Rent. And wasn't Mimi supposed to moo when she woke up? Nice use of Mark's montage to close the movie.
Opinion:
Although it started shaking and had a few moments that just weren't up to snuff, I believe the movie did Rent justice and really improved on some things like the Collins/Angel relationship, the Maureen/Joanne/Mark relationship and the teasing familiarity of the gang. Again, "La Vie Boheme" really brought out exactly what a movie can accomplish.
Actors:
Both Mimi and Collins gave something new to their performance and were nothing but love.
Parting words:
Mark needs to get laid. The poor boy is always left behind with his camera.
1. For idiot Rent fangirls, respecting Collins/Angel is not so much about respecting art as respecting love. If you're going to support the couple for the sake of the play, at least have the balls to do it for the right reasons.
2. If you've already seen the play, telling me that you didn't have investment in the characters is BULL, as it's already ingrained in you. Only first-timers can make this claim.
3. You people need lives.
The Rundown:
I admit I was a bit concerned for the first bit of the movie. I thought the stage singing of "Seasons of Love" was off in a movie because of how fidgety everyone looked. They just wanted to get out and dance. The montage of New York City worked for Mark's introduction, but "Rent" was also one of my least favorite scenes. It was supposed to be cool with everyone burning their eviction notices at once, but it didn't feel smooth to me. It was very jerky. Mark's entrance on the bicycle was the best part just because bike-singing is cool. I also didn't get why Mark and Roger were burning their work just to pour it over the railing. Those weren't notice they were firing up. I thought they were burning their stuff for the heat. It all looked too forced and showy.
The dialogue around this point was also awkward. Although the production staff cut numerous transitional songs, they left in the rhyming dialogue, which was extremely jarring at times. This showed throughout the conversation with Benny. "You'll See Boys" still worked and Benny shone as he always does. I did think the song lost a bit of its humor by being done before Angel is introduced, meaning lines like "That boy could use some Prozac" or "I like boys. Boys like me" were lost. The scene where Angel finds Collins had its own style, separating it from the musical and allowing the audience to finally step into the movie realm.
The movie had another ridiculous moment when Roger ran up to the roof to sing "One Song Glory." Aside from that, the scene added some insight on Roger and April. I'm not a big fan of fadeouts and found them obnoxious, but the clips really gave a better view on Roger's state of mind, seeing him performing live, helping April shoot up and eventually reading the HIV notification with her. We jump into "Light My Candle," which also seemed off in a way I can't quite describe. However, Mimi's quirky personality saved it, with her in-your-face flirting and the way she stole back her drugs, slipping them from Roger's pocket during their dance. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a new Mimi, but the actress brought her own flare to the role. She was a much more spicy Mimi than the one I was used to.
Roger and Mark had some impromptu scenes that brought back the "movie" atmosphere. Love the calls but miss the bouncy, singing quality to them. Then Collins burst in with his "Merry Christmas, bitches" and I was sold from that point on. I did find Roger a bit too cheery during "Today 4 U." I remember him being more grumpy in the first half of the play. I also wasn't sure what to think of Angel's dance, but I recall experience the same thing at the Broadway showing so I won't knock the movie for that. Loved the teasing of Mark for rushing to Maureen's aid and the whole Joanne thing. "Tango Maureen" allowed for more characterization between Joanne and Mark than the play and the sense of rivalry was more ingrained as was Maureen's flirtatious behavior. Having an actual tango with the proper attire was beautiful, an example of what film can add to Broadway musical thanks to its special effects.
Not much to say about "Life Support," except that it wasn't properly linked with the later "Another Day." "Out Tonight" blew me away with Mimi's stiptease. WOW! "Another Day" brought in Collins, Angel and Mark since the life support group ensemble was removed, but the highlight was just seeing Roger belting out lyrics from the top floor to everyone on the street. It helped the sequence of the song make sense and showed Roger wanted Mimi to leave him be, while his friends argued otherwise. Wonderful transition to film. "Will I" gained some additional emotion by having Roger enter the life support meaning, after receiving Mark's advice about picking up Mimi at Maureen's show. I just love the emphasis on the buddiness between the main characters, and Collins is just adorable.
"Santa Fe" delighted me with Collins and Angel's play on the subway poles, looking absolutely cuddly. The movie Collins is so flexible and lithe. We go from that into "I'll Cover You," where the two continue to frolic down New York streets and take their cuteness to a level that even the play couldn't reach. The relationships in the movie really stole the show and this was one of its finest moments.
We lost "Christmas Bells" but managed to work in a Roger/Mimi moment, where he steals her from her dealer and apologizes. "Over the Moon" always frightens me, but Maureen was still beautiful, especially with her motorcycle entrance. I did like watching her futilely plead for control after a riot broke out and the gang all trying to rescue each other from the cops. A lot of stuff is interjected before "La Vie Boheme" so that the song isn't broken up, such as Mark's footage getting received, the riot, ect.
"La Vie Boheme" deserves its own paragraph because it was just that awesome. I think this matched or even topped the stage performance. Everyone was all over the place and being naughty. Mark was the star. I've always loved Rapp's voice and the "brothers" and "sisters" moments were joys. As was the moment when it was revealed the dog Angel killed belonged to Benny. I love the expression on Angel's face.
"I Should Tell You" reminded me a lot of Raoul and Christine's snowy rooftop scene "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera. But I like how the movie chose to separate them from the rest of the cast for the song.
"Season of Love" takes up the intermission through another clip show via Mark's camera. We lose "New Year's Eve" but got a few scenes of everyone in their zany outfits and quick shot of them breaking into the padlocked building, which was originally mentioned during the second half of "La Vie Boheme" in the play. Some additional bonding between Joanne and Mark as they work on Mark's career with Buzzline. Maureen and Joanne start showing signs of disagreement again, which leads to a touching scene where Maureen gives Joanne a ring and promises to be faithful.
I love the life partner ceremony if only for the irony of having "Take Me or Leave Me" happen there. It's great to see Maureen flirting right after her "wedding." The song itself has much more zest than the play's version and you can actually follow the fight and rise of tempers. Also another chance for Maureen and Joanne to strut their stuff and show up the couples of Rent. It's a fairly hot scene.
After some dispute between Roger and Mimi over Benny, "Without You" takes us through the state of our cast. We watch Mimi struggle through recovery from drugs and withdrawal, including a great scene where she attempts to buy again and Roger confronts her only to storm away disappointed. Also her gradual return to Benny. Obviously the Angel/Collins moments were hard since you could see Angel fading fast from moments of Collins just holding him to Angel being in the hospital with friends to Collins finally clutching Angel's dead body. I think this was more artistic than the play's "Contact," essentially an orgy that occurs right before Angel's death. Also the disappeaing of life support group members as the song went on. This was yet another moment where the play benefited from the extra abilities of film.
The funeral came very close to making me cry through the character speeches and Collins' rendition of "I'll Cover You." I was deeply saddened that "Goodbye Love" was cut short, lasting only through the initial shouting match between the characters. I feel a lot of the relationship between Mark and Roger is given during their dialogue in the play's version of "Goodbye Love." Also, considering Mimi and Roger brought up the backage thing during a pause in "La Vie Boheme," Mimi's line from the play, "You don't want backage without lifetime guarantees" no longer would work as well. It's funny to note that the movie soundtrack still lists this song as "Goodbye Love" even though the actual Goodbye Love part was removed from the movie. Mimi never says Goodbye Love in the movie.
Here, things get funky again, skipping "Halloween" and rushing through scenes during "What You Own." I dislike the method of this song immensely. "What You Own" is one of my favorite songs and moments from the play because I adore the Roger/Mark dynamic and this version really hinders that. It shows Roger suddenly selling back his guitar without any real reason. We lose the part where Collins and Roger discuss it later in a reprise of "Santa Fe." The movie only uses partial dialogue from the reprise. I also disapporve of the stupid scenes of him walking along either desert or the Grand Canyon. Again, an attempt to be showy that did not work out. I did like seeing him work on his song on the bus. However, Mark's side is handled well with his shooting for Buzzline and his working on his documentary. The last verse brings the two together and almost redeems the song as Mark and Roger watch each other with truly happy expressions. There's genuine emotion there and you just want to hug them both.
The problem with this handling of this portion of the story is that it brings the ending on the audience too quickly so that before they even realize it, everyone's frantically searching for Mimi and Joanne and Maureen are bringing her sick body to Roger. "Your Eyes" remains beautiful, but the whole "death and then not-dead thing has always bugged me about Rent. And wasn't Mimi supposed to moo when she woke up? Nice use of Mark's montage to close the movie.
Opinion:
Although it started shaking and had a few moments that just weren't up to snuff, I believe the movie did Rent justice and really improved on some things like the Collins/Angel relationship, the Maureen/Joanne/Mark relationship and the teasing familiarity of the gang. Again, "La Vie Boheme" really brought out exactly what a movie can accomplish.
Actors:
Both Mimi and Collins gave something new to their performance and were nothing but love.
Parting words:
Mark needs to get laid. The poor boy is always left behind with his camera.