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RENT (2005)

Cast: Anthony Rapp, Mark Cohen, Adam Pascal, Roger Davis, Rosario Dawson, Mimi Marquez, Jesse L. Martin, Tom Collins, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Angel Dumott Schunard, Idina Menzel, Maureen Johnson, Tracie Thoms, Joanne Jefferson, Taye Diggs, and Benjamin Coffin III

RENT - A mixed stay.

RENT, the greatest rock and roll musical of all time has hit the big screen finally after years of troubled scripts and at least three different directors (And more than that rumored). Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee both failed to take it to the big screen and it has been said to be un-filmable by many fans of the show. So what cinematic genius finally is able to turn the Pulitzer winning masterpiece it into a movie adaptation? Chris Columbus? Okay sometimes you have to settle in life.

The result is a mixed bag. On stage the musical is often touted as being a musical for nonmusical fans. The sheer emotion of it hits like a ton of bricks and leaves the entire audience standing for what seems like forever in applause. RENT is without a doubt the greatest rock musical with nothing coming close (Grease? Rocky Horror? Please!). On film, however, the movie suffers a bastardized Hollywood style cut-up (Don’t be fooled by Moulin Rouge or Chicago Hollywood has been bad at making musicals since the ‘60’s).

The worst part of the film version is literally the majority of songs have been cut. The fact that Mark (Anthony Rapp) no longer sings “Halloween” and we don’t get to here Mimi shouting “Goodbye love…hello disease” leaves the characters much less developed than on stage. The music in the stage version IS the story unlike on film where much of it is changed into dialogue.

RENT is an adaptation of the classic opera “La Boheme” perhaps Puccini’s most performed work. Instead of being in the turn of the Twentieth century though it takes place at the turn of the twenty-first. Instead of seeing artists dying of Tuberculosis we see them dying of AIDS. We follow them living their lives as filmmakers, dancers, musicians and actors and see them being evicted by a one-time friend turned landlord Bennie (Taye Diggs in the role that made him famous on Broadway). Forced to pay more rent than they could afford if they had ten times their money they are forced to wonder how they will survive.

Life goes on however for the tenants. The HIV positive Roger Davis (Adam Pascal) the films protagonist tries to write the one song for which he will be remembered. In the meantime Mimi Marquez, a drug-addicted stripper, (Rosario Dawson) watches him from afar. Roger, not wanting to relive his past as an addict rejects her on first meeting. However Mimi finally reaches him by telling him that there is “No Day But Today” in the film (and stage show’s) most powerful song. The two begin a rocky relationship that seems destined to fail.

At the same time Roger’s roommate Mark Cohen shoots a documentary about the homeless and AIDS. This includes following their former roommate Collins (Jesse L. Martin) and his lover Angel (Wilson Jermaine Herrida giving the films most powerful performance) both also HIV positive and his ex-girlfriend turned lesbian Maureen (Idenia Menzel Diggs’ real life wife and Wicked Star) and her new lover, the laywer Joanne (Tracie Thoms).

There are plot points aplenty in the film and there is undoubtedly a lot to be celebrated. The musical numbers come alive with exceptional singing and musicianship. However the missing songs hurt the shows pace a lot. There are many points the musical makes that the movie glosses over. The chemistry between the characters though is still there.

All in all the film is worth your time and money, but RENT deserves much better. Columbus is not a great director and he seems clueless on how to make anything that seems original. The film still has a lot of the emotion of the show but not the energy and comic flair. A lot of the performances are stagy and not film read.

However Dawson, Thoms and Heredia give such strong performances that it’s impossible to ignore their talents. Heredia won a Tony on Broadway and it’s easy to see why.

However if you have the choice, see the show live instead, especially if you don’t like musicals. The show is much better than any of Andrew Lloyd what’s his names billon dollar extravaganzas.

Too bad the movie couldn’t live up to the stage version.

By Joseph Chastain

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