Rent (a.k.a. I heart trannies, a.k.a. HAPPY TURKEY DAY!)
This is going to be another boring movie review, so I recommend that you take your turkey-filled selves away from the following and pursue more pleasurable activities, i.e. belching or Facebook-stalking.
Having never actually seen the stage version of Rent, I had little idea of what to expect when I went in to see the film. I had a feeling that I might hate it, since it was directed by Chris Columbus, but then another part of me strongly believed that I would enjoy it, if only because I knew Idina Menzel would be reprising her role as Maureen and I have a mild girl-crush on her (JUST KIDDING.) So. What actually ended up happening was that I had some pretty mixed feelings. Here's why:
Chris Columbus has a cheese problem. He cannot stop infusing his films with absurd amounts of cheese. As soon as we start to approach something moderately serious, he feels the need to throw in a little cheese to lighten the mood. Unfortunately for him, Rent has plenty of serious moments, which of course needed to be immediately drowned in Velveeta in order to avoid distressing viewers of delicate constitution. I found myself being submerged in cheese from beginning to end, i.e. the slow-pan in "La Vie Boheme", the montage in "Without You", Mimi's PG-rated S&M dance during "Out Tonight"...the list goes on. I wanted to laugh during the "Tango" sequence: was it really necessary to zoom in on Mark and Joanne's faces like that? And the little eyebrow-raise? And then the whole "uber-sexy" dance/dream sequence...I didn't know whether to crack up or barf.
Don't get me wrong. I really, really, really enjoyed Rent, if only because I'm crazy about the music and it was exciting to see it performed on screen (especially with a large portion of the original Broadway cast). Some sequences were pulled off brilliantly ("One Song Glory" was a highlight), but I felt that weak transitions between scenes and a certain lack of cohesion brought the film down. For example, one of my favorite numbers ("I'll Cover You") literally appeared out of NOWHERE, with no segue from the previous scene and no transition into the next. As a result, the number had less of an impact since none of the surrounding plot material supported it. Stuff like that irritated me alot. As did Roger's cheesy trip to Santa Fe: did he borrow that cliff from that one Britney Spears video? The one where she's wearing the really low-rise jeans? (I think it's "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman").
Anyway, as I said, I didn't hate the film. It had its strong points, but it could have been alot more powerful in the hands of a more capable director. The score, story, and cast of Rent deserve better than what Columbus can give them.
Having never actually seen the stage version of Rent, I had little idea of what to expect when I went in to see the film. I had a feeling that I might hate it, since it was directed by Chris Columbus, but then another part of me strongly believed that I would enjoy it, if only because I knew Idina Menzel would be reprising her role as Maureen and I have a mild girl-crush on her (JUST KIDDING.) So. What actually ended up happening was that I had some pretty mixed feelings. Here's why:
Chris Columbus has a cheese problem. He cannot stop infusing his films with absurd amounts of cheese. As soon as we start to approach something moderately serious, he feels the need to throw in a little cheese to lighten the mood. Unfortunately for him, Rent has plenty of serious moments, which of course needed to be immediately drowned in Velveeta in order to avoid distressing viewers of delicate constitution. I found myself being submerged in cheese from beginning to end, i.e. the slow-pan in "La Vie Boheme", the montage in "Without You", Mimi's PG-rated S&M dance during "Out Tonight"...the list goes on. I wanted to laugh during the "Tango" sequence: was it really necessary to zoom in on Mark and Joanne's faces like that? And the little eyebrow-raise? And then the whole "uber-sexy" dance/dream sequence...I didn't know whether to crack up or barf.
Don't get me wrong. I really, really, really enjoyed Rent, if only because I'm crazy about the music and it was exciting to see it performed on screen (especially with a large portion of the original Broadway cast). Some sequences were pulled off brilliantly ("One Song Glory" was a highlight), but I felt that weak transitions between scenes and a certain lack of cohesion brought the film down. For example, one of my favorite numbers ("I'll Cover You") literally appeared out of NOWHERE, with no segue from the previous scene and no transition into the next. As a result, the number had less of an impact since none of the surrounding plot material supported it. Stuff like that irritated me alot. As did Roger's cheesy trip to Santa Fe: did he borrow that cliff from that one Britney Spears video? The one where she's wearing the really low-rise jeans? (I think it's "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman").
Anyway, as I said, I didn't hate the film. It had its strong points, but it could have been alot more powerful in the hands of a more capable director. The score, story, and cast of Rent deserve better than what Columbus can give them.