Time for my Rent Review
Ok folks! As I promised I will now review Rent for all those of you who are dying to hear my opinion about the movie (all .5 of you I know but at least help me feel a little special)
I will put this in a cut so it doesn't take up a large portion of your friends page.
When I first heard that Rent was coming to film I was exstatic. Most people in the Ferris Drama department could quote Rent at the drop of a hat, myself included, so I was pretty stoked. Leading up to the movie I did feel kinda cheated cause I hadn't gotten to see Rent as it was originally intended to be seen, on the stage, but that became a rather moot point once the movie started.
I thought putting Season's of Love at the very beginning of the movie was an excellent idea. It kept the song as it has always been performed in the show (or so I've been told) and establishes the theme of Rent right off. Loved that part. As the movie went off I was totally caught up in the story of it all. The story is excellent and I give Christopher Columbus and Stephen Chbosky props for having the guts to keep Rent as close to the original stage show as they did. Yes I haven't seen the show but I've heard the soundtrack enough to know which song's being quoted when there isn't music. I was quite impressed with their guts.
I also really appreciated their choice of music that they kept from the original Broadway show. They took out the unnecessary sung lines from the original show. Taking out things like the Tune-ups and the voicemail songs was a good thing I thought. Although hearing Mark's parents phone call was absolutly hilarious. I was glad to see almost all of my favorite songs from the soundtrack in the movie. The only song missing was Halloween, but that's apparently on the Movie Soundtrack so part of me wonders if that may be added as an extended scene on the DVD release or a deleted scene later? We shall see.
My biggest props for acting has to go to Jesse L. Martin for his role as Tom Collins. I did not know that Law & Order man could sing like that! Not only did he sing amazingly well but he had one of the most heartwrenching performances I've ever seen as the one losing the lover. The "I'll Cover You (reprise)" song during Angel's funeral nearly brought tears to my eyes. I also really appreciated the chemistry between Jesse L. Martin and Wilson Heredia (Angel) was incredible. I don't know the sexual preference of Jesse L. Martin or Wilson Heredia but they made it look like they were really in love. I was impressed much by that, alot. I was also very impressed with the performance of Tracie Thomas. She had some definite soul in her that made Joanne one of my favorite characters to watch on screen. I also loved, loved, loved! The voice of Rosario Dawson. She has some amazing pipes on her that breathed new life into "Without You" and "Out Tonight." The acting overall was pretty well. I was afraid that some of the actors, being broadway actors, wouldn't have the strength needed to carry a movie, and that only showed a few times. Mainly whenever Anthony Rapp was dancing on the screne he tended to go over the top as you're supposed ot on stage, but it seemed to be a bit much on camera.
Overall, an amazingly well done production. I couldn't have asked for a better experience for my first time seeing my favorite Broadway show. Great story, great music, great vision and direction, and most of all a great message.
Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars
I will put this in a cut so it doesn't take up a large portion of your friends page.
When I first heard that Rent was coming to film I was exstatic. Most people in the Ferris Drama department could quote Rent at the drop of a hat, myself included, so I was pretty stoked. Leading up to the movie I did feel kinda cheated cause I hadn't gotten to see Rent as it was originally intended to be seen, on the stage, but that became a rather moot point once the movie started.
I thought putting Season's of Love at the very beginning of the movie was an excellent idea. It kept the song as it has always been performed in the show (or so I've been told) and establishes the theme of Rent right off. Loved that part. As the movie went off I was totally caught up in the story of it all. The story is excellent and I give Christopher Columbus and Stephen Chbosky props for having the guts to keep Rent as close to the original stage show as they did. Yes I haven't seen the show but I've heard the soundtrack enough to know which song's being quoted when there isn't music. I was quite impressed with their guts.
I also really appreciated their choice of music that they kept from the original Broadway show. They took out the unnecessary sung lines from the original show. Taking out things like the Tune-ups and the voicemail songs was a good thing I thought. Although hearing Mark's parents phone call was absolutly hilarious. I was glad to see almost all of my favorite songs from the soundtrack in the movie. The only song missing was Halloween, but that's apparently on the Movie Soundtrack so part of me wonders if that may be added as an extended scene on the DVD release or a deleted scene later? We shall see.
My biggest props for acting has to go to Jesse L. Martin for his role as Tom Collins. I did not know that Law & Order man could sing like that! Not only did he sing amazingly well but he had one of the most heartwrenching performances I've ever seen as the one losing the lover. The "I'll Cover You (reprise)" song during Angel's funeral nearly brought tears to my eyes. I also really appreciated the chemistry between Jesse L. Martin and Wilson Heredia (Angel) was incredible. I don't know the sexual preference of Jesse L. Martin or Wilson Heredia but they made it look like they were really in love. I was impressed much by that, alot. I was also very impressed with the performance of Tracie Thomas. She had some definite soul in her that made Joanne one of my favorite characters to watch on screen. I also loved, loved, loved! The voice of Rosario Dawson. She has some amazing pipes on her that breathed new life into "Without You" and "Out Tonight." The acting overall was pretty well. I was afraid that some of the actors, being broadway actors, wouldn't have the strength needed to carry a movie, and that only showed a few times. Mainly whenever Anthony Rapp was dancing on the screne he tended to go over the top as you're supposed ot on stage, but it seemed to be a bit much on camera.
Overall, an amazingly well done production. I couldn't have asked for a better experience for my first time seeing my favorite Broadway show. Great story, great music, great vision and direction, and most of all a great message.
Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars