RENT (WIDESCREEN)

I saw the movie in a beautiful theater in downtown San Francisco on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and was surprised to find so few people in the movie theater--maybe 75 of us, and the theater could have fit 500. I wonder if some of the lukewarm reviews haven't influenced people's decisions to go to RENT. Hope not, for I'm here to tell you, this movie is dynamite and IMHO much, much better than the play. For one thing, in the movie you can hear every word, even with the increased rock instrumentation, for hundreds of sound experts have worked their magic and made sure that even people underwater could hear every single syllable; whereas on stage, it depended from night to night what percentage of the lyrics were going to be coming across the temperamental sound system of the Nederlander (NYC).

I did miss Daphne Rubin-Vega who was incomparably sexy and chilling as Mimi, but I never believed her being in love, and Rosario Dawson looked like she was just 'playing' at being bad and underneath she was ready to fall in love as soon as she saw Roger through the window. Her scenes of addiction are captured in the movie effectively, in a rpaid montage that might disconcert some rentheads but will, I think, be easily understood by those new to the show.

Yes, some of the actors looked older than 20 somethings. But we forget that most of those who died of AIDS in the 1989-90 period were actually in their 30s. What's the big deal? To me, Angel's fate is all the more sad because he seemed to be healthy for so long and then, all of a sudden, well, any more would bring me into spoiler territory.

Idina Menzel is not as over the top as she is on stage, but there's still plenty of fire power there, and she's bigger than anything in the movies since the heyday of Betty Hutton! She looks remarkably beautiful and she doesn't miss a trick; and just when you think she'll overshadow Tracie Thoms as her attorney girlfriend, Joanne, the latter pulls off some memorable comic business and signals her disappointment and regret with her expressive brown eyes. Anthony Rapp is charming as Mark Cohen, he comes off as a tiny terror, I wonder how tall he is, the constant scenes of him snarking down the streets with his fists clenched in anger at his sides, but no one else around to reveal his true proportions--the old Alan Ladd trick. And Adam Pascal is suave and tormented in equal measures as Roger. His eyelashes are so long I expected them to have a special spotlights in the credits, but no.

These sentiments are vapid and, in the daylight, seem a little silly, but the beauty and power of the movie is to convince you of their truth. Good work all around. I hope the movie's an enormous success.

ADDICTIVE

I was born to love "Rent." Having grown up listening to my mother's record of "La Boheme" playing as she did her housework, I anxiously anticipated seeing the Broadway production when I was in New York in 1999. Although, it was superb, the movie version was so much more enjoyable to me, mainly because the words to the beautiful songs were clear and much more understandable. I realize Broadway is a one-shot deal and a movie can have countless takes on a scene, so I'm not putting down the play I loved in any way, just saying the movie was an easier and more enjoyable viewing experience.

From the spectacular opening scene where the full cast sings the beautiful "Seasons of Love," the stage is set for a glorious celebration of life, living it to the fullest, and enjoying every moment. Yes, there is heartbreak on the screen and many moist eyes in the theater, but this is mainly a joyful story of friendship, love, and reaching out to your fellow man.

The acting is superb, lovingly done by actors who obviously relate to their roles in a profound way. Wilson Jermaine excels as Angel, especially in the show-stopping "Today 4 U." Adam Pascal and Rosario Dawson are believable as the romantic leads and Jesse L. Martin will astound his "Law and Order" fans with his rich singing voice and dancing ability. All the cast is marvelous, the show is electric with its high-energy singing and dancing, and overall, the best movie I have seen in a long, long time. I will definitely get the DVD the day it is available.

What a disappointment

After seeing the Broadway show 3 time - I was sooooo disappointed with this movie. Most of the performances were excellent - Jesse, Anthony, Jesse, Trey and Wilson reprised there rolls from the play very well - I was surprised and though they are 11 years older they certainly did not look it.
10 stars has to go to Tracie Thoms the who played JoAnn was ABSOLUTELY incredible - she played the part as good as you can, it's funny as she auditioned for the part in the play over 8 times and never got it - her voice is beyond belief strong and clear.
GRIPES: Gripe # 1 Casting of Rosario Dawson as Mimi - SHE STUNK !! - her acting was awful and her inability to sing songs which were clearly not in her range bothered me to no end, this is probably the most important female part in the movie as well - YUK. 2nd gripe - Idina Medzel looked like she was 35 years old when the character is supposed to be her early 20's my my, Freddie Walker refused to do her role as JoAnn due to her age/appearence - Idina should have followed suit - what a fopa !! 3rd gripe - the Music was WAY overproduced - the producer was the producer of green days "American Idiot" - it was overdone - it did not retain the punch and pop that I think it should have. 4th gripe - screen play was terribly written the songs did not fit the story line properly as they kinda rewrote the actual play which I understand it necessary but I don't think it was done well. This is probably the greatest musical play of our generation - it's a shame Chris Columbus ( who I think is great )and all involved couldn't make Larsens story come across more accurately. Clearly by ticket sales of the movie were poor. Think about it the play has toured the world dozens of times, been on smash hit on Broadway for 11 years and has been performed in over 20 countries in over a dozen languages. Obviously the movie does not come close to capturing the essence of the play. I wish it was done well so it would have been a blockbuster like the adaptation of Chicago and Dream Girls was, but alas for the most part stunk !!! - Go to Broadway or see the tour when it comes to your state - don't waste your time with the movie. 5 out of 10 stars.

RENT = Cultural Phenom

I LOVE this movie because it helps people realize that "no matter what horrible, painful times one goes through in life there will always be people who care for you and love you to be there for you when you're down". RENT is brilliantly written and the music is some of the best (and most powerful) on Broadway and in the known world for that matter! It has a diverse crowd of characters who each go through his or her own struggles while not letting themselves get brought down and always living life to their fullest. Along with all of this, RENT has a ton of different themse throughout the movie! There's the theme of "fight for what you believe in". Also, "Live For Today" and to "be yourself and not to be ashamed of who you are or where you came from". RENT is the MOST POWERFUL AND MOVING FILM THAT I HAVE EVER WATCHED!!! It has affected my life in more ways than I can explain!

Yes, there are those of you out there that will dog on the movie version of RENT just because it's a Broadway musical and it belongs on Broadway and not in the movie theaters. However, the way that director Chris Columbus made the movie was almost exactly like the Broadway show. The only thing he did slightly different was he left out two of the songs that didn't have much relavence to the story and he made more of the words that were originally sung into spoken ones. I mean, come on, it's a movie so he had to do that stuff!

For those of you who don't know who the mastermind behind RENT is... well, it's Jonathan Larson. He has written what is now a PULITZER and TONY AWARD WINNING MUSICAL! He created a new genre of Broadway musical theatre! RENT is also ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING SHOWS ON BROADWAY! Unfortunately, Jonathan Larson died the night before the opening day of RENT on Broadway and never got to claim his fame. Along with the 2-disc special edition dvd there is a ton of amazing extras including an incredible documentary/story of Jonathan's life and of how RENT began and is still continueing on today.

Overall I'd say that.... YOU MUST BE CRAZY IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS MOVIE! -- just my opinion. :)

Rent - The Movie

This 2 disc DVD is simply fantastic! Love Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Tracie Thoms, Jessie L. Martin and Rosario Dawson in these roles!!!! Every time I see this I love it more and more. Bonus features and extras make it worth it. Just would like to ask director why he did not keep the deleted scenes in the film - would have been completely on the mark if he'd kept them in. However, RENT is worth seeing again or for the first time. The songs are happily stuck in my head forever!!!