(M) RENT (Columbus, 2005)
Grade: B

Upon watching the movie I realized something that I might have already known but had never hit me: the plot is not the strongest aspect in this musical. I am a HUGE fan of this musical because of the characters, the music and its' central theme of family, friendship and love. That being said, I can see why movie-goers may be put off by this film especially if you are not familiar with the musical.

Here are my thoughts as a RENT fan:

The Story: I thought this film was a good interpretation of the musical, which I've seen 5, count 'em, 5 times. The scenes that were added or reworked with dialogue made the plot a little easier to understand, which unfortunately revealed that there wasn't really much plot to begin with. Watching the live musical, everything is happening so fast that you just focus on the music and performances, you let the plot slide and enjoy the entertainment. Listening to the soundtrack on CD you just flip to your favorite song and get lost in it. At the movies, you expect a "good story" and some may be disappointed with RENT's story.

The Music: Two songs were cut out from this film, and for good reason. "Christamas Bells" was in itself a very confusing song to begin with because it had overlapping lyrics, different things happening "on stage" and it was easier to add in story to replace the song. I love this song because of all the craziness within it, but I understand why they removed it. "Contact" is basically a song about sex and is more of a performance piece better appreciated on stage.

Overall the music was almost as great as the original renditions. My only complaint is that the power of some songs were lacking because it was a film. Songs like "Will I" and "Without you", which are powerful moving songs when performed live fell short for me in the film, so I was disappointed. The montages during the songs were a treat because they added another perspective on the interpretation of the songs.

The Cast: Rosario Dawson(Mimi) and Jesse L. Martin(Tom Collins) shine in this movie. I was initially worried that Rosario Dawson, who is not an original cast member, would not be able to pull off the songs, but her acting more than made up for her less powerful voice. Tracie Thoms(another newcomer) was also surprisingly good as Joanne.

I REALLY wish Adam Pascal(Roger) would have worn his hair short because he looks like Jon Bon Jovi with that haircut. The rest of the cast played all their parts well.

Cheese Factor: The random tango dream sequence during "Tango Maureen" was bizarre and the "I'll Cover You" scene is much less cheesy onstage.

Other thoughts: I spoke to two people who had never seen the play. One friend (for those of you that know her), Shareesh, had NO idea what the movie was going to be about when she saw it. She just knew that I loved the musical. And she did not like it because of the plot and all the singing.....hello? it's a musical. My other friend said she liked it, the songs were catchy and it was entertaining. But even so, she also complained of the constant singing. So those two probably wouldn't like musicals in general. My cousin who has seen the musical said, "It sucked." I still don't understand how anyone could be a fan of the musical and say that this movie sucked. I'm not saying it was an awesome, spectacular movie, but I wouldn't go straight to "suck."

Finally, my friend said that 5 or 6 people walked out of the theater when she watched the movie. I personally think that people may have been mislead by the previews and they didn't know it was a "musical" or that it was about drugs, sex, AIDS, and "gasp!" gay people.

Sorry this was so long. I had a lot to say and I'm making up for not blogging as often as you all do. :)