Gemini Cricket
11-23-2005, 02:37 PM
‘Rent’
by GC
When I saw Chris Columbus’ take on the ‘Santa Fe’ song scene on ‘Regis and Kelly’ the other day my eager anticipation for the movie version of ‘Rent’ almost went away. It’s a comedic number that breaks up some of the serious moments in the movie with the Tom Collins character goofing around with his friends on the New York subway. The scene is too brightly lit, everyone has pasted smiles on their faces and Adam Pascal’s hair (which almost resembles a wig from the ‘Carol Burnett Show’ at times) almost steals the show. The song, not one of my favorites from the stage version, is sung well but the scene is pure cheese. Showing that scene above all others was a poor choice for ‘Regis’. This scene must have turned a lot of people off from ‘Rent’, luckily I was not one of them.
Chris Columbus’ ‘Rent’ was a good film. Not the best musical ever, not the most well shot film ever but it held its own and retained a lot of the poignant moments the stage version had, but this time we got to see it up close. What straight woman or gay man wouldn’t want to see Adam ‘mega long eyelashes’ Pascal singing ‘Your Eyes’ up close?
Lately, whenever I hear about some studio making a musical, I must admit it makes me physically ill. It’s a serious condition I developed almost ten years ago while watching Madonna’s big screen take on ‘Evita’. Don’t get me wrong, this man loves the Material Girl, but the first pains struck five minutes into the film when Antonio Banderas gives the camera a coy look from his seat at a bar and sings, “Oh what a circoos, oh what a show…” I knew then that this was going to be a bad film. The characters were going to look at the camera and acknowledge us not as mere observers but as part of the show. Think of it as the ‘Come on, everybody join in, you’re one of us’ syndrome. But this style never works and comes off as pure cheese whiz. On Broadway, if the cast sings to you it is to be expected and usually ends up being fun. But not many actors can pull this off on film. A Mel Brooks cast could get away with that, the first lady of Argentina not so much. (I also knew it was going to be bad when Banderas began singing with his accent. This, I suppose, could not be avoided.) Thankfully, Columbus did not use this technique in ‘Rent’ yet he did not go the clear cut ‘all songs happen for a reason’ staging as was done with Best Picture ‘Chicago’ to show us that this was all in Roxie’s head. What he did was safely between the two and it works.
For an avid Renthead like myself who could not get to see the original cast, ‘Rent’ was a treat. My copy of the CD soundtrack to the Broadway show is almost worn out and I have seen it twice with excellent casts but the curiosity of watching the original cast’s take on it loomed. This alone made the film worth seeing. These talented actors were cast for a reason on Broadway and was proven to us by the film. Anthony Rapp is hysterical in this film. Sticking out like a sore thumb hanging with partnered couples, Mark exudes confidence and self certainty when everything that happens to him tells him not to. Great advice for everyone. Adam Pascal is a good singer and pretty to boot. He is almost perfect as the film Roger. A little too elated and less dark than perceived on stage, Roger could have brooded more, we would have watched. The highlight of the cast was the amazing Jesse L. Martin. He has the right amount of bumble, tenderness and gloom just under the surface of Tom Collins to make one rivoted to his performance. His comedic takes during the ‘Santa Fe’ scene is only successful in context with the rest of the film. On its own, it looks like Martin indulged in too many Tom Collins drinks. Rosario Dawson is great as Mimi. Although not as powerful vocally as Daphne Rubin-Vega, Broadway’s original Mimi, Dawson makes up for it by taking us on a drug inspired rollercoaster ride that is all too realistic. Her ‘Out Tonight’ dance number is excellent and exactly how I envisioned the movie version to be. I appreciated the fact that Columbus didn’t water-down the provocative dancing to try and appease the MPAA. The choreography was dead-on appropriate.
The opening song, ‘Seasons of Love’ has been transplanted from the middle of the show to the very beginning. This move was brilliant. A great introduction to the film and all the characters. Unfortunately, this song although beautiful has been played ad nauseum on commercials for the film itself. The studio would be wise to replace the song in future ads.
The song ‘Rent’ is staged with great intensity as is ‘Another Day’ and ‘What You Own’. The extra-amplified speakers in my particular theatre was a treat. Although, the soundtrack seemed a tad too loud in places. The show stopper and definite highlight to this film is ‘La Vie Boheme’. It is high intensity and powerful. And, after hearing that the cast spent a week and a half to two weeks on the same song, it paid off well being one of the best parts of the film. The best being Martin’s reprise of ‘I’ll Cover You’. Martin’s singing is heart-wrenching, powerful and joyous all at the same time.
‘Rent’ although a fine film, has some off moments sadly. ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ is staged at an engagement party and under no circumstances would anything remotely close to it occur in real life without both parties in question being committed. I appreciated the director’s take on gay marriage, but that too felt added on to be timely. This song is one of the highlights of the stage show, not so much on film. ‘Tango: Maureen’ worked when the number was about Mark and Joanne’s commonality. When the number turned into a full scale choreography orgy, it made me place my hands firmly on the sides of my face and scream. Nice idea, Columbus, but a tad bit over the top. Anthony Rapp is extremely funny and not in need of fifty dancers to be amusing. “You’ll See” could have been redefined into spoken dialogue. The camera during this portion dwelled on Benny’s Land Rover and an uninteresting street scene. Boring.
As a gay man, I appreciate ‘Rent’ in all of its forms. The fact that this film is even being shown makes me happy. Portraying gays and lesbians as actual human beings with heart and soul makes me a proud Renthead queen. I mean, what other film has a gay love song and a lesbian sort-of love song in it? Not only that, it’s wonderful to watch a film where the gay characters are not hairdressers, only there for comic relief or unpleasant restaurant hosts...
While not a hit out of the park, the film ‘Rent’ succees more often than not. One should see this film in a theatre to experience the sound, it makes you feel like you’re at a concert. And ‘La Vie Boheme’ should be watched with the sound loud in a place where your neighbors can’t fault you for your upped volume. I found myself engrossed in the goings on of the Alphabet City bohemians and forgot I was watching a film after awhile. I guess they succeeded where ‘Evita’ did not. They made me feel like I was one of them and had joined in on the circus, without force feeding me.
:)
by GC
When I saw Chris Columbus’ take on the ‘Santa Fe’ song scene on ‘Regis and Kelly’ the other day my eager anticipation for the movie version of ‘Rent’ almost went away. It’s a comedic number that breaks up some of the serious moments in the movie with the Tom Collins character goofing around with his friends on the New York subway. The scene is too brightly lit, everyone has pasted smiles on their faces and Adam Pascal’s hair (which almost resembles a wig from the ‘Carol Burnett Show’ at times) almost steals the show. The song, not one of my favorites from the stage version, is sung well but the scene is pure cheese. Showing that scene above all others was a poor choice for ‘Regis’. This scene must have turned a lot of people off from ‘Rent’, luckily I was not one of them.
Chris Columbus’ ‘Rent’ was a good film. Not the best musical ever, not the most well shot film ever but it held its own and retained a lot of the poignant moments the stage version had, but this time we got to see it up close. What straight woman or gay man wouldn’t want to see Adam ‘mega long eyelashes’ Pascal singing ‘Your Eyes’ up close?
Lately, whenever I hear about some studio making a musical, I must admit it makes me physically ill. It’s a serious condition I developed almost ten years ago while watching Madonna’s big screen take on ‘Evita’. Don’t get me wrong, this man loves the Material Girl, but the first pains struck five minutes into the film when Antonio Banderas gives the camera a coy look from his seat at a bar and sings, “Oh what a circoos, oh what a show…” I knew then that this was going to be a bad film. The characters were going to look at the camera and acknowledge us not as mere observers but as part of the show. Think of it as the ‘Come on, everybody join in, you’re one of us’ syndrome. But this style never works and comes off as pure cheese whiz. On Broadway, if the cast sings to you it is to be expected and usually ends up being fun. But not many actors can pull this off on film. A Mel Brooks cast could get away with that, the first lady of Argentina not so much. (I also knew it was going to be bad when Banderas began singing with his accent. This, I suppose, could not be avoided.) Thankfully, Columbus did not use this technique in ‘Rent’ yet he did not go the clear cut ‘all songs happen for a reason’ staging as was done with Best Picture ‘Chicago’ to show us that this was all in Roxie’s head. What he did was safely between the two and it works.
For an avid Renthead like myself who could not get to see the original cast, ‘Rent’ was a treat. My copy of the CD soundtrack to the Broadway show is almost worn out and I have seen it twice with excellent casts but the curiosity of watching the original cast’s take on it loomed. This alone made the film worth seeing. These talented actors were cast for a reason on Broadway and was proven to us by the film. Anthony Rapp is hysterical in this film. Sticking out like a sore thumb hanging with partnered couples, Mark exudes confidence and self certainty when everything that happens to him tells him not to. Great advice for everyone. Adam Pascal is a good singer and pretty to boot. He is almost perfect as the film Roger. A little too elated and less dark than perceived on stage, Roger could have brooded more, we would have watched. The highlight of the cast was the amazing Jesse L. Martin. He has the right amount of bumble, tenderness and gloom just under the surface of Tom Collins to make one rivoted to his performance. His comedic takes during the ‘Santa Fe’ scene is only successful in context with the rest of the film. On its own, it looks like Martin indulged in too many Tom Collins drinks. Rosario Dawson is great as Mimi. Although not as powerful vocally as Daphne Rubin-Vega, Broadway’s original Mimi, Dawson makes up for it by taking us on a drug inspired rollercoaster ride that is all too realistic. Her ‘Out Tonight’ dance number is excellent and exactly how I envisioned the movie version to be. I appreciated the fact that Columbus didn’t water-down the provocative dancing to try and appease the MPAA. The choreography was dead-on appropriate.
The opening song, ‘Seasons of Love’ has been transplanted from the middle of the show to the very beginning. This move was brilliant. A great introduction to the film and all the characters. Unfortunately, this song although beautiful has been played ad nauseum on commercials for the film itself. The studio would be wise to replace the song in future ads.
The song ‘Rent’ is staged with great intensity as is ‘Another Day’ and ‘What You Own’. The extra-amplified speakers in my particular theatre was a treat. Although, the soundtrack seemed a tad too loud in places. The show stopper and definite highlight to this film is ‘La Vie Boheme’. It is high intensity and powerful. And, after hearing that the cast spent a week and a half to two weeks on the same song, it paid off well being one of the best parts of the film. The best being Martin’s reprise of ‘I’ll Cover You’. Martin’s singing is heart-wrenching, powerful and joyous all at the same time.
‘Rent’ although a fine film, has some off moments sadly. ‘Take Me or Leave Me’ is staged at an engagement party and under no circumstances would anything remotely close to it occur in real life without both parties in question being committed. I appreciated the director’s take on gay marriage, but that too felt added on to be timely. This song is one of the highlights of the stage show, not so much on film. ‘Tango: Maureen’ worked when the number was about Mark and Joanne’s commonality. When the number turned into a full scale choreography orgy, it made me place my hands firmly on the sides of my face and scream. Nice idea, Columbus, but a tad bit over the top. Anthony Rapp is extremely funny and not in need of fifty dancers to be amusing. “You’ll See” could have been redefined into spoken dialogue. The camera during this portion dwelled on Benny’s Land Rover and an uninteresting street scene. Boring.
As a gay man, I appreciate ‘Rent’ in all of its forms. The fact that this film is even being shown makes me happy. Portraying gays and lesbians as actual human beings with heart and soul makes me a proud Renthead queen. I mean, what other film has a gay love song and a lesbian sort-of love song in it? Not only that, it’s wonderful to watch a film where the gay characters are not hairdressers, only there for comic relief or unpleasant restaurant hosts...
While not a hit out of the park, the film ‘Rent’ succees more often than not. One should see this film in a theatre to experience the sound, it makes you feel like you’re at a concert. And ‘La Vie Boheme’ should be watched with the sound loud in a place where your neighbors can’t fault you for your upped volume. I found myself engrossed in the goings on of the Alphabet City bohemians and forgot I was watching a film after awhile. I guess they succeeded where ‘Evita’ did not. They made me feel like I was one of them and had joined in on the circus, without force feeding me.
:)