Hmm. So the success of a film is determined by how well it does in the box office? Or how well it's reviewed on rt.com? I disagree. There have been a number of crap films that have made lots and lots of money and great films that bomb financially. rt.com is at 51% rotten and 51% fresh as of this posting.
Jesse L. Martin was a stage actor first. He got his screen jobs because of his exposure doing 'Rent' onstage.
I'm not saying that this film is perfect. But I liked it. That makes it a good film. 'Cinderella Man' did crap in the theatres, but it's a fine film. CM is one of my favorites this year. 'Mr & Mrs Smith' did $186 mil... Bleh, that film sucked!
Granted, the film would have been better if it had been helmed by the 'Chicago' director, but 'Chicago' is quite different from the theatre version. I like both.
The characters aren't deep but I think they were there to represent a little of everyone out there. (Straight man, gay man, straight woman, lesbian, with AIDS, without AIDS, musician, dancer, filmmaker, activist, non-artist, sell-out...) Someone you're supposed to relate to. They are also based on the characters in Puccini's 'La Boheme'. I have never seen it in person, but have watched a DVD on it and listen to the music often... it's wonderful.
I stick to what I said about close mindedness and the audiences here in America. As for 'Rent' being a little gay... uh, it was muy gay. 4 gay main characters (one in drag), 2 gay love songs, gay kissing (not implied, in plain view yay!)... for a mainstream film that's a lot. I would have hated for that to be downplayed or ignored by any director.
I was expecting the film version to be much, much worse. So I went in expecting to be disappointed and wasn't.
And of my favorite sections of 'Rent' on film was 'La Vie Boheme'. The cafe is an oasis for all the characters to let go and have fun (except for Benny, but, boy, how nice would it have been to see him without his shirt on dancing on a table... but I digress). If you're broke and living in a crappy loft with AIDS, when a drag queen enters and pays your way to go have fun do it and do it loud.
