Rent

I must admit to being slightly puzzled over the disappointment that manifested itself as Rent opened in theatres. On the whole, it seems that most of the disappointment comes from those who fell in love with the theatrical production surely now almost 10 years past its prime. Considering that, I must confess that I never saw the stage show and thus had no preconceptions beyond these stamp words: "musical" and "NYC" as I cuddled into the theatre seat a day after taking the GREs for the second time.

The experience was entirely weird -- the experience of being on the outside of a movement, as it were, and looking it. For the past 5 years I have very much been on the inside of book to movie adaptations - deeply ensconced in the worlds so recently brought to cinema. From my obsessive love Lord of the Rings to my temporarily grudging understanding of Harry Potter, I was at the forefront of those who knew the pages that were translated to voice and movement. There was nothing, absolutely nothing in my head about Rent. I have only recently discovered musicals as a film genre and it was only when I was in London two summers ago that I finally saw onstage musicals (a fantastic production of Phantom and a so-so take on Les Mis). And, yeah, I so totally love musicals now.

To say the least, then, Rent was to be a new experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed the reawakening of the musical in movies -- although I maintain my unvouched for hatred of Moulin Rogue. The movie to be seen that afternoon was actually undecided -- quite the toss up between Rent and Jarhead. So, naturally, I asked the girl's sister and she told me to go see Rent. I acquiesced both to scout the movie for her and to satisfy my desire for a musical - a desire whose strength I just couldn't determine as greater or less than that to see Sam Mendes' treatment of War.

Thanks Ab: Hot damn, I liked it!

Chris Columbus is not my favorite director, by any stretch of the imagination. I feel he, unequivocally, "ruined" the first two Harry Potter movies. His direction here isn't sparkling, nor does he even come close to his desire to create "the greatest thing [he's] ever done." But, all that said, Columbus created a terse, tense, warm environment with some inspired shots which, while standing side by side the plethora of stock and standard camera angles, sparkled with a wee bit of life.

Rent started out gloriously with a stage rendition of "Seasons of Love." The melodies and the lyrics brought me right into the heart and purpose of the movie. I love voice and I love the stage, so I was hooked from the first chord.

I adored the love story between Angel and Collins. I was delighted by the creation of Angel -- not only her character but also her interaction with the others. ["Today 4 U" was one of those moments that was filled with tremendous amounts of giggles.] There was a simplicity and an understanding that was so poignant and loving that I just got caught up in it. Angel's song, dance, and rhythm were simply lovely standing beside Collins. "I'll Cover You" at the onset of their relationship was as beautiful as "I'll Cover You" after Angel's funeral. Such a beautiful, sad love story, I have not seen lately, if at all.

(Is there any way we can get the studios to understand that fake snow looks exactly that - fake!? During "I Should Tell You" I almost couldn't stop myself from trying to brush away the building towers of "snow" on top of Mimi and Roger's eyelashes. Is ice that expensive?)

There were disconnects throughout the movie, however, I felt the passion and I felt the...love, as horrifically cornwallish as that surely sounds. I will be forever jealous with those who've seen Rent on stage, especially those who saw the original cast and ESPECIALLY those who saw the first performance -- I read so many emotional interviews after the movie flashed. The emotion I saw in the theatre and onscreen were, to be as simple as possible, lovely. "La Vie Boheme" was scinitilating and for a Jewish woman Idina Menzel has a fantastic white ass. No, that's too harsh. For a woman with an extremely large nose, Idina Menzel has a fantastic white ass.

Not that an ass should lead to the message of the story, but, this is how the cookie crumbles.

AIDS. Our society and culture has, by and large, forgotten about it. And based on certain conceptions and words choices used in the script, I can understand how some felt the message of AIDS as a waking monster was dated. However, the message felt crisp if yellowed - pertinent if a bit aged. As Damion so gloriously put it, AIDS is now "livable" -- an unbelievable lie. It is this perception that AIDS "just a disease," I believe, that has aged the message of Rent and not the literal age of the message. Society does not see the danger of AIDS, either here or abroad, ,so why should any message of danger about the disease resonate when all other warnings are absorbed into the constant talk of today's life? Such a message must be presented in respect, passion, sobriety, humour and above all else reality. For me, Rent accomplished this, if not perfectly, convincingly. The performance of "Life Support" was purely stark with images of disappearing lives, most numbingly the loss of Angel. The song, subtle and soft married deftly with defiance impitomized the attempt to present a story of life, complete with the monster of our times.

Maybe we can get over that it felt a little too 1996.