Rent (2005)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Rent is a musical that I had heard about long before I finally decided to watch the film. For one thing, my mother is a huge fan of Rent and would often sing "Seasons of Love" and "La Vie Bohème" around the house. I had heard different things about the movie - however. Some people love it and some people hate it with a burning passion. Deciding I would give it a chance (and considering it's leaving Hulu in a few days), here's my thoughts on Rent.I'm gonna start with the positives because if I were to get into the negatives first, you would all think I absolutely hated this movie. First things first - Jesse L. Martin is the MVP of this entire movie. He delivers a damn near Oscar-worthy performance throughout the entire film but especially during the event that happens towards the end of the movie. I was also a fan of Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Tracie Thorns's performances as well - they did a great job.I wasn't a huge fan of every song, but there were some that I liked, like "Seasons of Love," "La Vie Bohème," and "Tango: Maureen." A big part of why I ended up watching the whole movie (instead of just skipping) was Chris Columbus's direction. He directs every big number, like "La Vie Bohème," the title track "Rent," and "Take Me or Leave Me," and makes them extremely interesting. I almost wonder how they looked on the stage, because they sure didn't have the intriguing camera direction.Here's my biggest problem with the movie up front: the story. Listening to the soundtrack alone is fine enough, but once you put the music to the movie, it just all crumbles. Stephen Chbosky is the screenwriter and I don't think he's to blame. He's directed and written The Perks of Being a Wallflower (one of my favorite movies) and written the latest Beauty and the Beast (which I also liked), so I know he's not that bad. It's the musical itself that is the problem.The original writer of the musical, Jonathan Larson, died shortly before the show made it's Off-Broadway premiere. And while that is a tragedy, I believe that actually has some part to play in the problems this show has. Hear me out. When a show goes Off-Broadway, typically, before it goes to Broadway, it has changes done and some of the kinks are ironed out. They didn't change the show at all when Jonathan Larson died, because they wanted to honor his memory, and that's where the underlying problems lie.Another problem with the story itself is that it focuses on the two blandest characters in the entire movie. Anthony Rapp plays Mark Cohen, an aspiring filmmaker, and Adam Pascal plays Roger Davis, a struggling musician. These two are really uninteresting, and the relationship Roger starts up with Mimi (played by Rosario Dawson) is unbelievable and honestly ridiculous when you consider Roger is a recovering addict and Mimi is a current user. All of their songs seem to just take up more and more time as the movie continues, and the film's finale even revolves around them!In 1996, I'm sure this musical was important. It was probably the first huge statement about LGBT people and also the AIDS epidemic. And look, I'm gay, I completely stand with everything the musical tries to get across. But the problem is that in today's world, over 20 years after the musical first premiered, there is much better representation of LGBT people to be seen. I appreciate that Collins and Angel are able to have a relationship, and you don't even really realize Collins is gay at first (same cannot be said for Angel), but almost everything else they try to do doesn't work.Especially the entire character of Maureen (played by Idina Menzel). When the movie picks up, she has dumped Mark and is now dating Joanne Jefferson (played by Tracie Thorns). Mark makes Joanne realize that Maureen is a player in one of my favorite songs: "Tango: Maureen," but then Joanne decides to even GET ENGAGED TO MAUREEN. AND THEN MAUREEN DOES IT AGAIN AT THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY. Of course, Joanne finally breaks up with her then, but god damn it does it infuriate me that the ONLY bisexual character in the movie is portrayed as if she can't keep her pants on for five damn seconds!Roger Ebert in his review of the movie says, "But if you stand back from the importance of Rent as a cultural artifact and a statement about AIDS, does it stand on its own as a musical? I don't think so." And I would completely agree. While there are some great numbers and great casting choices, the movie as a whole fails because there's not enough there to support an over two-hour movie. It also is a criminal misuse of some important issues, because some groups don't get a great representation, which is a real shame given the cultural impact the musical has had. Perhaps the musical works better, I don't know, but as a movie, Rent fails.

If you're not one of those weird theater-crazy hippy types then this movie probably won't be for you. Personally I don't like musicals that much to begin with, but there have been some that I've enjoyed despite that fact. The South Park movie and Sweeney Todd for example. This movie however made me want to never see a musical ever again. The songs are so clunky and just.. bad.. It's like you'd have to be on a butt load of pain killers to enjoy songs like Seasons of Love. Seasons of Love should be the theme song for the Mormon faith; it's so cheesy, uninspired, and makes you want to puke because it's so overly happy. "One Song Glory" makes me want to punch the nearest breathing thing in the throat. It is such an annoying song that it irritates me just writing about it. I don't remember a whole lot about the story since its been a few years since I've seen this movie. Mostly that everyone has AIDS and owes rent money from last year. Also that guy wants to write a good song so he'll be known after he dies of AIDS. Other than that I got nothing. It was boring and painful to watch.

i love love Rent! i remember the day i watched it with my sister and i was wondering why they were singing and then we realized that it was a musical. Omg what talent and what acting!!!!!!! Such an inspiring and great movie, it will forever be one of my favorite movies of all time. truly moving and showed people realities living in new york at that time. It was so so so great and i just couldn't believe it. It had such heart and depth and it had a great message about how we need to live each day to the last. we need to live no day but today. Rent inspired me greatly and it changed my life. I got into Broadway and made me have a love for musical theatre like never before.

Not the best film musical in the world but a long way from the worst. Is it as good as the stage show? Not quite, then again that is always a big ask, any musical deserves to stand on its own two feet and Rent certainly does that. Is it perfect? No, some of the last third does feel rushed, the direction in a couple of the musical numbers does have a slightly overblown music video quality that didn't fit with the rest and Benny's part is reduced so much to the point of being a caricature and he did seem too much of a plot device. Is it good? Yes it definitely is, its best parts are actually great. On the most part it does look good, the costumes, lighting and sets are appropriately colourful and gritty, perfectly matching the atmosphere and story and the photography is mostly fine. The choreography has so much energy to the extent that in the upbeat numbers(especially La Vie Boheme) you're tapping your toes, Chris Columbus's direction is more than competent(at least he gives off the feeling that he had a good idea how to direct a musical, which is more than I can say for for example Richard Attenborough for A Chorus Line and Sidney Lumet for The Wiz, to me Annie gets too much undeserved hate) and the script is written amusingly at times, but mostly in a way that really resonates with the audiences emotionally. Not everybody likes the story in Rent, but to me it does have shock value(if not as much as in the late 80s-early 90s) that is portrayed in a harrowing and heart-wrenching way. As an adaptation there is some tinkering like a few song cuts but I found it fairly faithful in spirit to the stage show. But the best component of Rent is easily the score, which is nothing short of brilliant. Sure it has songs that are better than others, then again that is common in musicals, but all range to uplifting to heartfelt, there is lots of energy but also a fair share of pathos. The performances are equally terrific, their characters are not as well fleshed out as the stage show but the cast look comfortable and do a good job in still making them believable.Jesse L Martin's character has the most compelling story arc, and Martin sounds great and delivers with great emotion and spirit, it is very different to his role on Law and Order which is testament to how talented and versatile Martin is. Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Tracie Thoms are similarly great for similar reasons to Martin(Heredia also benefits from being a great dancer), and Rosario Dawson is heart-breaking especially in the latter part of the film. Adam Pascal is ever so slightly stiff in places but is incredibly emotive and his vocals don't disappoint either and Idina Menzel looks as though she is having so much fun even though Maureen is not very well developed here and her vocals are powerhouse quality. Taye Diggs is disadvantaged by what is done to Benny but does his best and is hardly a liability. In conclusion, solid stuff that could have been better. 7/10 Bethany Cox