They waited too long to adapt "Rent" to the screen, and as a result Chris Columbus's film seems dated and irrelevant. A bunch of 30 something's (perhaps it was unwise to use the original, now too old, cast members) complaining about having to pay their rent, refusing to work for a living and spouting sanctimonious crap about how much the artistic life is better than the corporate one (though not one of them has ever had a corporate job, so how would they know?) is just too much for this 30-year-old (who doesn't have a choice about not working in order to pay for a mortgage) to take.
On stage, "Rent" was fresh and exhilarating. It was about the freedom to be whatever you choose to be and a celebration of art of all kinds. It didn't feel preachy, condescending or smug. It took place in an artificial world and a hefty dose of melodrama and unlikely plot contrivances were easier to accept given the fact that it was 1.) a piece of theatre and so by necessity an illusion to begin with and 2.) based on an opera where melodramatics are readily accepted. In bringing the musical to the film, and adding an ill-fitting realistic structure to the material, much gets lost in the translation. The plot contrivances are not easy to overlook, and everything feels arbitrary (let's see, who's sleeping with who now?) The music still sounds great and the cast does have a lot of chemistry. Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Idina Menzel are the two original cast members who make the easiest jump to the big screen. Adam Pascal looks lost and Jesse L. Martin mugs too much. Of the newcomers, Tracie Thoms is the best addition as Joanne. Rosario Dawson is fine in the role of Mimi, but that character doesn't seem like much of a character on screen. And Taye Diggs' role is nearly written out of the film.
Really, to be honest, none of the characters is much more than a type, easily summarized in a sentence. This was true of the stage version as well, but there the music was allowed to define the characters. On screen, Columbus must come up with things for the actors to do and images for the audience to look at, and he comes up with nothing memorable.
Not every single play, book or musical needs to be made into a film, and I wish producers would figure that out. I love movies, but I love movies when they're cinematic or tell a story in a way that could only be told via the medium of film. I'm all for people who don't have access to "Rent" in its stage version being able to see it, but perhaps a filmed version of the stage production would have been a better way to go. This film will make people who don't already know the material wonder what all the fuss is about.
Grade: B-
On stage, "Rent" was fresh and exhilarating. It was about the freedom to be whatever you choose to be and a celebration of art of all kinds. It didn't feel preachy, condescending or smug. It took place in an artificial world and a hefty dose of melodrama and unlikely plot contrivances were easier to accept given the fact that it was 1.) a piece of theatre and so by necessity an illusion to begin with and 2.) based on an opera where melodramatics are readily accepted. In bringing the musical to the film, and adding an ill-fitting realistic structure to the material, much gets lost in the translation. The plot contrivances are not easy to overlook, and everything feels arbitrary (let's see, who's sleeping with who now?) The music still sounds great and the cast does have a lot of chemistry. Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Idina Menzel are the two original cast members who make the easiest jump to the big screen. Adam Pascal looks lost and Jesse L. Martin mugs too much. Of the newcomers, Tracie Thoms is the best addition as Joanne. Rosario Dawson is fine in the role of Mimi, but that character doesn't seem like much of a character on screen. And Taye Diggs' role is nearly written out of the film.
Really, to be honest, none of the characters is much more than a type, easily summarized in a sentence. This was true of the stage version as well, but there the music was allowed to define the characters. On screen, Columbus must come up with things for the actors to do and images for the audience to look at, and he comes up with nothing memorable.
Not every single play, book or musical needs to be made into a film, and I wish producers would figure that out. I love movies, but I love movies when they're cinematic or tell a story in a way that could only be told via the medium of film. I'm all for people who don't have access to "Rent" in its stage version being able to see it, but perhaps a filmed version of the stage production would have been a better way to go. This film will make people who don't already know the material wonder what all the fuss is about.
Grade: B-