Ariel has been anxious for about the last year to see the film of “Rent,” so I took her to a showing right after school. What fascinated me about many of the reviews I read was complaints over how it didn’t work as well as the show.
Well, I didn’t see the show on Broadway, and I liked the film just fine. I think it suffers from the same problem that many modern musicals have: Exactly one memorable tune. Makes you long for the old days when any one show would have at least half a dozen tunes you could leave the theater humming. Other than that, though, I applaud the decision to import most of the original cast members. I particularly regret missing her in “Wicked” after seeing Idina Menzel here, who is easily the show-stopper of the group (although Rosario Dawson and the guy who played Angel are close seconds.)
I’ll tell you something, though: During one establishing shot, there was the Twin Towers, big as life. What kind of commentary on our life is it that a few people worrying about dying from an overshadowing disease as AIDS seems somehow small–even, God help us, quaint–in a world where all people are worrying about dying from anthrax or carbombs?
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