I Can Only Go Up From Here: Rent review

Rent

By Oggy Bleacher

Everyone over the age of 40 should see Rent; everyone under the age of 40 will love Rent. The best homegrown musical since Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Rent hits Avenue ‘A’ running and never slows down. The 8 principal actors, 6 of whom played their role in the stage production of Rent, do not hold anything back. They let their emotions explode from every pore. Just when you think the fist-pumping, cart-wheeling, hip-hopping, urban-triumphing, we-are-young-and-free-and-in-crisis celebration has reached its crescendo, the cast takes it up another notch. This is a musical in the spirit of Grease (1978), The Producers (2005), and Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Chicago won 6 Oscars in 2002. Expect Rent to win Best Music, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and probably more. Dir. Chris Columbus and cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt nailed the visual aspect of Rent, crafting a rich and beautiful urban landscape, while the talented young cast sang their hearts out on the musical end.

A stage production has musical limitations that don’t exist in Hollywood. The musical arrangements of Rent are excellent, taking advantage of talented Los Angeles studio resources. The songs themselves are clearly the work of someone who listened to more pop music than is ordinarily healthy. The songs are inspired and eclectic. These are all originals but don’t be surprised if you think, “I’ve heard that before.” The weakness in the soundtrack is that one person wrote all of the songs. This is generally unheard of in successful musicals because when one person writes all the music (and his name isn’t Mozart) then all the songs sound like the same person wrote them. When 8 characters sing vastly different songs, one person usually cannot compose diverse music in multiple voices. Rent is no exception.

Jonathan Larson was the creator of Rent. He wrote the book (script), music, and lyrics. Even for a flop, this is no small accomplishment. With the help of the The New York Theater Workshop he then brought it to life. Larson was 35 years old when he died, two weeks before the February 1996 NYTW premier, three months before Rent’s premier on Broadway. So not only did the music spring from a single well, but that well vanished before the very first public performance. Thus, the music never evolved, the lyrics still sound impulsive and the rhymes something off of a 9th grader’s notebook. Lyrics like, “Who do you think you are, barging in on me and my guitar?” aren’t exactly timeless. And how Larson justified the lyric, “Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow to blow off Auntie Em…La Boheme!” is a mystery. But the melodies are infections, and if you have ever translated Italian Opera (“No tablecloth, we can’t eat without a tablecloth?”) you know the melody is all that matters. Larson’s decision to make AIDS the prevailing illness was noble. 40 million people had AIDS in 2004. 3 million died of it that year. 6,000 people (15-24) are infected each day. No one can claim this crisis is “out of date”.

The few songs I have heard off of the original Broadway release sound like they were recorded in a church with a high school back-up band. A jangly piano is sometimes the only instrument accompaniment. It’s like a demo tape. The vocal/instrument balance is not bad, just amateurish. That is not the case with the film recordings. While the lyrics and structure of each song is basically the same, the arrangements, thanks to music producer Rob Cavallo and vocal conductor Tim Weil, have improved immensely. These are good, some great, pop/rock songs that tell the story of young, “alternative” men and women. Their story involves rebellion, drama, HIV, drugs, sex, creation, love, life, and death. You may not like every song on the soundtrack, but that hasn’t stopped Puccini’s La Boheme from being performed for over 100 years.

Rent is not flawless. But if it is the soap opera plot you find unappealing then blame Henri Murger, the French author who wrote “Scenes de la Vie Boheme” in 1846. Murger’s book was the basis of the Puccini opera “La Boheme” in 1896. In turn, “La Boheme” is the progenitor of Rent. You can be sure Larson pondered both works as he planned out his own modern day rock musical. Puccini’s theme from Musetta’s Waltz even returns as a loving tribute to Rent’s operatic roots. On the subject of faults, the relationship between “Yuppy scum” Benny (Taye Diggs) and “drug addict exotic dancer” Mimi (Rosario Dawson) is puzzling. What do these two see in each other? And why do real estate developers need permission from a bunch of squatters to renovate the place? This is New York City, not Amsterdam. HIV positive Roger (Adam Pascal) moves to New Mexico without hesitation though prescriptions and doctors and such would have to be changed. Another flaw: though drug addiction has ruined more than one character’s life, they don’t seem to regret a moment of their glorious vie boheme. Making mistakes is their right. Refusing to pay rent is en vogue. The lesson they pass on to the next generation is, “More wine, more beer! Live for today!” The consequences of this philosophy should be evident. The characters grieve, but apparently they don’t learn anything from their grief. We leave them in practically the same predicament in which we found them: jobless, broke, strung out, lustful, ever striving to fit in.

Looking at the production notes, Jonathan Larson is unquestionably the weakest link on paper. He had very few prior credits (music for a children’s book cassette and Sesame Street). It isn’t surprising that he wrote everything that became Rent; simply put, a professional collaborator probably wouldn’t see much promise in Larson. Sure, he was talented, but his two small plays were failures. His other works were never produced. So the chances that a waiter from White Plains, NY could create a hit Broadway musical from scratch while he ate shredded wheat in a cold loft with a bathtub in the kitchen were infinitesimal. But that is exactly what happened. Despite Rent’s floppy structure, the music is inspired and the themes are significant. Rent is still a winner.

Grade B

Rent

Opening 11/23

Cast: Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Rosario Dawson, Jesse Martin, Idina Menzel

Director: Chris Columbus

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 135 minutes

Release Company: Columbia Pictures

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/rent/index.html

Additional Rent info:

http://www.angelfire.com/in2/everythingisrent/jon.html

AIDS INFO: