Challenge 008: A Renthead's Definitely Biased Film Review
Movie: Rent
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (it's my favorite ever, so make of this what you will)
Words: 940
This is the 2005 movie adaptation of the 1996 Broadway musical, which itself is loosely based La bohème. There are some differences between stage and screen, but it tells the same story with mostly the same actors. Though with the exception of Mimi, who is explicitly stated to be 19, this makes it difficult to figure out how old the characters are supposed to be. If anyone knows of any source material that does actually give the rest of them ages, please let me know. Using Idina Menzel as an example - since pretty much everyone knows who she is - she was 24 when she made her Broadway debut as Maureen and then 34 when she played the same character in the movie nine and a half years later.
For the most part the changes between stage and screen don’t bother me because I’ve never seen the stage version. It closed on Broadway four years before I moved to New York, so shush. However, I do wish that “Halloween” and the second half of “Goodbye Love” hadn’t ended up on the cutting room floor, though at least both deleted scenes are on the DVD and both songs are in the soundtrack.
There is one change, however, that gives bothers me, mostly because it gives me the heebie-jeebies. In the stage version Mimi states that her relationship with Benny had been three months prior (which is a rant for another time), but in the movie she says it was two years ago. Remember that part where I said that Mimi is explicitly started to be 19? That’s right, Benny and Mimi had a thing when she was 17. I legit looked up New York age of consent laws over this and fortunately for Benny, she was legal.
Probably the thing that bothers me most about Rent is Roger and Mimi’s relationship. During the song “Light My Candle” part of Roger says to Mimi “I used to be a junkie” because he recognizes the same signs in her. Fast forward to the transition between the songs “Out Tonight” and “Another Day” - Mimi lets herself in through the fire escape in another attempt to seduce Roger and she has a baggie of heroin with her. You can’t really see what she’s holding that well, so the first several times of watching the movie I thought it was a condom, but when I finally got around to listening to the commentary, they confirmed that it is drugs. So clearly Mimi doesn’t respect Roger’s sobriety, which is strike one. Mark tries to encourage Roger to pursue Mimi stating “I’d hate you see you pass up something that could be good for you.” I legit sit there yelling at the screen “Would you still say that if you knew she was a junkie?” While Mimi does attempt to get clean, it never sticks and I personally think that it’s a miracle that Roger didn’t relapse along with her. That does eventually split them up but the never stop loving each other and are back together at the end, though let’s be real Mimi doesn’t live too much longer after that, something they agree with in the commentary.
Mark is the most precious awkward human being ever and by far my favorite. “Mark needs a hug” is true for so many scenes. And from his line of “You know there are times when we’re dirt broke and hungry and freezing and I ask myself ‘Why the hell am I still living here?’ And then they call and I remember,” he must really hate his family to leave a presumably upper-middle class life in Scardsdale to be what is essentially a squatter in Alphabet City, which was essentially a hellhole back then. I’m guessing that Maureen’s protest in the movie is loosely based on the Tompkins Square Park Riot of 1988 to give you a flavor of late 1980s Alphabet City.
In terms of songs, my two favorites are “One Song Glory” and “What You Own.” My least favorite is “Over the Moon,” mostly because it only shows maybe half of what Idina’s voice is capable of. “Take Me Or Leave Me” is much better at showing what she is capable of.
Parts of the movie definitely aren’t completely realistic - before Mark took the position with Buzzline it appeared that neither he nor Roger had any sort of job, so I have no idea how they were able to get food and Roger’s AZT, but no movie is ever one hundred percent realistic. There’s also some other things I nitpick at, like the fact that most of them don’t know how to dress in winter and that they call Maureen a lesbian as opposed to bisexual, though according to Wikipedia Jonathan Larson specifically identified Maureen as a lesbian in the script despite her past relationship with Mark so this is probably just me being anal-retentive.
I think the most important thing about Rent is that it highlights that anyone can contract HIV, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. Angel and Collins are homosexual, while Roger and Mimi are heterosexual. In the original version of the script, Maureen was also HIV positive, which would have highlighted that fact even more. This is awareness that still needs to be put out there today.
If you ever get a chance to watch with the commentary, I highly recommend it. It’s Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, who played Mark and Roger respectively, and director Chris Columbus. There are multiple moments, one of which is during “La Vie Boheme” where Chris Columbus essentially goes “Wait how did we get away with a PG-13 rating?”
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (it's my favorite ever, so make of this what you will)
Words: 940
This is the 2005 movie adaptation of the 1996 Broadway musical, which itself is loosely based La bohème. There are some differences between stage and screen, but it tells the same story with mostly the same actors. Though with the exception of Mimi, who is explicitly stated to be 19, this makes it difficult to figure out how old the characters are supposed to be. If anyone knows of any source material that does actually give the rest of them ages, please let me know. Using Idina Menzel as an example - since pretty much everyone knows who she is - she was 24 when she made her Broadway debut as Maureen and then 34 when she played the same character in the movie nine and a half years later.
For the most part the changes between stage and screen don’t bother me because I’ve never seen the stage version. It closed on Broadway four years before I moved to New York, so shush. However, I do wish that “Halloween” and the second half of “Goodbye Love” hadn’t ended up on the cutting room floor, though at least both deleted scenes are on the DVD and both songs are in the soundtrack.
There is one change, however, that gives bothers me, mostly because it gives me the heebie-jeebies. In the stage version Mimi states that her relationship with Benny had been three months prior (which is a rant for another time), but in the movie she says it was two years ago. Remember that part where I said that Mimi is explicitly started to be 19? That’s right, Benny and Mimi had a thing when she was 17. I legit looked up New York age of consent laws over this and fortunately for Benny, she was legal.
Probably the thing that bothers me most about Rent is Roger and Mimi’s relationship. During the song “Light My Candle” part of Roger says to Mimi “I used to be a junkie” because he recognizes the same signs in her. Fast forward to the transition between the songs “Out Tonight” and “Another Day” - Mimi lets herself in through the fire escape in another attempt to seduce Roger and she has a baggie of heroin with her. You can’t really see what she’s holding that well, so the first several times of watching the movie I thought it was a condom, but when I finally got around to listening to the commentary, they confirmed that it is drugs. So clearly Mimi doesn’t respect Roger’s sobriety, which is strike one. Mark tries to encourage Roger to pursue Mimi stating “I’d hate you see you pass up something that could be good for you.” I legit sit there yelling at the screen “Would you still say that if you knew she was a junkie?” While Mimi does attempt to get clean, it never sticks and I personally think that it’s a miracle that Roger didn’t relapse along with her. That does eventually split them up but the never stop loving each other and are back together at the end, though let’s be real Mimi doesn’t live too much longer after that, something they agree with in the commentary.
Mark is the most precious awkward human being ever and by far my favorite. “Mark needs a hug” is true for so many scenes. And from his line of “You know there are times when we’re dirt broke and hungry and freezing and I ask myself ‘Why the hell am I still living here?’ And then they call and I remember,” he must really hate his family to leave a presumably upper-middle class life in Scardsdale to be what is essentially a squatter in Alphabet City, which was essentially a hellhole back then. I’m guessing that Maureen’s protest in the movie is loosely based on the Tompkins Square Park Riot of 1988 to give you a flavor of late 1980s Alphabet City.
In terms of songs, my two favorites are “One Song Glory” and “What You Own.” My least favorite is “Over the Moon,” mostly because it only shows maybe half of what Idina’s voice is capable of. “Take Me Or Leave Me” is much better at showing what she is capable of.
Parts of the movie definitely aren’t completely realistic - before Mark took the position with Buzzline it appeared that neither he nor Roger had any sort of job, so I have no idea how they were able to get food and Roger’s AZT, but no movie is ever one hundred percent realistic. There’s also some other things I nitpick at, like the fact that most of them don’t know how to dress in winter and that they call Maureen a lesbian as opposed to bisexual, though according to Wikipedia Jonathan Larson specifically identified Maureen as a lesbian in the script despite her past relationship with Mark so this is probably just me being anal-retentive.
I think the most important thing about Rent is that it highlights that anyone can contract HIV, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. Angel and Collins are homosexual, while Roger and Mimi are heterosexual. In the original version of the script, Maureen was also HIV positive, which would have highlighted that fact even more. This is awareness that still needs to be put out there today.
If you ever get a chance to watch with the commentary, I highly recommend it. It’s Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, who played Mark and Roger respectively, and director Chris Columbus. There are multiple moments, one of which is during “La Vie Boheme” where Chris Columbus essentially goes “Wait how did we get away with a PG-13 rating?”