Challenge 04 Rec-It: Rent
The first time I saw Rent was February 2006. I was a student at MIT at the time, and they were showing the movie for $3. I had wanted to see it while it was in theaters, but didn’t get the chance, so I jumped at the opportunity.
And as soon as it was over, I wanted to see it again. At first I had to settle for the soundtrack - at first just the movie soundtrack, but then also the original Broadway cast recording as well. Now I have my very own copy of the movie so I can watch it whenever I want, and I may have given Amazon.com money for the book (aka script) of the stage version. It’s quite amusing to “read” it while listening to the OBCR.
Unfortunately I never got the see the stage version, but thanks to the movie, I probably would have been “EXCUSE ME YOU’RE NOT THE CAST I KNOW AND LOVE.” Let’s just say that if I ever find a TARDIS, I’m going back to 1996 to see it.
Why is this movie so awesome?
1) Out of the 8 major characters, 6 are played by the same actors as the original Broadway cast. Of the two that did not reprise their roles, one was seven months pregnant and the other felt that a decade later she was now too old to play the role.
2) IDINA MENZEL.
3) It makes reference to both my alma maters - MIT and NYU.
4) The songs are awesome and easy to sing along too.
5) It shows that HIV/AIDS was not only a gay male disease - of the four HIV positive characters, two are gay and two are straight, and one the straight characters is a woman. In the original draft, the character of Maureen was also HIV positive, which reinforced the not only a “gay male disease” thing. While that may not seem that important in 2014, in 1996 when the musical opened, it was important. It was also set in 1989/1990 (at least in the movie, the stage version doesn’t put years on it), where that stigma was still very much present.
6) THE WHOLE THING IS JUST AWESOME OKAY.
They changed the timeline a little from the stage version - and rearranged the order some of the songs, but since I haven’t seen the stage version I’m not going to complain.
You know that part about the most of the original Broadway cast was in the movie? Have this gem from the Wikipedia article about the movie:
“Director Columbus got the idea to give the original cast first dibs on the roles when he talked to Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, and Idina Menzel about the musical and felt that they all still looked the same as when they premiered the show in 1996.”
Where is this fountain of youth they drink from because I totally want in. These people do not age. At all.
< fangirl squee >
Last month I waited outside the stage door of If/Then, which Anthony Rapp and Idina Menzel are currently in, even though I still haven’t seen the show. I was fortunate to get a picture with Anthony when he came out to meet fans.
I am 28. He is 42. That is not what a 14 year age difference is supposed to look like, people.
< /fangirl squee >
I also am eternally grateful to Chris Columbus for not douching up the movie by completely ignoring the fact that Justin Timberlake wanted to play Roger. Just the very thought of that terrifies me and it would have been awful. Which has nothing at all to do with the fact that I would bang Adam Pascal if it weren’t for the fact that he’s married. And the fact that he’s famous and I’m not.
Warning: You will need Kleenex when you watch this. It’s the late 80s/early 90s and there are characters with AIDS. I think you can fill in the blanks there.
I have moments of SCIENCE DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY at the end, but I won’t get to specific because of spoilers.
Shameless self-promotion time: if you by any chance ship Mark/Roger, I wrote a thing that’s going to turn into a larger ‘verse.
And if anyone wants Rent sig tags, you can find some here.
< /end shameless self-promotion >
And have a couple pretty graphics because I’m still a little short of maxing out. Under a spoiler cut because a) they’re really big and b) one of them is a little NSFW because of Maureen’s butt.
[Spoiler (click to open)]
And as soon as it was over, I wanted to see it again. At first I had to settle for the soundtrack - at first just the movie soundtrack, but then also the original Broadway cast recording as well. Now I have my very own copy of the movie so I can watch it whenever I want, and I may have given Amazon.com money for the book (aka script) of the stage version. It’s quite amusing to “read” it while listening to the OBCR.
Unfortunately I never got the see the stage version, but thanks to the movie, I probably would have been “EXCUSE ME YOU’RE NOT THE CAST I KNOW AND LOVE.” Let’s just say that if I ever find a TARDIS, I’m going back to 1996 to see it.
Why is this movie so awesome?
1) Out of the 8 major characters, 6 are played by the same actors as the original Broadway cast. Of the two that did not reprise their roles, one was seven months pregnant and the other felt that a decade later she was now too old to play the role.
2) IDINA MENZEL.
3) It makes reference to both my alma maters - MIT and NYU.
4) The songs are awesome and easy to sing along too.
5) It shows that HIV/AIDS was not only a gay male disease - of the four HIV positive characters, two are gay and two are straight, and one the straight characters is a woman. In the original draft, the character of Maureen was also HIV positive, which reinforced the not only a “gay male disease” thing. While that may not seem that important in 2014, in 1996 when the musical opened, it was important. It was also set in 1989/1990 (at least in the movie, the stage version doesn’t put years on it), where that stigma was still very much present.
6) THE WHOLE THING IS JUST AWESOME OKAY.
They changed the timeline a little from the stage version - and rearranged the order some of the songs, but since I haven’t seen the stage version I’m not going to complain.
You know that part about the most of the original Broadway cast was in the movie? Have this gem from the Wikipedia article about the movie:
“Director Columbus got the idea to give the original cast first dibs on the roles when he talked to Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, and Idina Menzel about the musical and felt that they all still looked the same as when they premiered the show in 1996.”
Where is this fountain of youth they drink from because I totally want in. These people do not age. At all.
< fangirl squee >
Last month I waited outside the stage door of If/Then, which Anthony Rapp and Idina Menzel are currently in, even though I still haven’t seen the show. I was fortunate to get a picture with Anthony when he came out to meet fans.
I am 28. He is 42. That is not what a 14 year age difference is supposed to look like, people.
< /fangirl squee >
I also am eternally grateful to Chris Columbus for not douching up the movie by completely ignoring the fact that Justin Timberlake wanted to play Roger. Just the very thought of that terrifies me and it would have been awful. Which has nothing at all to do with the fact that I would bang Adam Pascal if it weren’t for the fact that he’s married. And the fact that he’s famous and I’m not.
Warning: You will need Kleenex when you watch this. It’s the late 80s/early 90s and there are characters with AIDS. I think you can fill in the blanks there.
I have moments of SCIENCE DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY at the end, but I won’t get to specific because of spoilers.
Shameless self-promotion time: if you by any chance ship Mark/Roger, I wrote a thing that’s going to turn into a larger ‘verse.
And if anyone wants Rent sig tags, you can find some here.
< /end shameless self-promotion >
And have a couple pretty graphics because I’m still a little short of maxing out. Under a spoiler cut because a) they’re really big and b) one of them is a little NSFW because of Maureen’s butt.
[Spoiler (click to open)]