No Day But Today

[dangermousie]

I saw Rent tonight.

Wow, wow, wow, wow. I laughed, I cried, I got choked up and sometimes, I forgot to breathe at how beautiful it was. It is definitely one of my Top 5 movies of the year.

It just really so full of emotion and energy and sheer joy of being alive and in love and feeling anything really. For a movie that has a large chunk of its

Comments

[katranna]

Haha, glad you liked it... but when have there been "gay people are just like us" movies since the 80s?

[dangermousie]

All those lovely "heroine's best friend is this completely asexual gay guy, but isn't he cute" themes in movies....

[katranna]

Oh, those... Ick. Yeah, those are horrible and demeaning.

[dangermousie]

And do you notice how they never EVER date (let alone kiss) anyone. They don't even talk much about men being hot or what not. It's basically just picking out the girls' accesssories and "dishing" about heroine's love life. Ugh.

[minerva_fan]

Thank you for sharing the sweet, sweet Rent-ish Lurve! Fey and I gathered our pennies and went see it yesterday--my sweetie hasn't stopped listening to the soundtrack since. (I've owned the original Bway cast album for a couple of years.) Having seen the play twice, I was prepared for anything. I must admit, the changes they made for the movie adaptation were a little jarring at first (much of the spoken dialogue in the film was sung in the play), but I quickly stopped playing the "oh, how they've changed my musical" game and just fell in love with this version. The actors were great, the music was great, the locations were great--just a wonderfully satisfying adaptation. I'm still weeping over what Hollywood did to Camelot and Man of La Mancha, so this means a lot to me.

[dangermousie]

I honestly had no idea what to expect, but I love musicals so was interested. And I was completely won over. The music is out of this world. Now I need the sountrack (and some Rent icons).

I love the soundtrack for Man of La Mancha (the show) but I heard horrible things about the movie...

[elvensapphire]

The soundtrack for Man of La Mancha is awesome - the movie, however, is not. I've never even been able to sit all the way through it. And Camelot got ruined. Hence why RENT is such an amazing rarity among stage shows-turned-films.

[dangermousie]

It's funny, because I like Camelot-the-musical-movie, because I saw ir before I knew it was based on a stage musical. So I had a really different approach to it. But when i did listen to the stage version, I was astounded how different in tone it was.

[syliasyliasylia]

I glad you liked the movie. I saw the musical some years ago and I loved it, I want to see the movie but I don't know when it's going to come out here :(. In the meantime I'm listening to my RENT soundtrack cd. "Seasons of Love" is one of my all time favorite musical songs!

[dangermousie]

It's funny, because I loved SoL song, but it wasn't my favorite because there were some that totally took my breath away...

I want to see it again!

[elvensapphire]

I keep butting in on other people's comments here. :D But, while Seasons is the most famous song from the show, and it is beautiful, I agree with you - it's not my absolute favorite. It's hard to distance myself from it because I've sung it twice in choirs and I've known it longer than I've known the rest of the show, but some of Jonathan's other songs are seriously underrated because Seasons is so popular. I honestly don't know which song I'd say is my favorite (although "Another Day" would probably be the one I would lean towards).

Jonathan Larson's only other surviving musical, which they pieced together from music/a rough story he'd written even before he did RENT has a couple of really beautiful songs in it, too. It's funny because you can almost here an echo of what Rent became in them, but they still stand on their own. It's sad that he didn't get to gift the world with anything else, because I imagine he still had more to give.

[dangermousie]

Hmmm, maybe I sould seek that other musical.

I think my favorite either One Song Glory or Another Day. Probably OSG.

[elvensapphire]

I am so, so glad that you loved it. I had a feeling you might (especially after I saw how beautiful it turned out), but it's wonderful to hear that people are going into it with fresh eyes and being as swept away as those of us who were familiar with it. The actors did such an incredible job, and I think the direction/cinematography was amazing as well. It's one of those films that I wish everyone could see and take into their hearts, because it has a gorgeous message about life and love, which it manages somehow to get across without being cliché or preachy. Absolutely breathtaking.

Do you want me to send you a link to the soundtrack? I will. And the Adam love seems to be spreading! *winks* The minute he began "One Song Glory" on the roof, I about died. Since Roger is angsty and more of a quiet type, I loved how much Adam managed to just convey in a glance or the expression on his face. He plays Roger with a kind of sensitive grace that I wasn't expecting, having never been able to see the show. Not to mention Rosario -

[dangermousie]

Icon!!!!

The minute he began "One Song Glory" on the roof, I about died.

I think that was the moment I just went "whoa!" Because before that, I thought "hmmm, nice singer, attractive enough, blah blah blah." And then he started singing OSG and I was on the floor :P

And yeah, Rosario as Mimi is euqally marvelous. She just has this contagious enthusiasm that muted Roger needs. Of course, he has the steadiness that she needs in return.

[elvensapphire]

*nods* One Song Glory is the moment he grabs you. From the first chords of the guitar onwards, Roger becomes a complete, angsty, and utterly gorgeous character.

She just has this contagious enthusiasm that muted Roger needs. Of course, he has the steadiness that she needs in return. That was something I loved about the two of them, and the chemistry they had. It's funny, because simply by listening to the soundtrack (the Broadway soundtrack in particular, simply because it's more complete as it has more of the "dialogue" in it, as much of it was originally sung), I always got the impression that Roger had only turned steady and sullen because of what happened to April. (The film left out the detail given quickly in the show by Mark, "Close on Roger, his girlfriend April left a note saying 'we've got AIDS,' before slitting her wrists in the bathroom.") I always assumed that he'd been wild and unsteady and only became strong because of April's death and his own journey through rehab, but watching the film you see that Roger (at

[dangermousie]

From the first chords of the guitar onwards, Roger becomes a complete, angsty, and utterly gorgeous character.

Only yes. I went "wow" and my heart just...I think it's my favorite song in the whole wonderful soundtrack (and that's quite a feat, considering it has Out Tonight and Another Day in it).

That was something I loved about the two of them, and the chemistry they had

Oh yes. He would just take such good care of her *melts* And she makes him grin like a kid, which is equally wonderful. I actually love the fact that Roger is a bit older than Mimi. It makes sense in the context of his character. He's already been bruised pretty badly by life and she still has the utter recklessness of complete youth. And they do have sizzling chemistry. I love that even when he is rejecting her, he is devouring her with his eyes. And who can blame him? I would consider switching my sexual orientation for Mimi. She is burningly alive.

center of comfort/strength in a way. Yes, maybe he was more open/talkative/reckless when he was involved

[dangermousie]

Yeah, I saw La Boheme (Baz's version) on Bway. This is a bit different though.