Rent (the movie)

Cafe Society
41

I did:).

Of course, it was quietly under my breath, but hey, I mooed:D.

We just got back from seeing it. I am NOT thrilled with some of the timeline changes, and some of the cuts that they made (and that Santa Fe sequence was just weak), but overall, I loved it. I think I loved it more for the cast and the music than for the way Chris Columbus cut the story, but still - I’ve seen the show on Broadway about 20 times (living in NYC, nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon, I went to try for the lottery many times), so I was expecting to be hyper-critical of it. And I did find things to be critical of (the engagement party REALLY bothered me for some reason…REALLY bothered me…as did the 1989 thing…), but I’ll go back and see it again, and get the DVD the day it comes out.

I found it to be the opposite of “Chicago”, where I was very happy with the direction and story changes, yet unhappy about part of the casting. Here, I was thrilled with the cast and their performances, but a bit more unhappy with the way that the story was changed.

42

I was thinking of mooing, but I realized it wouldn’t be appropriate in a movie theater. This ain’t Rocky Horror, after all. Although one person was faintly singing along with all of the songs- I could hear her out of one ear, but it wasn’t loud enough to cause a nuisance.

I’m looking forward to Rent II: Condo Fever! Especially if Homer Simpson reprises his role as the mustache-twirling landlord.

43

*I did.

Of course, it was quietly under my breath, but hey, I mooed.*
OP by Elza B

I so wanted to moo! I saw the play in 1999 in Toledo, OH and people moo’ed, myself included.

But I didn’t :rolleyes: I did catch myself quietly singing along several times…expecially during La Vie Boheme. Very quietly…I didn’t want anybody to know.

44

Actually, people mooed when I went to see the film. I didn’t mind, I found it a very good touch, and would have mooed myself had I been in the theater.

It’s a different thing singing the songs, but mooing I didn’t mind.

45

But the series went downhill with “Mortgage”. And don’t get me started with the “Escrow” spin-off…

Brian

46

I just got back from seeing it, and I definitely enjoyed it.

The primary complaint that prior fans (of which I’m definitely one) seem to have was the cutting of lots of fairly incidental sung parts, or the converting of them into spoken dialog. I think that was DEFINITELY a good idea. I’ve taken people who didn’t know the show at all to see it live, and they always come away a bit confused because important plot developments are explained only in one single line of lyrics, which can be SO easy to miss… for instance “…and by next week, I want you to be”, and the whole business with Colin’s sleeve.

I also agree with some of the other controversial choices… for instance, showing Roger’s history with April in flashback during Glory. I mean, let’s face it, that’s kind of a boring song, and it fit really well.

I did think it went a little overboard into cutsey a few times, particularly people dumping burning papers into the street (weren’t they burning them for heat? or am I missing something?), Roger suddenly being on location for an SUV commercial, and the engagement party (although I thought that once we were there at the party, the song fit in perfectly, and was done great).
I also really liked Sarah Silverman in her brief role as Alexi.
So, overall, a give it 3.5 stars out of 4.

47

Yeah, there are just so many good songs you can get from a lesbian couple shopping for homeowners insurance (and how they got “Restoration Hardware” to rhyme with “balloon payment” I’ll never know).

I saw it again last night. There’s enough that I do like in the movie that it’s the first I’ve seen twice at the theaters in quite a few years. Other than Christmas Bells I don’t miss most of the cut numbers (Chicago had at least as many) because they were mostly exposition anyway.

One Song Glory is to me one of the most moving songs in modern musical theater (ymmv), but perhaps because I knew so many people (including my first boyfriend) struck in the first volleys of The Plague. I liked how they dealt with it, though I’d have had at least one giant shadow of him on a building across the way in homage to the way it’s done in the play. (Last time I saw the play Roger was played by Constantine Maroulis- we won’t go there, other than to say “who did they turn down for the part?”)

Did cyber studios exist in 1989? (I’m not doubting it, I’m just not sure.)

One problem I had with the movie and the play, incidentally, is how excited and happy folks were to see Roger with Mimi. Yeah… he’s coping with his girlfriend’s suicide, his own HIV+ status, his own heroin withdrawal and other issues- isn’t it wonderful that he’s got a lovely underage stripper smack addict in his life? But, remind yourself it’s just a show, sit back and just relax.

48

Hmm… that’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say that Glory was boring. While I do think Pascal’s version is weaker than most other guys who have played the role, the song itself is pretty amazing. I don’t disagree with the flashbacks, but I do wish they had indicated that April committed suicide, a really crucial piece of information that is just deleted from the movie.

49

The other anachronism I was trying to think of- Maureen’s line “I feel I’m being tied to the hood of a yellow rental truck packed in with fertilizer and fuel oil” is a clear reference to the Oklahoma City bombing and or the first WTC attack, both of which involved explosive laden rental trucks and both of which happened years after this movie.

The only two songs that I think really hurt the piece being cut are Christmas Bells (which I’ve mentioned) and Goodbye Love, if only for the “3D Imax in my mind” and “Goodbye love, hello disease” (the latter a particularly chilling line, I’ve always thought, and one that sets up Mimi’s downward spiral).

Of course what irked me most at last night’s showing was the groaning from audience members (not all of them male) when Angel and Collins kissed, but for that perhaps a Pit Thread later.

50

One anachronism I noticed- during the song Today 4 U, Angel compares two people to Thelma and Louise. Thelma and Louise wasn’t released until 1991.

51

Good catch.

52

So I had never seen Rent and we knew the movie was coming out, so the bf took me to see the stage show a week before the movie came out. After hearing such great things about it, and have enjoyed the brief snippet of seasons of love from the trailer, I have to say the stage show was dissapointing. Maybe it’s just the current cast and crew. The sound wuality wasn’t that great. The sining wasn’t that powerful. I only enjoyed a couple of the songs. I really was annoyed by the talk-singing bits and exposition. And I found the story a little hard to follow in parts.

Then I saw the movie. Great singing. They cut out all the annoying talk-singing parts. The sound quality was great (altho the theatre speakers couldn’t quite handle some of the really high notes). The set was really expanded. They started with the best song and the song that was the most meta. The casting worked well. The plot made sense. Really really enjoyed it. Some nitpicks - the songwriting bits should have more guitar playing visuals, ‘i’ll cover you’ was a little bit cheesy in rendition, mimi did not look 19, etc. But very pleased and enjoyed it much more than the stage version.

53

Kind-of-a-hijack-but-really-is-related:

That’s a great joke, not only on the surface, but because that landlord character is straight from the 1926 film adaptation of La Boheme.

54

Nitpick: Mimi is 19, which is not underage in New York.

55

Besides, she’s old for her age. :slight_smile:

56

I never saw the show and I’m on the fence about seeing the movie. Here’s my question: what’s the deal with the mooing? Mooing? Like a cow?

57

While I would recommend watching the show (not the movie, hence my OP) to find the answer to your question, the mooing comes from the protest that Maureen stages against Benny. She tells a story of a cow named Elsie as a metaphor for what Benny is doing to the neighborhood. She encourages the audience to moo to show their support, and it eventually turns into a riot.

58

Ok, I saw this movie last night.
Where do I begin,
Oh yeah, spoilers
Ok I haven’t seen the stage version of Rent. I did see the movie Moulin Rouge and I have seen a stage version of La Boheme. Since La Boheme is what Rent and Moulin Rouge are based upon I had a good idea what was coming. Or at least I thought.

I knew Rent substituted AIDS for TB. So I kind of thought that the twist would be that Roger would die of AIDS and not Mimi. Now in ACT I Roger sings ‘One Song Glory’ and if you sing a song in ACT I of a Broadway musical that in any way references death, you are toast on a stick. Put on a red shirt and beam down with Kirk and Spock, your number is up.
Of course being in a version of La Boheme and being named Mimi is usually a sign to take out a huge life insurance policy on that person, because she is not long for this world.

But these people, both of whom have AIDS, do not die.

Instead we kill Angel. Now the character Angel does not really have a counterpart in La Boheme. And in fact, Angel is the worst character in Rent. Why? Because she is perfect. We have this drag queen who funny and talented at everything from playing the drums to making clothes, and is very generous with money to strangers and saving strange beat up men in alley ways and giving them places to live. Except for the fact that he is a professional dog killer he doesn’t have one single fault. (So kill him) Oh and in the movie I saw, his death was dragged out. He’s on the train, he’s in the hospitable with everyone, he’s in the hospital with the Law and Order guy, and then he is dead.

Killing the Saint is bad writing. It’s a cheap way to illicit tears.

Of course since Mimi has no redeeming qualities save that she has the best ass below 14th street, doesn’t help either. Am I the only one bothered by the fact that she was trying to sleep with Roger but not going to inform him that she was HIV positive? Does she not know that it is a STD?

The side trip to Santa Fe was idiotic and then to top it off, the one song Roger was working on for a year, the one song that would give him glory before the virus burns up his body, is, in fact, the worst song in the show.

To add insult to injury, hey Chris Columbus and your DP, if someone sings a line about how you can see it in their eyes, LIGHT THE CHARACTERS EYES!

Mimi, coming back to life is just the stupidest goddamn thing ever!

But I must disagree with many people and say that Chris Columbus is the PERFECT choice to direct this.

The people in this show are not revolutionaries. They are not even Bohemians. This is a perfectly packaged revolution that will be shown in movie theatres. The story does not capture some special place and time. NYC in the late 80’s? Umm, let me get this straight, the REGAN Revolution was still in full swing. NYC was really shedding it’s grimy dirty late '70s self. The idea of throwing out the bums and building condos is what everybody thought was a good idea, and this movie doesn’t convince me that we lost anything precious by doing so. The ‘Protest’ show was making fun of performance artists. Not celebrating them. “Here you can live rent free” “No, I’d rather pay my own way by selling out to tabloid journalism” is no great endorsement for the life they had been living.
UGGH!
No I need to see La Boheme again and if you want to see a good movie about rebellious kids in NYC go watch Hair.

59

But I should point that I really liked the songs, save one, and I liked the performances.

And one other strange thing is that I saw Antony Rapp in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and I have that cast recording, so it was strange to hear Charlie Brown talking about AIDS.

60

“Good grief! My viral load is dangerously high!”