I have neither seen the stage version of Rent, nor heard the soundtrack album, but after seeing the movie tonight, I believe The Sister-in-Law put it best when she said, "I think that movie gave me AIDS."
Seriously, a lot of people in that movie have AIDS.
someone called the commercial both a preview for eye cancer and a three-minute-long hate crime. so tell me, is the full monty just as bad?
i have to leave the room when that commercial comes on, because that damned "measure your life in love" song stays in my head for DAYS and then i go on a homicidal rampage and really, i'm running out of places to hide the bodies.
I was lucky enough to see the orginal cast production of 'Rent' in 1996......its stil the best live show I've ever seen. Given the subject matter, its timing was exquisite -- making the performance incredibly relevant.
That said, I am not convinced the storyline translates well to the present decade, or even outside of NY.
The shame of it all is that Jonathan Larsen died the night after the final dress rehearsal. Great show.
I got to see a very good production of it here in Houston, and I loved it. I also like the soundtrack quite a bit. But when I see the commercials for the movie, it just looks like Fame 2 to me. Nobody is sad, nobody dies, nobody is poor or homeless, and nobody has AIDS. They're all just dancing and celebrating. This makes me go Whaaaaa?
a fair point....and Daphne Ruben-Vega is not in the film to reprise the role of Mimi - - - which is a shame given her vocal talents. Hers was the most distinctive of the original cast members
Pete-do you know these people that post comments on your site? I thought just Mom and Dad read this-I guess not.
Happy Turkey Day! Get some video of my niece doing the freak show crawl.
As usual, the Onion (http://avclub.com/content) shows us the way.
In this laughably dated adaptation of the Broadway musical, the heaviest urban issues of the late ’80s get the Up With People treatment.
Ouch.
Pete, I read your review on FT...loved it and got a chuckle. You have a way of putting things...
There is a guy in real life whom the character in RENT named "Mark"
is based on --his name is Paul Garrin, who among other things is known for breaking the story on the infamous Tompkins Square Park Police
Riot that took place in 1988 in the East Village, one of the events that inspired
Jonathan Larson to author his play "RENT".
Paul became known as the
"Man with a Video Camera", and could be
seen carrying his video camera with him everywhere,
often finding himself videotaping the police and the many riots
that went down in the East Village during the 80's and early 90's.
more about Paul Garrin:
http://pg.mediafilter.org see his famous clip
"Man with a Video Camera"
rtsp://stream.freethe.net/manwcam.mov
or buy his videotape "By Any Means Necessary"
which chronicles the housing struggles in the East Village
between 1988-1991 that inspired the story behind RENT. http://shadowshop.com
go there and click on "video" (or "tapes).
You can view a sample clip there, and order the video online.
It seems that paul garrin himself is out posting spam on any site that will let him in an attempt to create a myth about himself and make some money.
Sad. The exact comment above is on a dozen or more sites. Don't support spammers, don't buy his crap. Don't believe his lie.
To quote Gary Johnston, leader of Team America--World Police:
"EVERYONE has AIDS!"