kleptobismol said:
Has anyone seen this? I saw the trailer awhile ago and thought it looked really good, but the review on pluggedinonline.com (which i always check before i go see a movie, they have excellent christian reviews) described it quite negatively.
So, I was hoping I could get some good opinions on this movie.
(and i also think we should have more posts about real movies, not stupid games that people play... we have a game forum for that)
We saw Rent today (well yesterday now)-- I also saw the play several times and really what made me want to see the movie so much was that most of the cast I saw back when it first opened is in it so it's kind of trip down memory lane for me. The play holds a place in my heart because it takes place in the area where I used to live and at the time I lived there.
As a movie the critics have been fairly gentle with it, basically there is nothing "new" here, Chris Columbus has not created a new product, he's brought a broadway performance to the stage and done it pretty well... however if you've never seen the play parts of it may drive you absolutely batty...and if you are not a fan of musicals it can be bizarre to have people breaking into song in the middle of support group discussions about living with AIDS or while a lover appears to be facing imminent death.
The movie sweeps over some of the darker scenes (Angels death) that I think the play did slightly better.
I have no problem with the relationships and issues depicted in Rent but if you (that's a general you not a personal YOU) have a problem with homosexuality this movie will bother you. Rent was being written during the 80's when AIDS was a rather immediate death sentence with nobody knowing yet that there would people diagnosed with HIV living very long lives after diagnosis... and the story reflects a community of people affected by AIDS, drug problems and the gentrification of a neighborhood.
I point out that this is really nothing new because when people go see a movie that features drug addicts and AIDS victims they often expect to see some grand redemption scenes, mistakes realized and corrected all that lovely stuff... and let's be real.. musical shows on broadway don't do that..and this film doesn't do that.. nobody is interested in becoming part of the mainstream.. and at the end nobody is going to be living some straight and narrow life based on the lessons they've learned.
This is the story of a year or two in the life of friends.. and that's it.
Plugged in online gets it fairly correctly..but they forget it's just a musical.. they complain about the support group relying on "vague feel goodism" but it's just a glimpse of what such a support group is (and they ignore the very real fear of "will I lose my dignity" expressed during the group sessions.. these are snapshots of the life of these people ... not an in depth look at their problems.. in depth doesn't allow for a musical...
-------------------------------------
You have several relationships in this film
Tom and Angel ... two HIV postive gay men, Angel is a "drag queen" who finds Tom beaten and bloody after he is mugged on the street outside his friends apartments. Tom was just kicked out of MIT and has a teaching job at NYU
Joann and Maureen -- Maureen the bisexual performance artist previously dated Mark (main character and film maker wannabe) and dumped him for Joanne a lawyer from an upscale Ivy League type family...
Mimi And Roger... HIV positive Mimi is an exotic dancer with a drug habit, and Roger is the emotionally damaged HIV positive guitar player, song writer infected by his previous girlfriend who also had a drug habit... (we see scenes of Mimi shooting up as well as flashbacks to Roger's previous girlfriend shooting up) Mimi previously dated Benny... a former room-mate of Roger and Mark who has married out of their group of friends and is now the landlord trying to put them out.
There are no graphic sex scenes.. there are physically affectionate scenes between the assorted couples which probably would make people who are troubled by homosexuality uncomfortable.
We see Mimi dancing at the adult club where she works several times... she's not nude.. but it's exotic dancing.
The scene at Life (A vegetarian place in the East Village that really exists and where I used to LOVE to hang out) where everyone sings La Vie Boheme features a lot of suggestive dancing, and lyrics about marijuana, bisexuality, homosexuality, masturbation..,Maureen moons Benny and his father in law who are sitting at the next table...
So all that stuff while not a problem for me... are things I imagine might make some people a bit unhappy with the film.
Okay I babbled enough... and I don't know if I helped at all
