NoFace for Film

Title: Rent
Year: 2005
Director:Chris Columbus
Starring Cast: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, Tracie Thoms, Taye Diggs
Rated: PG-13

NoFace for Film rating: 4.5 out of 7

I had heard such good things about Rent the musical but never got the chance to see it in theaters, so when I heard that it was made into a movie, I decided to check it out. Of course, I’m sure that it wasn’t exactly like the original live musical, but I’m sure that it comes pretty close.

Rent follows the lives of a group of close friends in New York over the course of one year. Mark and Roger (Rapp and Pascal, respectively) are roommates and struggling artists/musicians. Benny (Diggs) was Mark and Roger’s roommate but is now their landlord. Tom (Martin) is Mark and Roger’s former roommate who comes to visit them every now and then. Angel (Heredia) is a drag queen and Tom’s lover. Maureen (Menzel) is a performance artist and activist and Mark’s ex-girlfriend. Joanne (Thoms) is an attorney and Maureen’s girlfriend. Mimi is a 19-year-old girl stripper who lives in Mark and Roger’s building and becomes Roger’s girlfriend.

What’s interesting about these characters is that they aren’t your typical cookie cutter types. More than half the cast is not white, not to mention that many are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Also, these characters have lots of struggles and issues to deal with. Some are heroin junkies while most are HIV positive. Most of them live in a run-down apartment and can’t even afford to pay for electricity. It’s rather raw and different from most musicals out there.

But there is one thing I didn’t like about the story. I didn’t quite understand why Benny is featured as the bad guy, the villain, simply because he married into a wealthy family and tries to make a better life for himself. He’s considered a “sellout”, which I don’t think is fair to him. On the same note, there’s a scene in which we find out that Mark actually comes from a rather well-to-do family with loving parents. I don’t understand why Mark would prefer to live in poverty, starving from lack of food, and cold from the lack of heat in his apartment, than receive help from his folks and stay with them during the holidays. Maybe it’s because I’m not a artist and don’t understand that kind of lifestyle.

Overall though, I enjoyed Rent. It’s got a really good story, realistic characters, and great actors. I think that it was cool that 6 out of the 8 of the original cast members were in the film (the two women who originally played Mimi and Joanne felt that they were now too old to play their respective roles) since fans of the musical were able to connect better with the film, not to mention - who else would be best to play these roles that the original actors themselves? I also loved the music, especially “Seasons of Love”. I had to practically force my boyfriend to watch Rent, and by the end he said he had loved every song.

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