At one point in time, I would have said that I would probably go my whole life without ever watching this film adaptation of one of the longest running and most popular Broadway musicals of all time, that is also loosely based on the opera La Boheme. What changed all that? Well, this film is one of the favorites of my most recent ex, and, during our time together I had her watch several of my favorite films, so why not be fair and watch some of hers. And, surprisingly, I actually kinda liked this, and more than I thought I would. The story, set in 1989/1990 New York concerns a group of friends struggling to eek out an existence in the Bohemian neighborhood of Alphabet City. Besides being a bunch of hipstery artists and creative types, what unites these people is their shared struggles with poverty, and, in some cases, addiction recovery, and the AIDS epidemic. Pretty grim stuff for a musical, but obviously it has worked. When this film adaptation was announced, I vaguely remember a lot of people getting irked because not only were they making it PG-13, but it was being director Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, the first two Harry Potter films). Still, even then, it got a decent reception, even with some pretty mixed views as well. When it came to pass that I finally saw this, I tried to be open minded about it, both in general, and because I'm a good guy and a great boyfriend. And yeah, I ended up actually kinda liking it. Ganted, it's overlong, and yeah, with Columbus directing it, it is a very shiny, pretty movie that downplays a lot of the grimness and grittier stuff, but even then it still manages to get the point across .I do think this would be an even better and stronger work if it was darker, grittier, and more streamlined, but that's how I would feel no matter who directed it. As for the music, it's good. Very contemporary Broadway show tunes style, but I expected that. Sometimes it gets a bit rock operaish, which is cool, but it's mostly very popish. In my ideal version, it'd have more of an edgier rock presence, but whatever. The cast (almost all of whom are reprising their roles from the stage) are terrific, really nailing both the singing and the characters and their chemistry with one another. Again, since most of them are reprisals, it was expected, but nevertheless cool. As for the new people (like Rosario), they do fine too. No real complaints here. In my review for Frozen, I mentioned how the music was very Broadway show tuneish, something I shouldn't be too surprised about since Idina Menzel features prominently in both. The set pieces are well done, the subject matter is still relatable and relevant, and this movie gives you a lot to chew on. The cinematography is pretty decent, and I recall at least one well executed long take, but a lot of it just feels like a filmed version of a play, which, depending on how you feel, is either good or bad. For me it depends on the thing in question, but here, I kinda wished it was less stagy, as that keeps the fiom from ultimately being it's own thing. All in all, I ended up liking this a hell of a lot more than I ever thought I would. Yeah, it's not really my thing, and I think it is kinda overrated, but a lot of it just comes down to personal preferences with aesthetics. Yeah, it should be a lot less pretty and watered down, but at least they still get the point across.

In trying to let the classic songs and the classic story speak for themselves, Chris Columbus' direction comes off as totally uninspired and boring. Despite this the movie succeeds because the songs are classic and so is the touching and timeless story. The actors are all too old for the roles, but since they originated them it's nothing but natural. "Rent" is an iconic musical with an important message.