Rent

“How do you measure a year?” I’m pretty sure that, by now, almost everyone has heard of this lyric, which is in the song “Seasons of Love” from the Broadway show Rent. But don’t worry if you still have no idea what I’m talking about, because it’s no longer necessary to go to the theater to see the show (it’s still a good idea though). That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, you can now watch Rent from the comfort of your own home.
Some people may still be asking what Rent is, besides just being a musical. Well, I’ll tell you. Rent is the story of a close group of friends who live in New York City. Almost all of the main characters are poor artists, willingly suffering from lack of funds in order to stay true to their art. The story begins on Christmas Eve and ends the following Christmas Eve, which leads them to ponder how one year can be measured. Throughout this year the friends have to deal with many changes in their lives, some good, some bad. Some have found true love, others are trying to just make sense of their lives. Some are dealing with AIDS and drug addiction. And through all of these things, they all look to each other as a supportive family.
First, allow me to say that I absolutely love the idea of Broadway musicals as films—mainly because I would love to see all of them, but if I had to go to a theater to see all of them then I’d never have any money. For this reason, I never saw Rent on the stage. I knew the soundtrack by heart, but I could never attach any visual elements to it until I saw this film about a year ago.
The film? It was good. I enjoyed it. However, it was nothing as spectacular as I expected Rent to be. The acting was solid and everyone had great voices—Idina Menzel, in particular, gave a standout performance as Maureen—but this musical had been built up in my mind for so long that I think it was inevitable that I was let down a bit.
For me, the music was more interesting than the film, I think because everything seemed so emotional when they were singing, but some of that emotion was lost when they were just speaking. I’m not suggesting they should have sung the whole time, but there seemed to be quite a disconnect between the sung and spoken portions.
I had been told that Rent was the BEST musical ever, which I did not completely agree with. It was good, but nothing completely outstanding. Overall, I would give the movie a 12. I thoroughly enjoyed the music, but enjoyed the dialogue a little less. Although I did learn how to measure a year.