Review: Rent

For those who take their Broadway with a little extra reality and a side of pop culture, Rent proves a welcome alternative to flappers and tap shoes. The brash honesty about life in Bohemian New York City, the unabashed exploration of sex and AIDS and heroin, and the non-sectarian, love-driven message of morality strike lots of people in a way much different from the other shows out there.

I am one of those people, and I have been thusly struck - by the stage production, that is. The film was something different altogether.

Granted, I understand that taking a monstrously popular rock opera - which, on stage, benefits from two acts and an intermission - and turning it into a believable movie with convincing dialogue is, to say the least, incredibly difficult. I won't pretend to know how I would do it better, but I thought some things were missing, and glaringly.

The opening scene (that is, the real opener, "Rent" - the film (cheaply, in my opinion) hooked the audience with the overpopular "Seasons of Love") lacked some of the frantic energy and bouncing between storylines that makes it exciting and convincing onstage (exchanges between Maureen and JoAnne, Benny and Allison were left out). The added spoken dialogue (and some added plot-enhancers - notably, the engagement party) seems forced, and also makes the "sung dialogue" true to the original rock opera concept seem slightly out of place.

It is, of course, exciting to see most of the original cast back playing the roles, and the new actors and actresses played their roles beautifully. And the storyline is much easier to understand in the film. But the film was less raw and less compelling. A valiant effort, a worthy film, but not the Rent experience we need - especially for those who don't already know the show.