All Rent Reviews (Place Here) — Page 25

You are NUTS if you think Adam should have flat out refused to film that scene. That is what you were saying. Maybe he DID convey his not liking that location. Guess what? If the director wanted it, he had to do his job and climb up there.

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And what IF Adam did? And he was told that the shot was going in as is? You STILL blame Adam? Good grief, you have much to learn if you really think that!!

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An actor should never lose an argument in the collaborative process?? LMAO! Either you are so desperate to win this argument that you are pulling **** out of your ass or you really think you know everything don't ya?

Well, if it's the latter, good luck with that. You'll need it!

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Yes, very sad that you place any blame on Adam for that location. It boggles the mind how you could get to that realization.

You said: "If he couldn't reason with the director that the shot was definitely not going to work and was told it was going in as is, then he lost a battle that he shouldn't have lost."

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Updated On: 11/25/05 at 03:00 AM

The bottom line is YOU CAN NOT BLAME ACTORS FOR DESIGN CHOICES. The director has final say (or writer or producer or STAR if they are more powerful).

I give you props for trying to convince me that I am wrong, but it's not gonna happen. And, we all know that you won't be convinced you are wrong (so much for collaboration), so we are just going to have to agree to disagree or some other lovely saying.

You can even have the last word.

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Well I've finally seen the film. For the most part and overall I have very mixed feelings.

One one hand I love the attempts made at opening up this material. The "Without You" montage depicting Mimi's struggle with her addiction and the rift it ultimately causes in her relationship with Roger was very well done. Also Angel's slow descent was handled very well and I can honestly say struck a chord with the audience in attendance last night. I didn't feel the film was watered down in that aspect. The film at times went places the show didn't.

I didn't care for the cuts made to "Goodbye Love" and the exclusion of "Halloween" because it sacrificed character development. I also didn't like the way the Benny-Roger-Mimi triangle was handled. As someone who has seen the show numerous times I knew what was up when Mimi caught a glimpse of Benny's enterance at the protest and uneasily looked away but someone seeing this for the first time would not have gotten that. The whole thing came off as coming out of left field. Even the telling lines from "La Vie Boheme" where Benny tells Mimi: "I'm surprised a bright and charming girl like you hangs out with these slackers" were cut.Even if these lines were spoken instead of sung it would have added so much more to character and story development that was needed and missing to make that relationship make some sense. Those changes made the film uneven overall for me.

I also don't agree with Columbus' decision to cut out the fact that April killed herself and that's how Roger finds out he's HIV. That fact gave weight to Roger's despair.

Musical numbers were generally well done. I didn't like the way "Today For You" was shot. There were some really akward camera work in that number. Someone dropped the ball on that one.

I wasn't let down by any of the performances. I knew this cast would not let me down. Rosario and Tracie more than held their own. Rosario handled Mimi so well. I'm so proud of her work in this. It's one of the her best performances to date and I've seen every one of her films to date. I'm so glad she was given the opportunity to shine in this. I can't say anything more about Tracie than already has been said. She was perfect.

I don't get some people's problems with Adam Pascal's performance in this. I thought he was good. I felt his pain in "Goodbye, Love" when he tells Mimi off only to have Collins interject. I also loved the way he handled the scene were he finally gives in and attends the Life Support meeting. And the look he gives Rosario as she's sashaying into his apartment? It conveyed more of what Roger was feeling at that moment than any words could say. In my opinion he really did a good job.

But overall the performances weren't the issue. I had more issues with the cuts that ultimately in my opinion made this film uneven for me.

I guess the bottom line is I have mixed feelings about this one.

Thanks for the review Marquise . . . I have been a-waitin for it. I understand some of your argument and I agree with a couple of things that you said about character development. My review is glowing but I do think there were problems, I just didn't put them. I guess I was on a RENT high and in disbelief that was finally out. But there are flaws and I think you pinpointed a few that I thought as well. But, it was still a beautiful movie going experience.

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As do I. Like I said in my review about how some people said Columbus "Disneyfied" the whole AIDS epidemic and the living conditions fo these people. I honestly did not see it. I thought it was very realistic portrayal. And when Angel died I thought I was going to pass out due to lack of oxygen from me crying so hard. Also, I am SOOO proud of our girl. She was Muy Hotnessss. I personally do not think that there could have been a better Mimi.

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Yes, I didn't get the "watered down" comments. I really didn't. Rosario's "Out Tonight" was way more sexual than the stage version and you got to see her working, something alluded to only in the stage version. You also got to see her battle with her addiction, go thru withdrawal to try to appease Roger and ultimately weaken and give into it again which leads to their break up.

Also Angel's "death" in the stage show is wrapped up in the theatricality that is the song "Contact". It wouldn't have worked on film. That they chose this angle, which in my opinion was a truthful depiction on the effects full blown AIDS can tke on the human body was stronger and those are just a couple of examples where Columbus went right with the film.

What I don't get is that RENT was never meant to be the end-all-be all docudrama of living with AIDS in the East Village. Some people are really getting blinded. This isn't a documentary people it's a MUSICAL!

I totally disagree with some of DBillyP's comments. Rosario looked more ill ridden by the end of that film than Daphne Rubin-Vega EVER looked on the stage of the Nederlander.

But again he's entitled to his *opinion*.

Updated On: 11/25/05 at 11:37 AM

What really got me was the rift between the eight by the time Angel died. The first verses of "Goodbye Love" that were kept up until that point were great. Just by looking at Rosario in that scene she really did look sickly. But everyone hit that scene dead on. You felt all their pain. It was extremely well done. I can only imagine what the rest of it looked like.

Updated On: 11/25/05 at 01:07 PM

Rosario was GREAT!!! i was soooo pleasantly surprised and in my opinion she gave one of the BEST performancances in the film.. She really captured the spirit of RENT and MIMI. ADAM however...MAJOR dissappointment. i kept wanting to shake him vigorously while saying "wake up to your world and whats happening around you!" Ugh... no reactions at all. I didnt get that he was tormented or that he even truly loved mimi. Rosario bless her heart gave him soooo much material to respond and react to. he missed the bus here big time. I guess what i loved about him so much in the stage production was his electrifying voice and presentation of the songs. Cleary he held back here (or maybe was directed to) for the film and revealed himself to be a very under skilled actor. especially against the brilliance of others. oh well. Over all from a HUGE Rent fan, i didnt really care for the film as much as i did individual moments.

Just for a laugh, look what I found on ebay.

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