Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Rentaholic2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/14/04
#0Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 3:23am
After seeing the movie, it's interesting to me that more people haven't been complaining that Columbus 'watered it down'. I say this because--from all I've read and heard from him, cast, and fans, it was supposed to be that the movie was just as raunchy if not more so than the stage production. However, if I'm correct, the ONLY F-words in the entire movie were in Tango:Maureen...they edited the bag lady, and the La Vie Boheme choreography was a lot less dirty--Idina at one point even says 'Freakin Sweetheart' where she obviously would have said effing. Now, I'm not really complaining, because I'm not a big fan of all the grit and raunchiness anyway, but I'm surprised people haven't complained about this...any thoughts?
Sorry for another Rent thread, just thought it was worth discussing...
#2re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 3:29am
I agree, Didn't miss them at all.
BTW, in "Tango: Maureen" when Mark say "F*cking Weird" it got this big laugh out of everyone. I was like "BFD, Grow up!"
#3re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 3:34amWell this is because...if the F word is said twice, it can have a PG-13 rating. If it is said three times, it gets an R rating. Stupid, but true, and PG-13 will make more money. Such is the way of the movie business
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#4re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 3:40amthree fu(ks does not a 'rent' make...
#5re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 6:22amTowards his last few weeks with Rent, Adam adlibs and calls Mimi a F***ing bitch after he screams at her in the beginning of the Goodbye Love sequence, but i didn't find it necessary in the film.
#6re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 9:59amI didn't miss it at all, really. It sounded weird when the baglady didn't say it, but if you didn't know it was there originally, I don't think you'd have noticed at all.
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timote316
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
#7re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:02amNo, they really weren't necessary. Anthony's first f bomb in Tango Maureen did get a great laugh, probably due to his perfect facial expression.
#8re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:10amYeah, that wasn't really missed. It's not gratuitous in the stage show either, honestly. So they cut a couple to fit the rating... *shrug* Not the worst thing in the world. Of all the complaints I've heard about the movie, that's far from the list of "BIG ONES".
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#9re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:16amI did miss them. This was a very tame film. However, I think the film went wrong in so many ways that ultimately it is enjoyable for its faults. I can't be the only one who feels this way. Seriously, I saw in this film potential for a camp classic. (Someone disagrees because it is "too vague" for that, which may be true.)
#10re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:29am
I didn't miss them either. Unlike others, I wasn't sitting there counting curse words and missed opportunities for sex scenes; I was enjoying the movie.
But, I did realize after the fact that there are more instances of "b*tch" in the movie than in the stage show, so it's hardly watered-down to family friendly.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#11re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:34amGood for you, but I hope you realize that Rentaholic's opinion is no less valid than yours. Again, I enjoyed the movie mostly in a perverse way, but I don't think there's anything wrong with others not enjoying it at all and being cognizant of any problems it has.
#12re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:40am
I felt a little weird hearing "this lot is full of artists!" but I'm thinking back on the movie and that's the only one that "should've" been directly transplanted from the show. There were several others in the screenplay that were removed, but if you didn't know where they were supposed to be, you'd have no idea that they weren't there. So as for those... well, if you don't know they ever existed, you can't miss them.
#13re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:51am
Evelyn, I wasn't addressing Rentaholic's post specifically, I was addressing all the complaints of the movie I've read over the past year. That's why I said "others" not "Rentaholic" or "EvelynNesbit".
And I hope you realize that just because I don't agree with you doesn't make my opinion any less valid than yours. I'm not the first person in this thread to say I didn't miss them, why did you object to my post specifically, but not all the others?
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#14re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:55amThanks for the clarification. It was the tone that bothered me a little: "Unlike others, I wasn't sitting there counting curse words and missed opportunities for sex scenes; I was enjoying the movie." It's like you're saying that you did "right" by simply enjoying the film and others who took a more analytical (maybe somewhat anal) approach toward it were wrong to do so.
#15re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 10:57am
heh. I'm waiting for a post that's like "who cares about the swear words? Where's the SEX?!"
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#16re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 11:00am
Well, from reading some of the criticisms on here you would think some people were "anal" and seriously needed to "pull something out" and "lighten up". But I digress.... 
#17re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 11:03am
I was just being sarcastic. This is a world where people vote for presidents based on how many times they blink during debates; it doesn't surprise me that someone commented on this.
Marquise, I completely agree. Some of these other threads...
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#18re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 11:04am
I bought a ticket to RENT yesterday (though I attended PRIDE AND PREJUDICE). I stuck my head in the theatre, however, as the previews started rolling and the theatre was filled with teenager girls. There wasn't a boy in the place and there couldnt have been a person in there over 16.
Yes, I missed the swearing. I missed the film that could have been. But clearly, given that audience, the film would have had virtually zero business with an R rating.
#19re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 11:07am
I had a more diverse audience. Honestly, given the vagueness of the advertising, some people (besides teenage girls in NYC and LA) are being drawn to this film without knowing what it's about...
The strategy gets them to buy tickets but doesn't necessarily keep them in the theater. Which is fine for Sony, I guess.
Updated On: 11/24/05 at 11:07 AM
Allie
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/04
#20re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 1:21pm
Even though there were only a couple f-words, I still can't believe this got a PG rating for most of Canada. And the warnings are so different from province to province. Some list "disturbing content", some have "nudity" and "violence", and a few only have "mature themes"
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BroadwayGirl107
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/26/03
#21re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 1:32pmI didn't miss the swearing, per se, but I missed what CAME with it. For example, Maureen saying "friggin" is just a joke. We ALL know what she would have said. The lack of cursing in the film is just the most obvious choice they made to be too safe with this.
colleen_lee
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
#22re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 1:35pm
I didn't miss the f-bombs at all.
The only one I did miss is the homeless woman f word. It always felt really appropriate there.
"You just can't win. Ever. Look at the bright side, at least you are not stuck in First Wives Club: The Musical. That would really suck. "
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jam_man
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/25/05
#23re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 1:40pm
I noticed that, too. I would have started a thread on that myself, but I feared being bombared with "not-another-Rent-thread" replys, especially since I'm occasionally one who complains about the usual abundence of Wicked threads.
Any way, I don't think taking them out did that much damage, but I certainly would have liked to hear them. Any chance we could have an un-cut DVD with the swearing, "Goodbye, Love," "Halloween," and, yes Emcee, the sex? (kidding about the last one, of course)
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Updated On: 11/24/05 at 01:40 PM
"The man who wishes he had written Phantom of the Opera!" - SueleenGay
GO CARDINALS!!!
#24re: Lack of F-words, etc. in Rent
Posted: 11/24/05 at 2:02pm
Nah I didn't miss the swearing and I didnit feel it was watered down. I felt the relationships were portrayed pretty much the same way they are on stage. In fact I thought Maureen and Joanne were much more fleshed out.
And as far as tame, they seemed to smoke pot a number of times and that wasn't in the show at all.
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