RENT SCREENING review (11/8/05)- Page 3

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:03pm

"Well, Ebert does like Rosario, so I can't imagine him being too harsh."

Her acting or her breasts?

IMO: If people don't like the film, they should just say so. No sense in leading people to believe that the film version does the stage show justice. I would think that would make them less likely to see Rent in one of its Broadway or touring incarnations...

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:04pm

So I will pose a question......How does everyone think the movie would have turned out if Spike Lee had directed it?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:09pm

I actually just had that discussion with a close friend (who posts here) the other day. Spike might have jazzed things up by making Rent a racial polemic, which would've been cool because it's so much more provocative than what seems to have been filmed, but also disturbing because one of the reasons why I fell in love with Rent at the Nederlander was that everyone was in an interracial relationship but no one took issue with it. I wished that could be plausible.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:10pm

I just can't imagine Spike Lee sticking to Jonathan's vision. A Spike Lee Joint is usually very Spike Lee. Where would he stick the signature "rant?"

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:11pm

"Her acting or her breasts?"

Well, he does like him some chesticles, but he seems pretty entranced by her in general.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:13pm

I really like Rosario too. If anyone emerges from this film with more credibility, I hope it's her.

[pab]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:16pm

I find it interesting that there have been reviews that have praised this film over the past week or so and today there are a few people that had some issues with the film and a lot of people start to fall to pieces. So what? Some people will not like this film and others will. That will also be the case with the critics. Just relax and form your own opinion when the film comes out. Is anyone really going to base their decision on seeing RENT on what has been said here (good or bad)? I respect the opinions of the people who have problems with the film AND of the people that loved it. I would say, however, that the people who have problems are no more credible or are any less bias than the people who did not have a problem. Is a person now deemed more brave because they don't like something and those that did are looked at as just another Renthead?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:43pm

(I have to be forthcoming, Anthony. It is a public forum; opinions are meant to be shared whether they're negative, positive or balanced, regardless of whose feelings might be hurt.)

One review hasn't changed my opinion. I think parts of the film look visually interesting, but among the things I haven't liked so far are a) the screenplay, which doesn't seem to have changed much since I criticized it last year b) the Light My Candle clip on Leno c) a lot of the footage shown on Starz and d) the montages from the video blog.

What I do like is Rosario's Out Tonight video, and that's why I'm holding out hope for her.

I mostly have issues with the staging. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE Rent on Broadway and will probably cherish the OBCR for years to come, but this film just doesn't look or sound like it works. I've already seen and heard so much of it that I don't see how my opinion of it could be dramatically different two weeks from now.

Updated On: 11/9/05 at 12:43 PM

[Kass983]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:50pm

It sounds like Columbus may have done what I was afraid he might; it sounds like he put syrup and whipped cream on the meat and potatoes.

For a PG-13 rating, they still could have been more forthcoming about April's death and it's impact on Roger. No need for a bloodbath, no pun intended. An arm dangling out of the tub, some blood, the note, the shock, the spiral into the abyss that is depression. CSI is more gory that that by far.

I'm extremely upset that my second favorite song, What You Own, is now campy. And cutting Halloween...no, no, no, all wrong.

I didn't like Rosario's Goodbye Love, but I agree it is needed. I've had some heated arguments in my life; but one set to song, filled with the individual pains and profound collective loss, it's more powerful than spoken dialogue and lingers longer.

Of course I will see the movie, 100 times probably before the DVD, but my heart is a little bit broken over here. Thanks for the honesty of the people that have seen it. Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks just the same.

Fix it Chris, fix it now. I'd even wait a couple of extra weeks (ouch!), but I would.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 12:51pm

Isn't it frustrating when you can pinpoint the exact moment a great movie falters? These reviews remind me of last years PHANTOM. The first 20 minutes were extraordinary, and then all of a sudden about half way through the title song, the film hit a rock and it slowly unraveled after that. Thus what could have potentially been a GREAT film became only mediocre.

Film musicals are hard craft. Baz Luhrman and Rob Marshall made it look easy. Schumacher and perhaps Columbus remind us of how hard it is to make characters "sing" on the big screen.

Hopefully Susan Stroman and Bill Condon will find better solutions with their properties.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:09pm

I'm fearful, but at the same time...

I know I'm gonna like the movie. I'm not very hard to please, I guess (the movie has to REALLY suck for me not to like it), and that Making Of RENT video from Starz really had me near tears. I never cry, but I just feel... I don't know.

I feel really conflicted.

I'm being extremely silly. I WILL like it. There's no way I possibly couldn't. The cuts don't really offend me, and I've always felt the first act of the show is much stronger than the first, so I'm not expecting anything different in the film.

I guess I'm just worried that my friends who I'm dragging to see this film won't see the same magic I have in the stage show.

Updated On: 11/9/05 at 01:09 PM

[La_Becca]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:11pm

Thank you for the detailed and insightful review. I completely respect your opinion.

I (like most Rentheads) am counting down the days to the movie. As much as I love the Broadway show, I'm not going to let that affect my view of the movie. With all the discussion about cut scenes/songs (the most talked about being "the disastrous cut of Goodbye Love"), I think its important for everyone, especially people so familiar of the show, to just take the movie for what it is. It will be hard not to compare every aspect of the film to the show, but I think that it you go into the movie theater with an open mind, then your opinion, whether positive or negative, will be true to the movie, as opposed to being solely based on whether or not you liked it in comparison to the show.

Anyway, someone mentioned what it would be like if Spike Lee directed it. Not to sound like I've lost faith in Chris Columbus, but my question is, how amazing would it be if Baz Luhrman had directed it??

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:19pm

pab, I'm certainly not basing my potential thoughts on the film on what any reviewers here are saying. Most of my doubt, much like Evelyn's, has come from clips I've seen, the screenplay draft, the mentioned cuts in the film, and some aspects of the soundtrack.

As Michael Bennett said, film musicals are a very hard craft, especially when you have something like Rent, where the theatrical staging is nearly void of any solid set, and it's very abstract and fluid. How do you make that work on screen, where there IS a defined set and a very different spectrum to be working with?

And since Michael Bennet mentioned directors...for some reason I keep thinking it would've been interesting to see someone like Mendes direct this. I've thought that from the start.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:21pm

I'd say Todd Haynes but he's so brilliant at writing original screenplays that I'd just... rather he not. God I love Todd Haynes. His insight on sexuality in the East Village around 1989/1990 probably would have been very interesting.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:26pm

I couldn't bring myself to read the first post, but, I am so, SO scared even though i'm still excited...it's killing me that I have to hear all this negativity for TWO WEEKS unti lI ca nsee for myself...I just don't know what to do with myself ::fidgits:: I still have to have faith in the cast, and my fingers are still crossed for Oscar gold. I swear I'm going to go into cardiac arrest before this film comes out....

[musicnmath]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:34pm

I'm a little confused. MJohnson mentioned the removal of "Another Day" -- that "the culmination of everyone’s building rage, resentment, hostility, and unmanageable relationships is gone."

I know there was a cut where only part of "Another Day" was included...has it now been COMPLETELY removed?

[bwaylover2]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:37pm

for one thing i am new to this and i also agree with you that they should come out with the extended version it would do jothan proud to know the fans really love his work !

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:39pm

Now i'm just confused, no Another Day?! that's a new one....oy, I need a cold compress or something, I am literally making myself sick over this movie!! I need help!

[Kass983]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:42pm

I avoided that post for over 5 hours this morning. Hey, it's my first day off in 10 days and the kiddies are in school. I have nothing better to do than be happy with the Starz footage and utterly beside myself with worry over the reviews.

Oh, Speilburg or maybe even Cameron for cinematography. Tarantino for almost everything else. No idea for the musical side. You guys are younger and more informed about this stuff. Last new movie I saw was Guess Who last spring. Oh, and Spike Lee would've "Spiked" it for sure.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:45pm

Tarantino would be a funny choice. What an insensitive guy. For sure Angel would have been shot during his midair "Today 4 U" flip and Benny dismissed with the n-word by Maureen gone mad.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:48pm

I think Baz Luhrman would have actually been the obvious choice, but he apparently turned down the film a couple of times.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:51pm

Another Day removed?

No, I don't think so. I heard the staging was strange, but not that it was removed.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:53pm

Another Day is still there. Stills from the last minute of the number have been used for FYC ads.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:54pm

"Tarantino would be a funny choice. What an insensitive guy. For sure Angel would have been shot during his midair "Today 4 U" flip and Benny dismissed with the n-word by Maureen gone mad."

I'm not really sure what to make of those comments, Evelyn. I don't find Tarantino to be insensitive personally.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 11/9/05 at 1:56pm

I think Tarantino would be an extremely edgy choice, but he definitely has the potential to make a film heartfelt.

Hell, Kill Bill Volume 2... the end... had quite a bit of emotion in it.