The IN THE HEIGHTS Film Adaptation Thread — Page 39

SporkGoddess said: "For people who also think that the storyline/book is the most flawed part of ITH, can you expand on your thoughts? "

Personally, when I say the book of a show is weak, it’s a reaction of feeling generally bored during book scenes/dialogue and just waiting until the next song. That’s how I felt during this movie and during other musicals where the songs are the main rememberable part.

When the plot doesn’t really have high stakes, or the dialogue isn’t very compelling or interesting and maybe doesn’t have a lot of jokes (if it’s a comedy), the show just drags along and you can really feel the space between songs. As opposed to the book being so concise that it flows into the next song seemlessly. Those are signs of a weak or thin book/script.

I thought I read somewhere that the studio DID want some big-name stars in ''In the Heights.'' However, the director, Jon M. Chu, convinced Warner Bros. that his previous movie, ''Crazy Rich Asians,'' became a giant worldwide hit without any big-names, so ultimately the studio trusted him.

For the record, Universal almost made ''In the Heights'' over a decade ago. However, the project got canceled in 2011 because Universal was looking to cast it with bankable Latino stars, like Shakira or Jennifer Lopez, instead of unknown actors. Meantime, Miranda read a bio of Alexander Hamilton ...

Updated On: 6/15/21 at 09:04 PM

everythingtaboo said: "Jon and Lin, who have made some of the most significant strides in cultural representation in pop culture of the last few decades, make a creative mistake in their latest efforts, and suddenly they're like the worst people ever. How about we give them another shot, like we give most creative folks, and stopthrowing the baby out with the bathwater."

No it's 2021, no one is allowed any chances.

Sutton Ross said: "God, shut up. You are acting ridiculous.

The diverse casting of this movie is something to be marveled at. Period."

Woosh

Sutton Ross said: "People like you will never be happy with anything and just bitch about any little thinginstead of just being happy this was made, which was not a possibility even a decade ago. You are insufferable.

WOOOOOOSH"



LOL. The Woosh was bc you don't understand sarcasm.

It's been a long time since I saw ITH on stage, of course (touring production in 2009 in Chicago, maybe?), but since seeing (and re-watching) the film this week, I have had trouble wrapping my head around the ages of the main characters. There were changes from the musical to the film, out of necessity and some out of license to update (i.e. DACA storyline), but I don't think the ages of the characters changed, as they directly have to do with the inter-connected storylines.

Usnavi says he's nearly 30. So...he's 29. Benny is his best friend...so he's 28 or 29-ish, too, right? Nina is a year out of college, so she's 19. Yet...she and Benny had some kind of relationship or flirtation...*before* she went off to college, which means...she was 17 or 18 when they last dated, and rekindled the romance now that she was home for the summer after Freshman year of college? Yikes. No wonder her parents didn't like him in the stage version (aside from the racial implications of that storyline). And no one thinks a 10 year age difference, in this film with protective parents, should be made a thing, or at least mentioned? Weird. Nina is also in the bar scene before the Blackout--and this show isn't that old and you still had to be 21 to go into bars in NY or anywhere in America, in 2008! She's a good girl, not a fake-ID girl. These things bug me.

Vanessa looks like she's the same age as Nina, yet clearly is older and has the job at the salon and her own apartment (at NY prices??), and wants to be a fashion designer, but there's no mention of her actually having a degree (nor a Cosmetology license, as she's cutting hair at the salon, so...she'd have to. She seems like Daniela just threw her a job and trained her when she got out of high school, or something). Yet...she was classmates with Usnavi, so she's 29, also, but looks super young. I looked up the age of Melissa Barrera and she's apparently 31. So...ok, but...she still looks young on screen and it threw me off as far as this group of friends. Sonny is about 16 or so, and says Nina "was his babysitter" back in the day...but she's only 3 years older than him.

Anyone else think any of this is a little off, or have explanations for it related to the stage show that I maybe just can't remember? And that's inasmuch as the film is very much being presented as an updated/augmented/stand-alone version of this story, anyway, so they could have created more solutions to make some of these inconsistencies make a little more sense. Just my 2cents.

LOVE the film, btw, though I knew there would be nitpicky criticisms. The choreography was first-rate and so were the legions of dancers, the cinematography was beautiful, most of the acting was good, Ramos is talented and charming and deserved this lead, and kudos to Chu for thinking "bigger" and wanting a Busby Berkeley-style number in this movie, among other fun, unexpected SFX.

As for people complaining about "no big names," a) Chu says he prefers unknown actors in his movies and b) are people really going to quibble over a $13Million dollar opening weekend? The studio will still make money on this in the longer term, and...the fact is...MUCH worse movies have been made and have recovered worse ROI. Who still talks about "Dude, Where's My Car?" or...any of the wretched "Human Centipede" films, or most two-bit horror films that don't turn out to be classics like "Friday the 13th" or "Elm Street" franchises. I work in LA on plenty of sets, and even before I ever stepped foot on a set (of mostly cool projects, thankfully), I have always wondered how so much dumb, crappy, sheer offensive stuff gets financed and made. Yet apparently they have their audiences. So does this one...pleasantly so, and I don't consider it in any of the aforementioned negative categories. This film was still worth making... by comparison of SO much. Critics including on this board said the same things about "RENT." I was watching ITH and kept thinking it's a modern-day "West Side Story." "West Side Story" was made in the '60s and is a classic--and it's about Latinos with hardly any Latinos in it!! I mean, criticize THAT. People are quibbling over casting light skin vs. dark-skin Latinos? Give me a break. Lin-Manuel didn't need to apologize for that this week; he's done plenty for his community, including that he more than made up for WSS, intentionally or not, when he hired hundreds more Latinos in one film than ANYONE has, in recent memory. For so many reasons, like "RENT" and any other charming labor-of-love films with a perceived lower box office, this film will still live on and be enjoyed for much longer than a lot of swill that still manages to get made. Criticize the swill, people.

Updated On: 6/16/21 at 04:48 AM

Thanks for chiming in, everyone! Those are some REALLY good points. My main issues are as follows:

- Why can't Nina just go to Columbia or a school closer to home? Or, if it's about "getting out," why not a cheaper school out of state? Maybe one in a more diverse community, like UCLA? In the movie it sounds like she wants to attend law school, so why not save up and attend a more prestigious law school?

- Kevin sold his business to pay for tuition, but Nina has three more years left. What's gonna happen next? I'd hoped that the movie would resolve this, but if anything it made it worse by changing Nina's reasons for dropping out.

- I had the same issue with the time jump. Like, where were Nina and Benny? The movie just forgot about them?

- We barely got to know Abuela Claudia until she died. Also, someone mentioned the lyrics of the finale not matching up to what was happening anymore. Same with "Paciencia y Fe." She's singing about feeding birds...

- I agree that the Dreamer subplot was too much to introduce and not fully commit to it. I also was wondering why Usnavi would leave.

- Where are everyone's parents? Is this a Disney world where they all died off?

Updated On: 6/16/21 at 09:10 AM

Oh, one thing I wanted to add: Chu specifically has had this issue come up before, with Brenda Song claiming that she was told she could not audition for Crazy Rich Asians because she "didn't look Asian enough ".

Updated On: 6/16/21 at 12:32 PM

SporkGoddess said: "
- Why can't Nina just go to Columbia or a school closer to home? Or, if it's about "getting out," why not a cheaper school out of state? Maybe one in a more diverse community, like UCLA? In the movie it sounds like she wants to attend law school, so why not save up and attend a more prestigious law school?

- Kevin sold his business to pay for tuition, but Nina has threemore years left. What's gonna happen next? I'd hoped that the movie would resolve this, but if anything it made it worse by changing Nina's reasons for dropping out."

I am no fan of Stanford (I am a graduate of Stanford's rival school). But, Stanford may actually be less expensive than Columbia/NYU and definitely UCLA. Out of state students for University of California schools pay what approaches private school tuition and there is less scholarship money available. Stanford, for several years, charged no tuition/no room and board to families whose income was less than 65k a year. Today, that level is 75k a year - and the school does not take into account the value of an owned home and does not count expected summer earnings. Between 75k and 150k (formerly 125k), the school covers all tuition, but not room and board. Room and Board is about 20k. (Then there are other costs - books, entertainment, food off campus, travel). Nina could have lived at home while attending Columbia/NYU, but her dream (her father's dream) was for her to "get out" and living at home defeats or at least delays that dream.

This, of course, depends on what income Kevin Rosario actually has. The film is unclear- I think there is a reference that the business was in financial trouble before Nina went to Stanford. The Rosarios also had not moved from Washington Heights to a more expensive Manhattan location. Nina appears to have attended public school - and not private school. There could be lots of reasons for not moving - even if the Rosarios could have afforded to move.

So, to me, Nina should have had less financial reasons for wanting to leave Stanford - than the social/cultural reasons she mentions.

Phantom4ever said: "Sonny's Dreamer plot did not work because wasn't Usnavi planning on taking him to a school in the DR? Which implied that life in the DR would be better for him than a New York life? But then when the Dreamer thing comes up, suddenly he wants to stay? And when the Dreamer thing is revealed, Sonny is with Nina, so I don't think we really see Usnavi's reaction to it and how that affects his plans. And that scene with Sonny's father? What was that about? An alcoholic father subplot just thrown in and never addressed again."

I believe Dreamers are not able to travel outside the country, or risk losing their status. So while it would've been great for Sonny to go to the DR, I'm guessing he likely would never be able to return to the US.

I actually really enjoyed adding that scene with Sonny's father. It added some needed heft to Sonny's storyline. I mean, there had to be some reason Usnavi would just grab a minor child and take him to the DR with him, and could he do that legally anyway? Also, if people want star power, you can't beat one of the legends of Latin music like Marc Anthony.

I agree with the questions about "why is Sonny a dreamer but Usnavi is not"...and similarly wondered about Usnavi's plans for the bodega upon his departure. He seems to close up shop but...if he needs the money, obviously...why wouldn't there be any reference to him selling it to a neighboring business or something? That way, when he reverses his decision at the end, it would be an easy thing for him to get back

And yes...why couldn't Nina just go to a state school or at least closer to home? And I agree with whoever asked--if the father sold the business just to cover a couple of years, what happens next? There was no reference to applying for financial aid...which was, and is, still a very commonplace thing for any person--immigrant or not--to do. (I grew up a white Jewish girl from the suburbs of Chicago but my family still needed to apply for such things when I went to school. And I have a degree, and have experienced hardship even as an adult, because I work in Entertainment. So, asking for Aid is a reality, no matter what color one is, really.) I appreciated the whole awful "brown people get searched/discriminated against" story she described for the film update, yet there are schools everywhere; why not use your "first person in the family to graduate high school and go to college" status and transfer to a place in your community--since her lament was "there's no Community for me at school"--where you can still get an education?

I didn't love the "Sonny's alcoholic father" element. either...even though it was an interesting and shocking way to get Marc Anthony a cameo in this movie. He barely looked like himself; does he want to get into more acting? Anyway, when they discuss "how do you pay him?"//"in...cash"//"ever wonder WHY?", it seems to imply that he's not legal, making the later conversation between Sonny and Nina at the protest make more sense. And the scene could be present to show WHY Sonny works so hard...so he won't be like his father, Usnavi's uncle. But--wouldn't Usnavi have already known this about his status? Also agree with the poster who brought up: why would Usnavi, before receiving Abuela's lottery ticket, even consider leaving Sonny alone with uncertainty about citizenship, in the US? If they were both legal in the DR, they'd have no problem making a life there...but Sonny was raised in America and wants to go to college, here. And since Usnavi stayed to marry Vanessa, and he never talks about those worries...is it to be understood that his parents and family were quickly legalized when Usnavi was a child? He's twice Sonny's age and was in the US a lot longer, so maybe it was easier for his parents, back then.

Ah, yes, there are plot holes in the writing, in this film. But I still enjoyed it as its own standalone piece of art for the singing and the dancing and the love-letter-ness of it all.

Update: A regretful Rita Moreno now admits that while strongly defending Lin-Manuel Miranda and ''In the Heights,'' ''I was clearly dismissive of the black lives that matter in our Latin community.''

https://deadline.com/2021/06/in-the-heights-rita-moreno-defends-lin-manuel-miranda-controversy-1234776073/

Updated On: 6/16/21 at 10:52 PM

Pine-Sol Scented Air said: "You really don't understand this show at all if you're suggesting moving 96,000 to Times Square."

I thought the same thing when I read that, ha. That is a famous park/pool and it is literally in the Heights. I thought it was a cheesy but fun way to get everyone to that pool, and also a clever way to pay homage to old Busby Berkeley production numbers with the twist of using contemporary music and nonwhite people. I love that this movie embraces being a musical and is itself a love letter to movie musicals of the past. It’s as if to say that these people belong in musicals too, that their surroundings can be beautiful and romanticized also.