This evening I saw Rent with a couple folks from QGPA and several of the ladies from the law student queers. It was interesting. It’s a film adaptation, and on the whole a good one. There were a few elements I missed from the stage, but on the whole it worked, and there’s a great deal that can be done on screen that cannot be done on stage. One of the big things that changes is that even from the back row, you can see facial expressions, something very missing
The big thing I missed was the “Christmas Bells” song. Gone. Two or three items out of it are cut out and turned into spoken word bits, but on the whole it is missing. I think it did a better job of presenting a sympathetic view of the homeless than any other part of the show. They left the music and much of the scene from “Will I Lose My Dignity” and “Life Support”, which appealed to me almost as much. Also, Joanne’s parents are put in a very different light in this one. It does add in a timely fascimile of marriage for the homo couple. It also cuts out the sex scene which I have always been uncomfortable with (though I think that’s more a problem in my head than a problem with the scene). I think on the whole I prefer the broadway show, but this was one hell of alot more affordable, and still good.
I see alot of myself in the story. I also find it interesting how in the movie, you see the main characters walking, taking the subway, biking, but never driving, save when Mark and Roger sell out. If there are two characters from the movie version I identify with, it would be Mark and Tom. Usually, I don’t see myself in the Tom character. But the movie version, the movie version I see myself in. And the movie Angel (out of drag) wasn’t as attractive as the stage Angel (out of drag). I see a major parallel between Rent’s Angel and Sandman’s Death. But that’s another point.
Watching the show, I started thinking about how I am very much not making the most of the moment I am in. I’m sulking in alot of ways,
I, too, was sad that they cut Christmas Bells. I almost think it would be easier to do on screen than on stage. Such a great song.
I however LOVED how they did Tango Mureen and Take Me or Leave Me. Tracie Thoms was amazing.
I also love Christmas Bells in the musical — it’s one of my favorite songs. However, it makes sense to cut it from the movie. It doesn’t move the plot forward. Big ensemble numbers like it are used in stage performances to keep the audience on their toes or at the very least prevent them from falling asleep. It doesn’t really have much place in a movie and if you had to cute a song or two, it makes sense to cut that one.
Angel out of drag in the stage production and Angel out of drag in the movie were the same. In fact, everyone in the movie was the same cast as the original broadway cast except for Mimi and Joanne. Of the broadway cast, I think Taye Diggs aged the best. Yum.
I’m glad they cut the sex seen. They also changed some other bits.. Without You becomes a song about Mimi’s drug addiction and Angel dying. Christmas Eve gets strethed into several days. A date (1989-1990) is added to the movie. Mostly good things I think. Or rather, mostly things that make sense for a motion picture production.
Oh and of course nobody drives.. they are in manhattan and dirt poor. Nobody drives in manhattan except Taxis and Limos. 🙂
btw, somone said I should consult you: http://www.livejournal.com/users/cheerfulchaotic/410970.html?thread=1524826#t1524826
I didn’t say it would work well on screen, just that I missed it. I suspect you’re right that the ensemble bits wouldn’t go so well. Angel in the original cast and Angel on the show are indeed the same person. However, when I saw it on broadway, it was not the original cast.
I was kinda “enh” on the stretching of christmas eve into several days. I couldn’t think of a compelling reason for it. I also really liked what they did with the Santa Fe song.
Ah thanks for pointing out that comment. I wonder who it was.. someone who isn’t on LJ, reads your journal, knows both me, you, and Keith, and thought you didn’t know Keith and yet felt I knew him well enough to introduce you two. Ironically you may know him better than I do.
Sadly, all the addresses I have for keith are bouncing. Bleh.
One of the things that bothered me was the adding of the date… particularly since that date doesn’t make any sense. Maureen’s performance makes a reference to the Oklahoma City bombing which was several years later. The term “virtual reality” wasn’t in popular usage at that time. (according to wikipedia, the term wasn’t even invented until 1989). And in the play (although not the movie), email addresses are referenced; in 1989/1990 the only people with email addresses were pretty much college students studying computer science.
I agree with being glad they cut the sex scene… I hated it in the play and have always thought it was one of the more expendable songs. I also agree with Christmas Bells. One of my favorite songs from the play, but not really necessary in the movie. Although I kinda wish the Christmas Bells coat-buying exchange was left in the movie. (“That’s my coat!” “We give discounts!”)
Johnathan Larson actually wrote RENT between 1990-1995 and it premiered in 1995. He was writing about an actual year in his life between 1989-1990. That’s why they chose that date for the movie. However, since the musical didn’t come out into 1995, it contained a lot of pop culture references that happened after 1990. In addition to what you pointed out, Thelma and Louise didn’t come out until 1991.
But I agree with you. Choosing that date causes conflicts that don’t make sense. But the reason they wrote the date is because living with HIV/AIDS is a much different experience in today’s era than it was in the era he’s writing about. Today people with HIV can have a normal lifespan if they can afford medication.
Oh, Keith. Yes, I should have thought of him. =) Good that someone reminded me, at least. =)
I had wondered about the approval of AZT by the FDA, but that apperently happened in ’90, so that’s in the historical clear. =)
i liked what they did with “One Song, Glory” in the movie version as well as showing Mimi in the Cat Scratch.
And, it was strange to me to see the detective from Law and Order sing about marijuana. (yes, i know he was in Rent first, but, still.)
And I liked the montague of Angel’s death scene in the hospital, where it started with all the friends, who all eventually dwindled down to Tom.
Seeing it again today. 🙂
It was weird seeing Tom as a detective.
i saw rent on broadway in NY (not the original cast) and loved it, but i actually think the movie was FAR better than the staged version. without a doubt in my mind the characters were much better developed … i was hardly moved by the plight of any of the characters when i saw it on stage because the characters were hard to identify with (it was the music that really “spoke” to me), but i nearly cried several times during the movie (and the music took a back seat to plot).
Didn’t you feel the transitions from songs to dialogue jarring though? I’ll have to see it again to give you examples, but some of them I was cringing at the forced acting/dialogue. Mediocre lyrics should never be turned into dialgue. Why? Because they lack the support of music to fill them out. You shouldn’t have to also rely on tricks to sell the movie (“Tango Maureen”- loved it, but it was reminescent of “Moulin Rouge”).
Half the time I thought I was watching a music video, with all the pan shots of Santa Fe etc. Overall, I liked the movie but my take on it was exact opposite of yours; I would rather watch the stage show than the movie.
Didn’t you feel the transitions from songs to dialogue jarring though?
no. i didn’t find the spoken dialogue to be sub-par; it actually made me smile to hear those lines spoken. i think it was a rather wise decision because the music was much more enjoyable without the mediocre lyrics (well, truthfully i find rent pretty mediocre both musically and lyrically, it is more the style that appeals to me).
Maybe I am mistaken
In the stage version didn’t they give Benny a little more humanity at the end? It seemed he was just as callous an asshat at the end as the beginning in the movie, and I remember not hating him as much at the end of the stage show.
I did like the movie a great deal, though I am glad I saw it both on stage and on screen.
Oh and I had decent seats for the stage show and the facial expressions were a little difficult to see for me too. More points for screen.
Re: Maybe I am mistaken
They had a point after the funeral where Tom and Benny are talking, and Tom says something to the effect of “You know, it was Angel that killed your dog.” and Benny says “Yeah… I always hated that dog.”
That’s my memory, anyway.