AEGiS-Chicago Tribune: 'Rent's' skip to film misses nary a beat

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

'Rent's' skip to film misses nary a beat

Chicago Tribune - November 25, 2005
Michael Phillips, mjphillips@tribune.com

A pretty good film version of a pretty great stage phenom, "Rent" is Jonathan Larson's 1996 musical, in which the starving artists of Puccini's "La Boheme" became denizens of Manhattan's AIDS-era Alphabet City neighborhood. Director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Stephen Chbosky maintain the original's setting and era and most every tune, without apologies. On stage, the dialogue was virtually non-existent. On film, it's spare as well, although some of the explanatory recitative has been turned into dialogue, painlessly.

From the stage cast the film features Anthony Rapp as videographer Mark Cohen and Idina Menzel as his ex-lover, Maureen, a bisexual now with lawyer Joanne (Tracie Thoms, new to the material). Adam Pascal, looking a bit lost on camera, recreates the role of Roger, Mark's HIV-positive roommate. He's a singer-song-writer who attracts the hungry eye of HIV-positive junkie and borderline-exotic dancer, Mimi, played well enough by Rosario Dawson, who wasn't in the original and fares nicely and who really does look thin enough to be a junkie.

Columbus' directorial career has been marked by tremendous piles of cash, via impersonal high-grossing junk such as "Mrs. Doubtfire" or, more egregiously, the first two "Home Alone" pictures. (Later Columbus traveled up the Hollywood chain to take on the first two "Harry Potter" films.) It's a pleasant surprise, given much of his earlier work, to see how nicely Columbus and editor Richard Pearson handle most of the "Rent" numbers. The cutting rhythm, only occasionally too busy for its own good (as in "Today For You"), allows for some pleasing, full-body footage of the performers in motion, unlike some of the dodgier bits in "Chicago." It's uneven, but a lot of "Rent" can still bowl you over if you're at all susceptible to its pop-rock romanticism.

"Rent" is directed by Chris Columbus, with a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky. Running time: 2:15.

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic material involving drugs and sexuality, and for some strong language).

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