Rent

We're not going to pay rent!

I don't know why these guys weren't evicted years ago for not paying the rent, but I loved the theatrical musical. I heard a lot of people didn't like this movie version, but I liked the movie as well.

My sister got me into musicals. I first started singing songs from Les Miserables when I listened to her CD's. I love Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. Then, I got into Rent. I saw the musical with my sister several years ago and I loved it.

The singing in this movie is awesome. The background material is not going to be appealing to some people though.

This is not like any other type of movie. It's a musical movie. 99% of it is in song. I can understand why many people didn't think that this musical translated well into a movie.

The movie, however, does a fantastic job of filling in the gaps of the musical. Sometimes, in the theatrical musical of RENT, there's some difficulty following what's going on since they're just acting it out on stage. In the movie version, it's much easier to understand what's going on, because you can clearly see what they're doing. The movie has the advantage of being able to set the scene in many different environments, while on stage, there's just one backdrop.

This movie is strictly for people who like musicals or for RENT fans only. Everyone else will be scratching their heads wondering what the hell this movie's about.

The movie's about bohemian artistic types that shun conventional manners and social mores approved of by the majority of society. It's filled with people who have AIDS, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transvestites, drug addicts, and strippers. I normally would not watch this type of stuff nor would I approve of anything they do, but the heart of the movie is about love and friendship.

The story is not just about people with AIDS, but the message of the movie is accepting people for who they are. It makes you think twice before judging other people by their lifestyles or outer appearances. What's most important is what's inside a person that counts. The story and the songs are very touching.

I love singing along with the songs, but I'm not gay nor do I have AIDS. I just like musicals in general. And RENT, is one of my favorites.

I used to sing along to the CD's all the time. The singing takes some getting used to when you hear different people singing the songs you've heard a hundred times on the CD, but you get used to it very quickly, because everyone in the movie sings fabulously. After all, most of them were in the original Broadway musical of RENT.

I can't imagine any straight guys wanting to see this if they haven't seen the musical before. For the unitiated, this might be too freaky for them. You see two gays french kissing.

You learn acceptance and compassion for all people through this film.

525,600 minutes in one year. How do you measure a year in the life of a woman or a man (or a transvestite)? Life is short. (--Especially for people who have AIDS.) How are you going to live your life? Measure your life in love.

Even though I'm not gay, I like gays in general. They're one of the nicest guys I know.

The story mainly focuses on 8 friends during the course of one year. It takes place in NYC Alphabet City, a bohemian slum. Mark is a film maker who hates pretension and chooses to live in bohemia. Roger is a song writer who used to be a rock star. His gf, April, died from AIDS. Roger has AIDS too. Mimi is a stripper who strips to feed her heroin habit. She got AIDS from an infected needle. She falls in love with Roger. Benny is a guy who married a rich girl, moved away from the neighborhood, and wants to build a state of the art studio where the tent city currently stands. Maureen is a bisexual slut who is a performance artist that flirts with anything that breathes. Joanne is her lesbian lover who happens to be a lawyer. Tom Collins is a NYU professor who got expelled for his theory of actual reality. Collins later falls in love with Angel when he/she nurses him back to health after he gets his ass kicked by some street thugs in the alley. Now, Angel is a drag queen with a heart of an angel that likes to play drums on his/her upside down bucket.

The Highs: Awesome singing. The movie's more complete and easier to follow than the original musical. Songs are emotionally touching.

The Lows: The theatrical musical's style may not translate well onto film. Too queer for the straight guy.

The Verdict: For RENT fans only.

My rating: A, 91.