So this is Rent, huh? Yowzers, what a ridiculous snoozer. And here I thought Angels In America was an indulgent, dripping waste of time. Anything with the scrumptious and sassy Rosario Dawson in it has a fighting chance, but even Rosario gets steamrolled by the depressing subject matter. If they insisted on turning the infamous Broadway play into a movie, they should have done it sooner. AIDS and poverty are always worthy topics, of course. It just feels like this movie is about 15 years late for the prom.
I've wasted countless hours watching bad movies, but I never thought this one would be such an utter mess. And watching it seemed to take countless hours too. Then again, maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise. This IS a musical and musicals are a touchy subject, particularly when they're directed by a notable hamfister like Chris Columbus. The everybody-sings-at-the-drop-of-a-needle premise makes a story seem fake at the best of times, and Rent was in dire need of more authenticity. All this movie accomplished was make me reach for the laptop and start surfing anyway. Anything to provide a distraction from all the the melodramatic caterwauling and whining.
Besides, those South Park guys lampooned the Rent stage production so memorably with their "Everyone Has AIDS" song in Team America. It's hard to take this stuff seriously after puppets have mocked it.
I've wasted countless hours watching bad movies, but I never thought this one would be such an utter mess. And watching it seemed to take countless hours too. Then again, maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise. This IS a musical and musicals are a touchy subject, particularly when they're directed by a notable hamfister like Chris Columbus. The everybody-sings-at-the-drop-of-a-needle premise makes a story seem fake at the best of times, and Rent was in dire need of more authenticity. All this movie accomplished was make me reach for the laptop and start surfing anyway. Anything to provide a distraction from all the the melodramatic caterwauling and whining.
Besides, those South Park guys lampooned the Rent stage production so memorably with their "Everyone Has AIDS" song in Team America. It's hard to take this stuff seriously after puppets have mocked it.