Director Chris Columbus' adaptation of "Rent" is successful in bringing at least one aspect of the Broadway mega-hit to the big screen: a viewer will either love it or hate it. Much like the stage version, the movie is truly a hit-or-miss experience. Unfortunately, little else has been successfully accomplished by translating the Tony Award-winning musical to film. "Rent" is severely lacking the energy and wit that made its play version such an enormous success.
The stage version, based on the opera "La Boh???," was full of energy and life as its characters traversed their way through intertwining relationships. Though lacking the same power, the movie does stick fairly faithfully to the original "Rent" storyline; the plot centers on the exploits of a group of bohemian friends living in the chaotic "Alphabet City" section of Manhattan's East Village in the late 1980s.
The story follows amateur filmmaker Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp) and his forlorn aspiring songwriter roommate Roger (Adam Pascal) as they struggle and sing their way through AIDS, poverty, new and old flames, and the loss of friends. Trouble starts when Mark's and Roger's old roommate-turned-landlord, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III (Taye Diggs), is introduced fresh from his marriage to a wealthy woman of the aristocratic "Greys of Westport" and is subsequently appointed to a high position in his stepfather's business. Now the landlord for Mark and Roger's building, Benny begins threatening to evict the duo and their fellow residents so he can construct Cyber Arts, a glitzy new multimedia studio.
Mark's ex-lover Maureen (Idina Menzel) and her new girlfriend, an Ivy League lawyer named Joanne (Tracie Thoms), start a crusade to save the boys' building and the vacant lot/homeless shelter that Benny's Cyber Arts project intends to destroy. The film also follows the relationship between Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin) and his lover Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), as well as Roger's new love interest and neighbor Mimi (Rosario Dawson), adding rich subplots to the main conflict.
All of these characters are introduced in different song and dance numbers with varying degrees of success. The film opens with perhaps the most famous "Rent" song: "Seasons of Love." In the stage version, this musical number is held until after intermission, and beginning the film with it starts things off on a strange note. While its lovely melody may attract new people to the "Rent" experience, "Seasons" is never referred to again, nor does it tie into the plot as neatly as it does in the Broadway incarnation.
Most of the characters are great in their respective roles, primarily because almost all of them were part of the original 1996 theater cast of "Rent." Anthony Rapp absolutely shines as Mark, bringing a sarcastic and emotive presence to the screen. Drew Lachey never quite held his role as Mark on Broadway, and Anthony Rapp alleviates what was a glaring fault in the theatrical version. The sulky Adam Pascal as Roger, however, almost has the means to pull off the role, but falls just a few inches short of truly attaining and representing Roger's indecisive nature.
The supporting duo of Angel and Collins fares much better than Roger: Heredia shines as Angel, bringing the character to life, and Jesse L. Martin is a success (although he may surprise viewers used to him as a tough-talking cop on "Law and Order").
But Idina Menzel seems a tad old to be playing Maureen, and the director does not utilize her talents to give her the starring role she deserved in this film. The performance of Rosario Dawson, the only newcomer to the "Rent" cast, isn't as strong as the part requires; her role as a sexpot does not feel full enough, and her layers are not well enough developed for us to truly believe in her struggles or desires.
For those who haven't seen the stage version, certain aspects may be confusing. The fact that Benny and Mimi had a past relationship is half-omitted from the film; there is little development in their relationship onscreen, and this may leave newcomers confused. The film also omits the group's Halloween celebration and instead incorporates some of its aspects into the New Year's Eve setting.
Many of the film's reinventions of scenes fail miserably. "Tango Maureen," the first meeting between Mark and his ex-girlfriend's new lesbian lover Joanne, comes off as a cheap version of the film "Chicago," as their jealous dancing duel randomly takes place in an abstract imaginary setting.
"Take Me or Leave Me," between the newly-committed Maureen and Joanne, transplants the characters to a country club for a commitment ceremony. This is an awful new addition to the film and does little other than anger ardent fans of the stage version.
Director Chris Columbus is not new at ruining great possibilities; he did the same for the first two "Harry Potter" films. But with those movies, at least Columbus tried to stay faithful to the source material.
Columbus is able to do what no "Rent" fanatic thought was possible: take the hip, fast-paced theater performance and make it feel five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred minutes long.
