Facebook 30 Day Movie Challenge

 I should be a lot further than day 9, but c'est la vie.
Day 9: Favorite Musical-Rent

Viva la vie boheme! 

I love musicals, I frequently sing and dance around my house pretending to be in one. And there is no musical I love more than Johnathan Larson's Rent. And while the 2005 film to which this post is dedicated to was directed by Chris Columbus, the credit for Rent all goes to Larson. This play is his life, he lived with these people and he was one himself: a bohemian artist struggling to find love, live life, and just pay the rent. The play and successive film would be nothing without him so I need to give credit where credit is due. Larson manages to make the story of Rent so real and heartbreaking. It is a story of friendship, but of most importantly "measuring your life in love."

Larson, the man himself

Each of his songs are all better than the next and the soundtrack of both the play and the movie are two of the most played on my ipod. The actors all have incredible voices and the songs are not just musical "fluff," but real songs expressing the characters' fears and desires. Columbus wisely cut some of the songs for the movie and used the lyrics as dialogue.
I think Columbus did a really great job with his film in capturing the spirit of the play. Using almost all of the play's original cast was a stroke of genius because these are the actors who know the characters the best. It was definitely something that helped ease the plays transition onto the big screen. The duo of Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal (who I actually saw in the Broadway version) as Mark and Rodger respectively have great chemistry. The two work well together and have done so for many years in numerous revivals of the play. Rosario Dawson (one of the few not from the original Broadway cast) is also great as Mimi, embodying both her sexiness and youth and vulnerability very well. My personal favorite is Jesse L. Martin as the lovable and devious Tom Collins. I love his deep booming voice and his relationship with Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia).
I think my favorite thing about Rent is that even though it is about a sad subject matter, it manages to be uplifting. Rent is about living life to the fullest, being grateful for everyday, and surrounding yourself with people you want to spend your life with. I think we need a little more of that type of positive thinking.
Honorable mentions go to Across the Universe and Moulin Rouge! two of my favorite films that for some reason I always forget are considered muscials. Welp, now I'm angry that I forgot. Also Newsies (see it if you haven't for one reason: baby Christian Bale singing and dancing), Chicago, and School of Rock.