Rent - review

As something of a Rent virgin, this was all new to me- the story, characters, songs. The closest I've ever come to familiarity with this was "Lease: The Musical" in Team America: World Police.

After a strong opening with the excellent "Seasons of Love", things rapidly went downhill with cheesy forgettable song after cheesy forgettable song- the kind that aren't actual songs, but dialogue set (vaguely) to music. However, we then have a few interesting set-pieces, including "Tango:Maureen" and "Out Tonight", and the plot is underway. Things take another dip an hour in, when we're finally introduced to the much-mentioned Maureen. I'm assuming she is supposed to be a breath of fresh air, but is, in fact, irritating beyond comprehension. Fortunately, she isn't given much to do and is very quickly sidelined for the mawkish second half.

Shame that Taye Diggs is relegated to little more than a cameo, and it is pretty clear that Chris Columbus couldn't direct traffic. The lack of imagination in bringing the stage to life is suffocating rather than breathtaking.

I'd be lying if I said this film had no effect on me, and will certainly be tracking down some of the soundtrack. First impressions- good, not great, but could be a grower.

7/10