In the Heights reviews

[Mister Tee]

A friend had warned me off In the Heights onstage, saying it was the kind of show where a kiss was staged for the audience to go "Aww" and applaud. Amazingly, the filmmakers chose to preserve that moment -- two young, hesitant lovers show such an ethereal level of affection for one another that you'd think they had no sex organs. When they (at long last) kiss, it's Adooorable.

It''s not that In the Heights is that bad, overall. But it's very much an artist's Early Work -- seemingly part autobiographical, the rest patched together from mediocre movies Miranda probably saw as a kid. You can tell he has talent: lots of his lyrics are impressive, and he occasionally shows the poetic ear/eye that so burst forth in Hamilton; I especially liked the abuela's death dream (which has the added attraction of spotlighting the correct NY subway cars). But he clearly didn't have much of a story to tell, and he fell back on a bunch of hackneyed plot lines, which all line up for a crowd-pleasing finish. (Though it takes way too long to wrap up: the last 20 minutes feel like they could have done the job in 5.)

Yet...it's not an unpleasant sit. Lively enough, sometimes funny, with some good numbers. (96,000 and Fireworks were the highlights, for me.) Mostly likable actors. Enjoyable, I guess. But not a patch on Hamilton.

[Sabin]

Mister Tee wrote
I, by the way, differ from the norm: I'm holding out to see it in a theatre, simply because I've been craving something without monsters in it to draw me to the big screen again.

Next week is my first week off since December. I fully plan on seeing it on the big screen.

I also wonder if everyone needs to shift their expectations about how movies will perform post-pandemic and if they're allowed to hang out in theaters for a bit longer. For example, In the Heights will be going up against The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (ugh, that title). How much will that film cut into In the Height's audience? 0%? 5% if we want to stretch and say Salma Hayek? Maybe this weekend In the Heights drops 20%. At least, that's what I'm hoping. I'm rooting for everyone involved with this film.

[Mister Tee]

Wasn't Crazy Rich Asians also based on a big best-selling book? That still helps.

I think a lot of the reasons cited below played a part in the unexpectedly low opening;: a not-that-prominent vehicle (beyond NY theatre circles), performed by an unknown, essentially all non-white cast (which hurts in the heartland) -- while its prime audience (older folk), still hesitant about going out in crowds, could watch it for free at home. Its audience scores are supposedly very strong, so maybe it'll have a decent hold -- but it's certainly not what the studio wanted, and they may start to rethink this HBO MAX strategy for future adult-audience films.

I, by the way, differ from the norm: I'm holding out to see it in a theatre, simply because I've been craving something without monsters in it to draw me to the big screen again.

"Miranda is no Stephen Sondheim, or even Stephen Schwartz, or any other Broadway composer who knows how to write songs that can live outside the narrative of their shows as well in them"

Magilla, Sondheim might just have this sentence blown up and framed -- because NOT being such a songwriter has been the criticism thrown at him his entire career.

[Sabin]

Big Magilla wrote
The blogosphere is having a field day with this one. "Lin-Manuel Miranda is over", "low box office means its awards hopes are gone," and so on.

Firstly, I have no idea how or why they expected this to be a box-office bonanza when it is streaming on HBO Max day and date with its theatrical release in a pandemic that is ending but isn't yet over.

I don't know what "Lin-Manuel Miranda is over" means. What I do know is that people love to hate a genius, for their own esteem or careers. It's like what Billy Wilder wrote when At Long Last Love opened: "You could hear the champagne bottles popping all over town." I hardly think this qualifies considering the vast number of factors working against this film as detailed above but I'll throw one more factor into it: NOBODY WAS IN IT! Moulin Rouge! had Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. La La Land had Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. You could make the case that Lin-Manuel Miranda isn't as bankable a brand as some have said, but who's in it? This movie was hoping and praying that the Latino population would come out and save it and who knows? Maybe that still happens? But this movie was always a roll of the dice with this release date, this cast, and this streaming alternative.

I think it's unavoidable that people compare this film's fate with that of Crazy, Rich Asians considering they're both directed by Jon M. Chu and they're both entirely ethnic casts. I think one major factor stands out about each one: Crazy, Rich Asians was about wealthy people and In the Heights is not. The trailer for Crazy, Rich Asians looked like wealth porn insanity. The trailer for In the Heights did not.

[Big Magilla]

The blogosphere is having a field day with this one. "Lin-Manuel Miranda is over", "low box office means its awards hopes are gone," and so on.

Firstly, I have no idea how or why they expected this to be a box-office bonanza when it is streaming on HBO Max day and date with its theatrical release in a pandemic that is ending but isn't yet over.

Secondly, Miranda is not a movie name. His reprise of the Dick Van Dyke role in Mary Poppins Returns was supposed ot be his movie breakout role. It wasn't

Thirdly, it may be a nice-to-look-at musical a la La La Land, but like that overly hyped and extravagantly over-rewarded film, it lacks sustained substance.

I haven't visited Washington Heights since the 1970s, but I still remember it as a nice, quiet place. The economically depressed residents were too busy going about their business to be out singing in the streets like the happy slaves in the fields in Song of the South. Maybe that's changed, but I doubt it.

Aside from the show-stopping numbers performed by Olga Merediz as the neighborhood matriarch and Daphne Rubin-Vega as the middle-aged mother priced out of her apartment, none of the songs stand out. Miranda is no Stephen Sondheim, or even Stephen Schwartz, or any other Broadway composer who knows how to write songs that can live outside the narrative of their shows as well in them.

Anthony Ramos as the hard-working bodega owner, Gregory Diaz IV as his undocumented teenage cousin, and Merediz as his adoptive grandmother are the acting standouts with Jimmy Smits as his girlfriend's father not far behind.

Its strongest Oscar hope is probably for Merediz, a long-time character actress and voiceover artist. She was the voice on the NYC subway trains indicating locations and procedures. "Stand clear of the closing doors...".

[Reza]

I’m interested to see how In the Heights does over the weekend. But this thing is going to end up nominated, right?

Best Picture, Original Song, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing are possibilities, right?

Hasn't the Sound Editing award been omitted?

Add to your list nods for Supporting Actress (Olga Meridiz) and costume design.

[Sabin]

I’m interested to see how In the Heights does over the weekend. But this thing is going to end up nominated, right?

I know it’s early in the year but consider it’s a diverse Film with a lot of industry good will behind it. And it probably has a good shot at winning the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical considering they nominated Hamilton.

Best Picture, Original Song, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing are possibilities, right?

[Sabin]

David Ehrlich of Indiewire just gave it a "A-"

[Mister Tee]

Hey, remember when we used to post reviews of upcoming/anticipated movies?

Return with us now, to those thrilling days of yesteryear:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 234955500/

https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/i ... 234978405/

https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/in- ... 98.article