Rent
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: November 23, 2005
7.3
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 198 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
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138
Mixed:
19
Negative:
41
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User Reviews

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6
ChadS.Feb 3, 2006
The truth about "Rent" is that all the memorable songs are front-loaded, ending with the rousing "La Vie Boheme". Up to this point, the Tony Award-winning Jonathan Larson musical offers up a pretty good time for "Rent"-neophytes. "One Song The truth about "Rent" is that all the memorable songs are front-loaded, ending with the rousing "La Vie Boheme". Up to this point, the Tony Award-winning Jonathan Larson musical offers up a pretty good time for "Rent"-neophytes. "One Song Glory" should've confined Roger(Adam Pascal) to the apartment, but the song is still gloriously corny, and moving; the two same adjectives that can also be applied to "Seasons of Love". Stripped of its signature guitar riff from the Broadway version, "Out Tonight" no longer bears a passing resemblance to Sinnead O'Connor's "Mandinka", and Rosario Dawson convinces us that she probably won over her castmates. But after we leave the restaurant, apart from the duet between Maureen(Idina Menzel) and Joanne(Tracie Thoms), "Rent" is for die-hards only. It does "fun" better than "maudlin". You can't really blame the filmmaker because it's all about the songs. "Rent" needed one more song, a death song along the lines of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables". What Roger writes for Mimi is pretty weak. In "What You Own", Roger is walking in the desert like he's Bon Jovi in the music video for "Blaze of Glory".… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
4
JulieNov 29, 2005
Not as fun as the live stage version. Its fun to hear the songs again for $10 not bad. Favorite number was the Tango Maureen. Watch out for the cheesy flashback sequences and the fake cold breath..... not worth it for the holiday season!
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
WakoJakoNov 30, 2005
The best I can say about this film is that I didn't hate it. About as good as The Phantom of the Opera. I know that is not saying much. It's just that if there was ever a musical begging for reinvention...well, this was it. Kudos The best I can say about this film is that I didn't hate it. About as good as The Phantom of the Opera. I know that is not saying much. It's just that if there was ever a musical begging for reinvention...well, this was it. Kudos to the cast, for earnestness and overall average to great acting. But one will only have to wonder what an inspired director might have delivered. Think of what Chicago's director did cinematically with the very stylized stage show. Instead, Columbus merely seems to have tried to transpose the theatrical stagings to the screen. For instance, he uses one of the shows most boring scenes (Season's of Love) to open the movie, but rather than finding a creative way to present the song, he merely duplicates the theatrical staging. It did nothing for me other than pay homage to the show's most boringly staged song. Anyway, too bad, because I really liked the show and the music.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
DWillyDec 1, 2005
If you like musicals, this will do for an evening. Yes, it's corny in the way of people breaking into song in an artificial environment; and, yes, the actors are ten years too old to be playing characters behaving this way If you like musicals, this will do for an evening. Yes, it's corny in the way of people breaking into song in an artificial environment; and, yes, the actors are ten years too old to be playing characters behaving this way sympathetically (strealing, drugging, and inveighing: "Yuppie Scum!"); but the music and the voices and the commitment is so damn good, and with the AIDS epidemic providing a through line of gravitas... if you're in the mood, it's a kick.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
D.L.BrunnerDec 9, 2005
Of the musicals, Walk the Line was better.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
MilesM.Nov 23, 2005
I saw RENT in 1996, when it first came out on stage and became a cultural phenomena. Although I loved the songs back then, I felt the musical itself, (plot and structure) were not up to par. And actually a bit simplistic. Here is a musical I saw RENT in 1996, when it first came out on stage and became a cultural phenomena. Although I loved the songs back then, I felt the musical itself, (plot and structure) were not up to par. And actually a bit simplistic. Here is a musical that celebrates the right to be mediocre, while it makes the enemy of the one minority trying to make his community better. Here is a musical that pretends to celebrate individuality by being mass pop corn entertainment so bland, that it never stands on its own. I have seen Gap ads with more artistic gravitas. However, what made the play worth the while back then is the same element that makes it now. A SUPERB CAST! And this cast surely delivers, making their roles deeper with time and more meaningful. Can Idina Menzel be any more talented than she already is? I don't think so. Still the movie suffers from the same problems the play does. It glorifies not artistic integrity, not taking risks in life, not even living a life well lived. It celebrates youth's right to chose to be mediocre, selfish, and largely lazy. We have a rich kid, Mark, who wants to be a film maker. A poor film maker indeed, someone should just tell him to give it all up. A film maker he will never be. When he chooses to burn his screenplays,to keep warm, this is a large miscalculation in the writer's part. A true artists would rather freeze to death than let those things he slaved over burn. Mark is an example of the whinny wannabe artist who lacks the talent or the drive to be a true artist. It's a shame, because the actor gives a pretty darn good performance. The same can be said of Roger, the singer, spending a year to write a song, this is a guy who should feel the ticking of the clock, HIV+, but still unwilling to grow up and give up his immature ways. I like the songs of RENT, for the most part, like I like a Britney Spears album, it's fluffy sentimentality (largely over hyped in 1996) it is adorable at places, and a lot of fun. I am not saying the movie is terrible, I am saying the source material is highly flawed. The enemy is an African American guy who becomes their landlord, and then tells them he is gonna turn the building into something "we always dreamed about" if they always dreamed about it, why do they stand so against him. Surely, their needs to make their dreams come true would outweigh all else. Surely the need to better the community by bringing in positive influences would make the sacrifice worth it. Sure there were homeless people to think about, but wouldn't a giving,sharing person, see that by helping themselves they could help everyone around them. But no, these characters never think in self less ways, they are obsessed by wanting to leave their marks in the world, and they go about it by doing everything that is opposite to leaving their mark. They are petulant and immature. They, as written are everything they sing about hating. Maybe that is the trick, maybe the musical really is about a bunch of people who hate themselves and their inability to be unique creators. Rent is a product of the end of the 20th Century. It is about my generation screaming, "Look, Don't you feel sorry for me. I am trying so hard." But trying so hard to achieve what. In the end, I guess Love is the answer. The problem is, these people spend so little time loving each other, you're surprised they come to that conclusion, 525,600 minutes later, you are asked to be overjoyed, because they sing, NO DAY BUT TODAY... but what exactly do they do during that day is never answered. This is a movie about wasted DAYS. However, the cast is great, the songs are catchy. And someone may someday be inspired by to write something that is truly reflective of youth's struggle… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
NickBNov 26, 2005
A self-proclaimed "Renthead," I hoped I was going to enjoy the film. I didn't. The charm, bite, and character of the musical didn't transfer well enough to the big screen. I thought they handled it well, the cast was great with A self-proclaimed "Renthead," I hoped I was going to enjoy the film. I didn't. The charm, bite, and character of the musical didn't transfer well enough to the big screen. I thought they handled it well, the cast was great with what they were given, but there is something missing. There is no "so what" factor. The movie just sort of sits there. And there were way too many cheesey moments that were too far fetched for an audience to buy into. Angel and Collins running down the street singing "I Will Cover You," the god-awful exploitation of Rosario Dawson's Mimi, and a lack of sympathy for the film characters all added to a so-so show. The negative aside, it is still a solid musical with flare and gusto, but I would save your 10 bucks and put your money towards something better, like the actual stage show.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
PrestonF.Dec 21, 2005
The music was disappointing if not outright bad. The story of a bunch of doped up slackers was hardly appealing.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
danielleDec 29, 2005
The songs were better than the movie itself. id rather see the broadway play than the movie.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
CharlieN.May 17, 2006
Corny, cliched, and annoying. Why don't some of those characters just get a day job?
0 of 0 users found this helpful
5
sarahelisabethMar 9, 2011
Having seen the musical multiple time (both on broadway and on the broadway tour) this movie was bordering on blasphemy. What a wonderful idea it was to form this wonderful, beautiful, and inspiring movie into film. What a wonderful idea itHaving seen the musical multiple time (both on broadway and on the broadway tour) this movie was bordering on blasphemy. What a wonderful idea it was to form this wonderful, beautiful, and inspiring movie into film. What a wonderful idea it was to use most of the original broadway cast. What a terrible outcome it came to be.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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