In the Heights
Director: John M. Chu
Writer: Lin-Manuel Miranda (who thankfully has very little screen time here, which keeps him from doing his theater-kid-rapping thing) and Quiara Alegria Hudes
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Olga Merediz, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV
Reason for watching: New release and the first real Oscar bait of the year
Number of times I’ve watched it: once…for now…okay probably for a while. There’s a lot of stuff coming out, dude.
***
Movie musicals aren’t exactly the bread and butter of Hollywood anymore. Whenever a genre decides it’s time to do a mashup with a zombie movie, you might have run out of ideas. (Anna and the Apocalypse is actually good though). Listen I’m just a dude who figured out how to pay Squarespace for a URL. My word is not gospel. But if the last good movie musical had to rely on Ryan Gosling’s vocal chops, the genre is definitely not Michael Jordan on the Bulls anymore. But new blood and new stories always seem to breathe life into an older genre, bringing new stories to an older medium of story-telling. I think that’s exactly what In the Heights does.
In the Heights follows an ensemble of characters who grow up in the Latin-based neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) wants nothing more than to return to his homeland in the Dominican Republic. Returning home from her first year at Stanford, Nina (Leslie Grace) struggles with grasping who she wants to be and if being on the other side of the country for school was the best idea. Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) dreams of designing fashion, but she doesn’t many second looks from potential employers or apartment owners outside the Heights. Finally, Benny (Corey Hawkins) wants to be a businessman and prove himself to Nina’s father Kevin (Jimmy Smits). Each of them goes on a transformative journey during one summer in the Heights and survives bad circumstances, broken hearts, a heatwave, and dancing the streets of New York City without being hit by a car. Only in the movies…
First of all, this movie really delivers with its adaptation of a musical’s script to the big screen. While I loved seeing Hamilton on Disney + last summer, I couldn’t escape the feeling I was watching a high-value recording of a stage production. It’s not the same as being in person. Like a copy of an experience. Movies have so much more to offer in terms of staging and setting. But often times these movie musicals feel like you’re watching a 2-D scroller video game (Boomers, think of watching someone play the original Super Mario). But director John Chu really draws us into the world of Washington Heights. The dance sequences are immersive and energetic. We get to travel to a character’s actual apartment or home and see them in their habitat. Traveling to various locations like a dance club or the local swimming pool helps deepen a connection to this neighborhood our characters live in. Would I buy an open-world video game of this world to explore it? Heck yeah! I would!
While none of the characters stand out individually, I felt as if three of the four main leads deliver well on their performances. Ramos, Grace, and Barrera all get moments to shine and grow during the movie. I can’t see any of them winning an individual acting award, but they come together to form a strong ensemble. Olga Merediz on the other hand…BOI!!! She gets just enough time as a supporting character to warrant our love and affection as the matriarch of this block. When her moment comes to steal the mic and the spotlight, it’s captivating in a way no other character reaches. It’s a dream-like sequence that I can’t get into too much without spoiling the movie.
Ultimately though, this movie sticks with me for a bigger reason. Everyone has a different path in life; but in the end, everyone just wants to find a home and a purpose in life. What am I here to do? What do I want to spend the rest of my life doing? Where is my home? These types of questions really eat at us over time. And In the Heights really dives at those questions in a way that a lot of movies don’t. There’s a stereotype of going after your dream and sacrificing everything to reach it, but sometimes your dream isn’t far away. It can be right around the corner or down the hallway. You just have to have the knowledge to know what your dream really looks like.
9/10
Until I see another one