In the Heights

Hello and welcome
One thing you should know about me is if there is anything I love just as much as movies, it is musical theatre. So, knowing that, it is not too surprising that In the Heights was one of my most anticipated movies of last year. Unfortunately, like many other productions last year, It was delayed until this year. For the record, I'm not all that familiar with this musical, but of course, I have heard of it and I had seen excerpts of it on shows like the Macy's Day Parade and the Tonys, but I had never seen a full production of it. And let's just say I never got around to listening to the Broadway cast recording. My biggest introduction to Lin-Manuel Miranda was, like a lot of people, with Hamilton. With that out of the way, let’s begin.

Background 

This movie was originally set to be adapted by Universal with Kenny Ortega hired to direct with a planned release for 2011 but was canceled in March of that year because Universal was looking for a "bankable Latino star" like Jennifer Lopez (who, in my opinion, is not that great of an actress). In 2016 Harvey Weinstein (just saying his name makes me feel dirty) picked up the project. Jon M. Chu became the director and after Weinstein got busted, for you know what, and he’s studio went bankrupt, the movie ended up at Warner Bros for $50 million (only judging by its current box office It seems unlikely that it will meet those “Heights”) 

Plot 

It is telling the story of a corner in the Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan where every member of the community pursues their dreams of a better life. Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) found out that his late father's business in the Dominican Republic, which Usnavi dreams of reviving, is for sale. Meanwhile, Nina (Leslie Grace) returns from Stanford and she finds her father and tells him she was unable to pay tuition, but he brushes it off, telling her not to worry.
Vanessa submits a rental application downtown, where she dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but her application is rejected. Usnavi talks to Sonny's father about letting him go with him to the Dominican Republic, but Sonny's father implies he and Sonny are undocumented immigrants and cannot leave. 

Opinion 

First off, this story seems very episodic but none of the storylines are bad and most of them are really quite good but could have used more “glue”. Given that I have not seen the musical that it is based upon, I do not know if this is a problem unique to cinema. This being a musical, the most important part, or at least the part you want the audience to leave remembering, are the musical numbers. And with that, the movie pulls them off in spades. All the numbers look and sound amazing giving you scenes that would be nothing but impossible to do on stage like in a pool and on the side of a building. The Cinematographer is Alice Brooks who has not done much In the line of movies, but I can say that this might be her magnum opus, and if the Oscars were held today I believe she would be a lock. Of course, the songs are well written, but it is Lin-Manuel Miranda. This is the same guy that did Hamilton so would you expect anything less? The actors are also good as well.
In the Heights unfortunately did not get to “the Heights” that I anticipated but it is still a good movie. To check out If you're in the mood for a Musical I am giving 4 out of 5 stars. Oh, and if you are planning on seeing this movie, I would recommend the big screen as I did not do this movie any favor by watching it on my computer screen.

Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™

Mr. Bee 

 

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