Movie Reaction: In the Heights

Formula: (Do the Right Thing * West Side Story) ^ Hamilton

 

It would be easy for In the Heights to fold under the weight of comparisons and expectations. It's the first Broadway show that Lin-Manuel Miranda made before Hamilton. While In the Heights was a success in its own right, it's nowhere close to being the supernova that Hamilton was. Even though In the Heights came first, Hamilton was most people's first exposure to the Lin-Manuel Miranda style of musical, meaning the In the Heights movie wouldn't be a fresh as when the show first premiered. Historically, In the Heights has an easy comparison to West Side Story: a bonafide classic. Odds are, anything is going to lose a comparison to West Side Story. Not only that, but In the Heights is coming out the same year as a remake of West Side Story from the most successful director of his generation. And, even when you take out the unfavorable comparisons, there's the fact that COVID delayed this already highly anticipated movie by a year. I'm an odd test case, but I've been listening to podcasts for a year now with hosts talking about how they were looking forward to In the Heights as the light at the end of the tunnel for the shit year we've all been through.

 

That is a lot to put on a movie starring mostly unknowns or lesser-knowns, directed by a man best known for Crazy Rich Asians and Justin Bieber documentaries. Yet, I'm happy to say that In the Heights was just the jolt of joy I was hoping for. It may not be the world-beater that the hype was building toward, but it doesn't fall that short.

 

For the unfamiliar, In the Heights is a musical about the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. Local bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) tells the story surrounding a blackout that comes just as numerous people's stories come to a head. Usnavi is preparing to move to his childhood home in the Dominican Republic to take over his deceased father's old bar. Nina (Leslie Grace), is returning from Stanford, which she's attempting to drop out of, due to the financial burden it's placing on her father (Jimmy Smits). Benny (Corey Hawkins) works for Nina's father and debates rekindling his relationship with Nina. Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) dreams of being a fashion designer, but circumstances keep her tethered to the local beauty shop she works at. And that's just a taste of the plots going on. This is very much a story of a community. There are many characters and they all interconnect, with Usnavi as a sort of hub for everyone. Usnavi is best friends with Benny. He's in love with Vanessa. Nina is like a little sister to him. The $96,000 winning lottery ticket that has the community abuzz was sold at his store. I was impressed with how much the movie juggled. It reminded me a lot of Do the Right Thing. Everyone's stories have surprising depth, despite often only getting a few scenes or a single verse in a song.

 

This isn't a movie with a lot of big names in it. At least not yet. Ramos is famous as the 4th guy you think of from the Original Broadway cast of Hamilton. Watching him in this was a lot like watching a Woody Allen movie and knowing the lead actor was a stand in for Allen. I can see Usnavi as a Lin-Manuel Miranda role, but Ramos still makes it his own. Hawkins has been on the verge of stardom for several years now (since Straight Outta Compton). This won't be his star turn, but 5 years from now, when he's got that Oscar nomination or lead role in an action franchise, people will be like "You know that's him in In the Heights...Yeah, that guy can sing too!" I think Melissa Barrera is most primed for a huge boost from this movie. First of all, she's stunning, and this is Hollywood we're talking about. And, she has the quality where she's the most interesting person on screen at all times. I'm just waiting for a superhero franchise to pick her up. Hopefully this doesn't end with her as Will Smith's sidekick in a SciFi action movie. I do know I'm 10x more likely to track down Straz's Vida now that I know about Barrera. Leslie Grace is better known as a singer. She very comfortable in this though. I expect to see her in more movies now. Jimmy Smits and Olga Merediz are the emotional core of the movie. I loved Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz, and Dascha Polanco as the beauty salon owner and employees who seem to be everywhere in the movie, like a Greek chorus of sorts. Even Lin-Manual Miranda shows up in a small role. I really can't point to a weak link in the cast. They can all sing. They can all dance. They can all sell an emotional moment.

 

My earlier description of director Jon M. Chu is selling him a little short. His filmography also includes some Step Up movies, and that's what he brings to the project. This has some really ambitious choreography. There's a scene at the local pool which is rightly being compared to Busby Berkeley numbers in its execution. I also love a gravity-defying dance number late in the movie. Every single musical number is plussed by the choreography, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

 

The big thing holding me back from being obsessed with the movie is that the music is only OK. None of the songs were stuck in my head a day later. A lot of it sounds like Lin-Manuel Miranda working on a formula that he mastered for Hamilton. "$96,000" is the closest thing to a show-stopper, and much of that is due to the staging of the number. The music isn't bad by any means. There's just not an "America", "I Feel Pretty", or "Jet Song". Fair or not, when I think about if I like In the Heights or La La Land better, I think about how "City of Stars" was in my head for weeks.

 

In the Heights does everything else just about perfectly. It just lacks a top tier songbook (in my opinion), which is pretty important for a musical. However, it's still the movie to beat of 2021. It is a great time and totally worth seeing in the most immersive setup possible. I've heard a few complaints about the length (a little under 2.5 hours), but I didn't feel it. Besides, name a musical that's short. Great cast. Great direction. Great production design. Good music. It's hard to find much to hate about this.

Verdict: Strongly Recommend