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tick, tick...BOOM! (2021)

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

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Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his feature directorial debut with tick, tick…BOOM!, an adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of Rent. The film follows Jon (Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner Andrew Garfield), a young theater composer who’s waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. With the clock ticking, Jon is at a crossroads and faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?

Starring Academy Award nominee and Tony Award winner Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús, Tony Award nominee Joshua Henry, MJ Rodriguez, Emmy Award winner Bradley Whitford, Tariq Trotter, with Emmy and Tony Award winner Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Trailer:

Coming to theaters and Netflix in fall 2021

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Brn2bwild

Brn2bwild

I loved this movie/musical.  Not only was Andrew Garfield great, but so was Robin de Jesus as Michael.  I could also relate to the storyline, as I remember being an aspiring writer in Los Angeles and fretting that I wouldn't sell a script by the time I was 30.  (Sadly I was right - though I won a screenwriting competition, it didn't translate into a sale or a writing job, so I eventually went and became a lawyer who writes on the side.)

 

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shoregirl

shoregirl

(edited)
1 hour ago, Wildcard said:

Really enjoyed the movie (more than I thought I would).   A friend sent me this article about all the cameos in the movie. Not being a huge theatre kid, I only saw about a fourth of them..

https://slate.com/culture/2021/11/tick-tick-boom-movie-netflix-diner-cameos-broadway.html?fbclid=IwAR2i_D4fg8URuJ9dkm-Hhj73ufbJHJwHV8SLrrbioRh_VqfFzLD5jQmSPok

I was geeking out in all the cameos in Sunday. 2/3 of the Schuler Sisters ,  Chita, Joel Grey and on and on. Then OBC Roger Mimi and Angel I was a wreck.

Also the quick Christopher Jackson cameo. It wouldn't be a Lin-Manuel Miranda project without him.

Edited by shoregirl
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Brn2bwild

Brn2bwild

22 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

I loved this movie/musical.  Not only was Andrew Garfield great, but so was Robin de Jesus as Michael.  I could also relate to the storyline, as I remember being an aspiring writer in Los Angeles and fretting that I wouldn't sell a script by the time I was 30.  (Sadly I was right - though I won a screenwriting competition, it didn't translate into a sale or a writing job, so I eventually went and became a lawyer who writes on the side.)

 

Just to add, it feels like with Michael and Susan, this musical has a perspective that was lacking in RENT.  Whereas Mark and his friends were all so self-serious (and self-absorbed), blinded by their righteousness in making their art, here you had Michael remark: "You write musicals in your living room.  You're not saving the rain forest."

When Michael revealed he was HIV-positive, Jon realized there were worse things than not selling his musical.  In RENT, the closest character to Michael was Benny, who was treated like an out-of-touch buffoon.  Maybe Collins as well, but he seemed sidelined most of the time.  Maybe I would dislike RENT less if it had a character who seemed grounded in big-picture reality.

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memememe76

memememe76

The allusions to Rent were interesting, especially when two major characters in Jonathan’s life “settled.” I think it could be argued that the characters in Rent were significantly younger, so Michael and Susan may have been more idealistic their younger years. 
 

Very good movie but a truly exceptional performance by Garfield. Truly brilliant.

 

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Bill1978

Bill1978

(edited)

I checked the movie out cause I'm a sucker for a filmed adaptation of a musical. I had no idea about the original source and all I knew was that it was about the guy who wrote Rent. A musical I've only seen in the filmed adaptation version and it left me a bit cold, although I love Seasons of Love. So my expectations for this was low, especially when you throw in the fact I'm currently in an anti-LLM mood.

But wow! Just wow! I found myself caught up in the story, I got caught up seeing just exactly how Rent was inspired by Larson's life. I saw a headline somewhere today that described the movie as the Inception of musicals. And the more I think about it, the more I like that description (even though I've never seen Inception). I liked the approach the screenplay took by taking a leaf out of Chicago's bag (kinda) and framed the songs as occurring in Larson's mind (but as flashbacks as opposed to fantasies). And even though within songs we were jumping from flashback to onstage performance I didn't lose track of what was happening.

And while I may be anti-LLM at the moment, maybe this is the project that will return me to enjoying his stuff again. For a first time director I thought he did very well and he has pretty much convinced me that the best person to direct a movie based on a musical is someone who has lived and breathed musical theatre. He wasn't afraid to let the movie just musical, something that I find a lot of recent movie musical suffer from. Where the director decides the best way to shoot a musical was if it was a music video or worse frame it like it is a regular spoken film.

I would place this movie into the same breath as The Greatest Showman and The Prom (from a filmed perspective not a critical perspective). They are all recent musicals that were allowed to embrace the musical aspects and not be ashamed that the characters were singing and dancing. Which made it an enjoyable viewing experience for me.

I think Garfield deserves an acting nom at the Oscars next year and would be cool if he won since no male has won any sort of acting Oscar for a musical since Joel Grey in Caberet and yet the Academy is happy to throw Gold Men at females in musical.

And the movie has inspired me to want to check out the live recording of Rent. Maybe it's better on stage than the Columbus filmed version.

Edited by Bill1978
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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

11 hours ago, Brn2bwild said:

Just to add, it feels like with Michael and Susan, this musical has a perspective that was lacking in RENT.  Whereas Mark and his friends were all so self-serious (and self-absorbed), blinded by their righteousness in making their art, here you had Michael remark: "You write musicals in your living room.  You're not saving the rain forest."

When Michael revealed he was HIV-positive, Jon realized there were worse things than not selling his musical.  In RENT, the closest character to Michael was Benny, who was treated like an out-of-touch buffoon.  Maybe Collins as well, but he seemed sidelined most of the time.  Maybe I would dislike RENT less if it had a character who seemed grounded in big-picture reality.

My thoughts exactly. The characters in this show were more grounded and less pretentious. I loved that the people in Jon’s life called him out on his crap, which made him a better person. He wasn’t the kind of person who would film an AIDS/HIV support group and exploit their members for art, unlike Mark. Michael shouldn’t have to apologize for wanting a more finically secure life and I was glad he stood up for himself.

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Sharpie66

Sharpie66

(edited)

Thank you so much for those articles!! The first one points out Roger Bart’s cameo, which I completely missed seeing. I was lucky to catch the You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown revival of the late-90s when it came to the Chicago suburbs in tryouts. Roger Bart played Snoopy, Anthony Rapp Charlie Brown, BD Wong was Linus, and Kristin Chenoweth had her breakout role as Sally. Mom and I went into the theater anticipating Anthony and BD, but walked out talking about Roger and Kristin (who we pegged immediately as an upcoming huuuuge star).

(Complete tangent—I just looked up Anthony Rapp’s IBDB page to verify the YAGMCB date, and noticed that his 1982 musical of The Little Prince, which my mom caught on Broadway during previews when she was in NYC for a nursing conference, never actually got an official Broadway run, but died in previews! Mom was looking forward to seeing him as Charlie Brown because she had seen him 17 years earlier. Also, he’s from our hometown of Joliet.)

As for TTB, I really loved it! Garfield is amazing, as was just about everyone else. I think my two favorite numbers are Sunday, a beautiful homage to one of my favorite Sondheim songs (it never fails to bring tears to my eyes), and Come to Your Senses (btw, I loved how Lin showed the inspiration in the musical notes at the bottom of the pool). 

Edited by Sharpie66
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Shannon L.

Shannon L.

I agree with everyone that Andrew Garfield was amazing in this.  Honestly, not knowing anything about Jonathan Larson or his one man show and having never seen Rent, I was a bit confused at first and had to pause it and ask my daughter to fill me in on a few things, but aside from that, I thought it was great.  I also have to give kudos to LMM.  This style of movie (beyond it being a musical) was a hell of an undertaking for a first time movie director and I thought he did a great job. 

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memememe76

memememe76

I have seen and really enjoyed Rent, but knew nothing about tick tick boom. Seeing the trailer and seeing the Bohemia scene, I just assumed that “Oh, a biography on Jonathan Larson and how he created Rent.” Took me awhile to realize that this was an actual musical. 

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Lois Sandborne

Lois Sandborne

I've been banking on this finally being Will Smith's year for an Oscar, but Andrew Garfield is gonna give him a run for his money. He's a revelation in this. I've never seen the filmed monologue, but I know the original recording pretty well, and he just plain brought that to life.

Robin de Jesus and Joshua Henry were also really good. And to say it was his directing debut, Lin Manuel Miranda really impressed me. I loved the way he handled the interspersing of the Superbia scenes with the monologue, and the staging of the "Sunday" number was wonderful. My favorite cameo in the film was Jeanine Tesori, but when Joel Grey and Chita Rivera suddenly showed up singing followed by a bunch of Rent OBC folks, I got a little teary-eyed.

I also now have a much improved opinion of Alexandra Shipp than I did based on the terrible job she did in that Aaliyah biopic, but I guess she had nowhere to go but up from that.

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angora

angora

Really loved it. I feel like I always go into movie musicals holding my breath, because I always WANT them to be great and they're usually so far from that, but this one really is. It captured the spirit of the show beautifully, and it feels like both a movie and a musical, which is the key element. So many either come off as movies that are embarrassed that they're musicals or musicals that forget that they're movies, but this one is fully both. Huge props to LMM, whose direction is so gorgeous and confident. The numbers are really well shot, by turns exciting/cinematic and spare/emotional, but the dialogue scenes aren't just throwaway bits to get lost in the shuffle between songs. The device of moving between the tick, tick... BOOM! performance and the week leading up to the Superbia workshop was an effective choice--like @Bill1978 said, it's a little reminiscent of the way the numbers function in the filmed version of Chicago. I especially loved the staging(?)/shooting for "30/90" and "Why?". "Sunday" was a ton of fun, and I loved the inclusion of that little scene of them sitting around watching the PBS recording of Sunday in the Park with George earlier, it really brought it home. God, those cameos took me out! Schuyler sisters and Brian Stokes Mitchell and Chita Rivera, oh my! Loved the moment with Bernadette, and Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia popping up killed me.

All the singing was excellent. Is Andrew Garfield Raul Esparza? Of course not, but he had a strong voice and sounded great, with no sense that he was a celebrity just faking his way through the songs. Josh Henry and Vanessa Hudgens of course sounded fab, Alexandra Shipp did a really nice job on "Come to Your Senses," and Robin de Jesus was equal parts fun in "No More" and devastating in "Real Life." Wonderful acting too--obviously, this is Garfield's show, and he was fantastic, but de Jesus was also a standout. I've liked him since he played Sonny in the OBC of In the Heights, so I've been happy to see him killing it in recent theatre adaptations like The Boys in the Band and this film.

I think this might be everything I want in a movie musical. Well done, everyone!

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MsNewsradio

MsNewsradio

Finally got to sit down and watch this, and I was absolutely blown away by how good it was. The diner number had me seriously tear up with all those Broadway legends popping up in one place (and loved spotting all the other cameos throughout the film), as did the Sondheim voicemail. The cast was great. Can't wait to watch again and pick up on any little bits that I missed. 

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

(edited)

I wanted to love this movie and I am so relieved that it lived up to my high expectation. Andrew Garfield is incredible and I would put money on him at the very least getting an Oscar nomination, if not the win, he was that outstanding. In general it was a wonderful cast, with the highlight being seeing all of the Broadway vets in the diner scene, I had to watch it three times just to catch everyone there. The ending was very emotional, I watched it with my mom and by the end we were both tearing up, and she had no real idea who Jonathan Larson was. 

Apparently the message from Stephen Sondheim near the end was the real Stephen Sondheim, not Bradley Whitford playing him, which makes the scene even sweeter. 

While Garfield is I think the obvious best actor choice, I hope that LMM gets some love for directing, he did a great job at mixing the Tick Tick Boom portions with the main story, it could have easily come off as awkward or jumbled but it felt really seamless. Just a great movie, I had a great time watching it.

Edited by tennisgurl
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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

(edited)

Finally got around to this and I'm glad I did.  Might be a contender for my favorite film of 2021.

I know that Rent has been looked upon unfavorably as of late due to some admittedly moments that don't work as well as they might have back then (but even then, I'm sure there was some who probably disliked it as well when it first came out), but it's hard to deny that Jonathan Larson seemed to have tapped into something at the time that really connected with a good amount of people, and still holds firm for some to this day.  So, I was glad to learn more about him with this somewhat autobiographical look of his life.  Never heard about the original version of the show, but I liked the insights into his life (even if some was embellished or flat-out made-up as the opening voiceover suggested), and the process that goes into being a writer/artist like him.  I also liked how you could see the parts of his life that he would use when making Rent, like seeing so many friends die of AIDS, his struggles with rent (sorry), or his reaction to Michael "selling out", which definitely reminded me of how the Rent gang treated Benny in that play.  Plus, I really do see the comparisons now of Larson and Mark from Rent and how he almost seemed to be a stand-in for the real Larson.

Maybe I'm just a big fanboy of him, but I was surprisingly impressed by Lin-Manuel Miranda's direction here.  I wasn't sure how he was going to fare going in, but I thought he really shined here and did some impressive stuff with the camera: especially with the musical scenes.  The pacing and flow of the film was really good as well.  Not sure if this was just an one time thing or not, but I would be curious to see him have another go at the director's chair.

Andrew Garfield was beyond excellent and really captured Larson perfectly.  I'm sure (knock on wood) he will at least get an Oscar nomination for this, but I would be perfectly happy with a win for him as well.  By far one of the best performances this year.  Might be tough since it sounds like both Will Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch are major contenders as well, but I can see a lot of voters loving his performance.

The rest of the cast was great too.  Robin de Jesus was a standout as Michael and Alexandera Shipp was good as Susan.  Joshua Henry and Vanessa Hudgens owned all of the singing and were charismatic as they needed to be.  And I loved all of the cameos from Broadway vets here.  Probably need to rewatch to spot all of them, but I definitely got a kick out of Renee Elise Goldsberry and Phillipa Soo as two of the diner guests (the ones who wanted mimosas!)

Great film!

Edited by thuganomics85
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Avabelle

Avabelle

I really enjoyed this. I’m not a huge musical buff so the cameos were mostly lost on me but still really enjoyable.

I also felt bad for him that his pals seemed to be choosing the one week he was trying to get his musical showcased to pick fights with him about his future.

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Hanahope

Hanahope

Saw this last night and loved it.  the songs were great and Andrew Garfield was just fabulous.  LMM did a very good directing job, it was quite creative and served the story quite well.

what a tragedy that Larson died so young, especially when his condition could have been treated had it been caught in time.  he made great music and I'm glad that there's at least some additional projects he did before Rent.

 

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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

(edited)
On 11/21/2021 at 10:57 PM, memememe76 said:

The allusions to Rent were interesting, especially when two major characters in Jonathan’s life “settled.” I think it could be argued that the characters in Rent were significantly younger, so Michael and Susan may have been more idealistic their younger years. 

I think that may definitely be the case. Because if we recall, near the end of the film, after his showcase is rejected, the female voiceover mentions about his going on to write again and that next project being Tick, Tick...Bomb and then she mentions that for his follow up after that, he revisited an idea he'd started years earlier. So I definitely got the impression RENT may have been inspired by the early years of him and his fellow artist friends trying to make it - before some settled and accepted fame wasn't going to happen. 

Saw the film this weekend and loved it. I've been an Andrew Garfield fan since The Social Network and while he was always talented, I feel like he's just grown into an even more exceptional actor. Admittedly I wasn't too in love with a lot of the score, just wasn't my vibe but the performances and the overall film was just amazing. And like everyone, I too absolutely loved the Sunday diner scene that became a who's who of Broadway stars and legends. 

Edited by truthaboutluv
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Pickles Aplenty

Pickles Aplenty

I have never seen Rent and I knew nothing about Jonathan Larson going in, but I watched this on Netflix today and I really enjoyed it.  I'm not even a big fan of stage musicals/movie musicals, but Andrew Garfield's performance was excellent, and he really impressed me.  All I'd ever seen him in was the first Spider-Man movie he did, so I didn't realize how talented he was.  He totally won me over in this movie.

 

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Bastet

Bastet

(edited)
On 11/21/2021 at 7:33 PM, Brn2bwild said:

Just to add, it feels like with Michael and Susan, this musical has a perspective that was lacking in RENT.  Whereas Mark and his friends were all so self-serious (and self-absorbed), blinded by their righteousness in making their art, here you had Michael remark: "You write musicals in your living room.  You're not saving the rain forest."

When Michael revealed he was HIV-positive, Jon realized there were worse things than not selling his musical.  In RENT, the closest character to Michael was Benny, who was treated like an out-of-touch buffoon.  Maybe Collins as well, but he seemed sidelined most of the time.  Maybe I would dislike RENT less if it had a character who seemed grounded in big-picture reality.

I loved Rent at the time, but I was their age then.  I still listen to some of the songs, but I think if I tried to watch it now, I'd have a hard time getting past how insufferable everyone was.  This was a much more balanced look at life as an aspiring artist in 1990 NY, and I really enjoyed it - especially Michael, who was a much-needed character.  Their friendship was a highlight of the film, and Michael being a real person with perfectly valid motivations and desires rather than a sell-out buffoon popped up at all the right times when I was starting to get annoyed by Jonathan.

I love all the "Can we talk about this later?" scenes between Jonathan and Susan, because I feel for both of them.  He's having the most important - and stressful - week of his life, so to have her place this giant decision in front of him in the midst of that takes him right to the brink of total unravel.  But she's not doing it maliciously; this is an incredibly important and stressful crossroads for her, too, and the timing is not of her choosing - she has a deadline to give them an answer on the job, but he keeps putting her off.  "You've turned off the volume just when I've begun to sing" from "Come To Your Senses" is a perfect line.

And, holy crap, that moment when they're holding each other after he finally says he doesn't want her to go, and she realizes he's already plotting how to make a song out of it?  Again - needed balance.  We had the idiotic party guest who just wanted to be around artists because it's cool, and now we get a very real look at the difficulties involved in actually sharing a life with an artist.

I love that they get a nice good-bye, realizing life is taking them in two different directions, but they're happy for each other.  And I love that she came to him on his birthday, not at his workshop; the latter would have been too self sacrificing of her, to sit and watch this thing that's more important than her.  But when he performs "the next one", she comes down to see it.

On 12/19/2021 at 5:44 PM, angora said:

It captured the spirit of the show beautifully, and it feels like both a movie and a musical, which is the key element.

I have liked quite a few stage musicals over the years, and only a handful of movie musicals, so I am not at all a musical theatre buff; I like what I like, but I'm not someone who can sit around and discuss the genre itself with any authority.  I only recognized about half the "Sunday" cameos (but was tickled pink by those I did know -- as I was by Judith Light as Jonathan's agent), and I'd never seen the stage show on which this film is based.  In fact, I really knew nothing about Larson other than he never lived to see Rent become a game changer (I didn't even realize he didn't live to see the off-Broadway opening night, that the only time he saw it performed for an audience was the full dress rehearsal).

But this joins my small list of movie musicals I love.  As you said, it - like Chicago, another major exception to my general aversion toward movie musicals - it feels like both a movie and a musical.  It's an absolute love letter to musical theatre, but it's a film, not in any way just a filmed version of a theatrical performance.

"Real Life" took my breath away, and was my favorite sequence of the film, and the dual performance of "Come To Your Senses" was another standout.  And that message from Stephen Sondheim -- I teared up at "It has a future, and so do you".  It's absolutely tragic he died so young, after spending so much time thinking and writing about that very thing, never knowing his own clock was ticking that same way.

I had never seen most of these actors in anything else, but I was impressed by all of them.

In doing a little more reading about Larson and this piece, I found two powerful quotes.  From his sister, accepting his posthumous Tony award:

Quote

It took Jonny 15 years of really hard work to become an overnight sensation, so we’d like to share this award with all those who are out there still working in restaurants or driving taxis or doing whatever they have to to scrape by for their art. Stay true to yourselves and to your dreams, and know they can come true.

And from LMM, writing in 2014:

Quote

Jonathan, if you can hear me, you fulfilled every promise and then some. We continue to perform your work, and when we do, someone else’s life is changed. Someone else has permission to tell their story because you told yours.

 

Edited by Bastet
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shoregirl

shoregirl

I watched this again today. I do think it should have been nominated for Best Picture. I thought it was better than Don't Look  Up and King Richard and I couldn't even get through Nightmare Alley. I also think Robin De Jesus should have be up for Best Supporting Actor he's brilliant as Michael. 

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paramitch

paramitch

I really loved this and thought it was a big breath of fresh air. I thought it was this brash, free, very loose and generous musical that felt very organic. I loved LMM's chosen style -- the way the characters move in the film space, there's this tangible sense of joy and freedom to it, to me. Garfield was wonderful, and the rest of the cast was lovely as well (especially Robin De Jesus as his best friend). The way Garfield captures Larson's mannerisms is really uncanny -- Larson had this really charming sort of walk and head-tilt and looseness, and Garfield eerily incorporates that without it feeling like an impersonation.

I'm a middle-aged writer who is also an unsuccessful playwright and lyricist (still doing it, but always just on the edge of succeeding! sigh!) so it was hard not to facepalm a few times since the entire premise is Larson going, "OH GOD I'M NOT A SUCCESS AND I'M TURNING 30!" But that's also what was endearing and innocent about it -- there's so much yearning in it.

What's interesting to me -- and I hope this comes out right -- is that while I love a lot of the material in TICK TICK BOOM, I think it wasn't a creatively successful piece as written. The sad irony is, for me, it's Larson's death that completes it, that gives it the resonance and depth it needs. And that's what the movie brings to it.

Because we know right from the beginning that Larson died young (if we didn't already know this of course beforehand), TICK TICK BOOM gives Larson's character a reason for that franticness. Suddenly he's not just a young composer who's complaining about not being Sondheim-successful by 30, he's a young composer whose clock is ticking because he has very few years of life left in which to use his gift.

So that fills the movie with this incredible and constant sense of poignance to me. All of the emotions are more intense because it's all so brief and precious. And it's therefore an absolutely beautiful epitaph for Jonathan for me. I think it gives the illusion of closure to both this musical specifically and to Jonathan's story as well.

Beyond that -- there were so many wonderful, fun things to love about this for me. I loved how it really feels like living in New York, unlike most things, and that Jon was sharing that tiny apartment (and that getting privacy was challenging -- loved the moment when Michael his BFF hears them having sex and resignedly puts on his headphones). I also loved what an ally Jon was, and how inclusive the movie and story were. I absolutely loved the choreography in "No More," for instance, which has Michael and Jon occasionally partner-dancing together around his new apartment! The movie is full of lots of little moments like that, and Michael's friendship with Jon in general is so moving. I especially loved how Robin De Jesus plays Michael very subtly like an actor who is in the corporate world now -- and he is succeeding because he's acting all the time -- acting the part of a corporate businessperson.

I loved most of the musical numbers too, although for me aside from "No More," "Sunday," and most of all "30/90," I don't think the songs are super-memorable. For me it's more about the big picture. 

And I was very moved to hear the real voice of Sondheim in that final message. Oh, man. 

On 11/21/2021 at 12:27 PM, Wildcard said:

Really enjoyed the movie (more than I thought I would).   A friend sent me this article about all the cameos in the movie. Not being a huge theatre kid, I only saw about a fourth of them..

https://slate.com/culture/2021/11/tick-tick-boom-movie-netflix-diner-cameos-broadway.html?fbclid=IwAR2i_D4fg8URuJ9dkm-Hhj73ufbJHJwHV8SLrrbioRh_VqfFzLD5jQmSPok

The "Sunday" piece had me crying so hard I had to pause the movie. It just moved me so, so much. I'm a theatre person for decades and seeing the beautiful, gentle tributes to all those wonderful performers there... all wrapped up in a bow in an homage to one of the most beautiful moments in theatre ever ("Sunday" in "Sunday in the Park with George")? Honestly, that scene alone was worth the price of Netflix to me. Just gorgeous.

On 11/21/2021 at 1:26 PM, shoregirl said:

I was geeking out in all the cameos in Sunday. 2/3 of the Schuler Sisters ,  Chita, Joel Grey and on and on. Then OBC Roger Mimi and Angel I was a wreck.

Also the quick Christopher Jackson cameo. It wouldn't be a Lin-Manuel Miranda project without him.

Me too! And oh my God, so many legends in one number, and it was such a gorgeous tribute! Lin himself! Renee and Phillipa! Brian Stokes Mitchell! Andre De Shields! Bebe Neuwirth! Beth Malone (I worship FUN HOME)! Joel freaking Grey! Chita fricking Rivera! Pascal, Rubin-Vega and Heredia! And then Bernadette! (I was full-on ugly-crying at that point.) Just incredible.

On 11/21/2021 at 7:33 PM, Brn2bwild said:

Just to add, it feels like with Michael and Susan, this musical has a perspective that was lacking in RENT.  Whereas Mark and his friends were all so self-serious (and self-absorbed), blinded by their righteousness in making their art, here you had Michael remark: "You write musicals in your living room.  You're not saving the rain forest."

When Michael revealed he was HIV-positive, Jon realized there were worse things than not selling his musical.  In RENT, the closest character to Michael was Benny, who was treated like an out-of-touch buffoon.  Maybe Collins as well, but he seemed sidelined most of the time.  Maybe I would dislike RENT less if it had a character who seemed grounded in big-picture reality.

THIS! I love so many of RENT's songs, but to be honest, I don't really like the characters much. Most of them are assholes (and the epitome of their self-centeredness is on display in "La Vie Boheme"). TICK TICK BOOM is much more successful for me in terms of character and nuance and self-awareness.

I especially love that Jonathan isn't afraid to present himself as something of an occasional ass as well (like when his girlfriend is breaking up with him and realizes he is "writing" the moment in his head).

On 11/21/2021 at 7:57 PM, memememe76 said:

The allusions to Rent were interesting, especially when two major characters in Jonathan’s life “settled.” I think it could be argued that the characters in Rent were significantly younger, so Michael and Susan may have been more idealistic their younger years. 

Yeah, I agree with this take.

On 11/22/2021 at 7:21 AM, Spartan Girl said:

My thoughts exactly. The characters in this show were more grounded and less pretentious. I loved that the people in Jon’s life called him out on his crap, which made him a better person. He wasn’t the kind of person who would film an AIDS/HIV support group and exploit their members for art, unlike Mark. Michael shouldn’t have to apologize for wanting a more finically secure life and I was glad he stood up for himself.

Exactly. And when Larson (the character) is self-centered or selfish here, he is also aware of it. So many times in RENT I feel like I'm supposed to be fist-pumping for the characters despite the fact that they're doing ridiculously arrogant or self-centered things. Don't get me wrong, I like RENT, I just think the characters are kind of pains in the butt (and very young).

On 11/24/2021 at 10:09 AM, Sharpie66 said:

(Complete tangent—I just looked up Anthony Rapp’s IBDB page to verify the YAGMCB date, and noticed that his 1982 musical of The Little Prince, which my mom caught on Broadway during previews when she was in NYC for a nursing conference, never actually got an official Broadway run, but died in previews! Mom was looking forward to seeing him as Charlie Brown because she had seen him 17 years earlier. Also, he’s from our hometown of Joliet.)

As someone who absolutely adores Anthony Rapp, that's incredibly cool, and I'm so jealous of your Mom!

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Bastet

Bastet

(edited)
On 3/30/2022 at 9:07 PM, paramitch said:

I loved most of the musical numbers too, although for me aside from "No More," "Sunday," and most of all "30/90," I don't think the songs are super-memorable.

I, too, didn't dislike the songs, but wasn't blown away by any of them as songs (as performed and placed within the film, a couple of them really stood out, but as things to listen to as songs, I didn't have that response), which surprised me a bit as I love and still regularly listen to several of the songs in Rent.  But, as you said, the flip side is I like the characters in this one so much more than I do those characters.  I'll take that any day.

Edited by Bastet
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paramitch

paramitch

On 3/31/2022 at 6:54 PM, PepSinger said:

I definitely think Come to Your Senses is memorable.

I liked it but I think it's not good enough to service the plot, which hangs his entire future on its success.

That's actually one of my weaknesses for the show/movie. It sets up the girlfriend's song as the crucial success factor for his show (even Sondheim is like, "You need a really good song for his girlfriend") and we see Jon tortured over it, but... for me the end result is... okay? So it falls flat (for me). It's a pretty song but I forgot it within 60 seconds of listening to it.

It should be -- needs to be -- the best song in the show. I would argue that it is is okay for the story but is it the best song in the show? Not for me. It's, um, a ballad, ballad, ballad. I had to go rewatch it before reply here because I remember not really liking it, but I wanted to give it a second chance. It's a perfectly nice song. But for me just isn't special enough (YMMV of course).

It's interesting for me because RENT (which I like less plotwise) nevertheless has so many earworms I can't count them melodically. Jonathan was on fire with that show with his songwriting.

So, just for me -- but one of the weaknesses of TICK TICK BOOM for me is that Jon brags (cutely) that he writes songs all the time including a song about the sugar at the diner, but what he does write for his girlfriend -- the song that should change his life -- isn't good enough. For me that song should have been like "30/90," it should have been the earworm of the show. And it wasn't/isn't. It's...okay.

But again -- YMMV. And I am probably overthinking it. It's what I do.

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angora

angora

43 minutes ago, paramitch said:

It should be -- needs to be -- the best song in the show. I would argue that it is is okay for the story but is it the best song in the show? Not for me. It's, um, a ballad, ballad, ballad. I had to go rewatch it before reply here because I remember not really liking it, but I wanted to give it a second chance. It's a perfectly nice song. But for me just isn't special enough (YMMV of course).

It's interesting for me because RENT (which I like less plotwise) nevertheless has so many earworms I can't count them melodically. Jonathan was on fire with that show with his songwriting.

Although interestingly, in RENT, Roger agonizes over writing "one great song," and the song he ultimately writes ("Your Eyes") is definitely one of the weaker songs in the show, not nearly as good as the one he sings about his need to write that one great song ("One Song Glory.") Larson was an excellent songwriter, but maybe he had trouble living up to the high expectations he set for his own songwriter characters?

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SomeTameGazelle

SomeTameGazelle

On 3/31/2022 at 12:07 AM, paramitch said:

I loved most of the musical numbers too, although for me aside from "No More," "Sunday," and most of all "30/90," I don't think the songs are super-memorable.

"Therapy" also stands out for me, musically. When I heard it in the movie I had a sudden flashback to hearing it on the radio years ago without knowing where it was from.  The lyrics don't make me like the character, but I love the sound of it.

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paramitch

paramitch

On 3/31/2022 at 6:54 PM, PepSinger said:

I definitely think Come to Your Senses is memorable.

Also, PS -- I didn't mean to be jerky. I know MANY people loved it, so it's just me being weird.

On 4/4/2022 at 9:46 AM, angora said:

Although interestingly, in RENT, Roger agonizes over writing "one great song," and the song he ultimately writes ("Your Eyes") is definitely one of the weaker songs in the show, not nearly as good as the one he sings about his need to write that one great song ("One Song Glory.") Larson was an excellent songwriter, but maybe he had trouble living up to the high expectations he set for his own songwriter characters?

This is such a great point, and very interesting. I guess I can sympathize. There's nothing like saying "The character will now write a truly great, epic song that will complement the show and change his life -- AND THE WORLD" to set yourself up for failure!

On 4/4/2022 at 9:22 PM, SomeTameGazelle said:

"Therapy" also stands out for me, musically. When I heard it in the movie I had a sudden flashback to hearing it on the radio years ago without knowing where it was from.  The lyrics don't make me like the character, but I love the sound of it.

Yeah, I'd agree that's one of the wittier songs (and moments) in TTB.

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Bastet

Bastet

On 4/4/2022 at 9:00 AM, paramitch said:

It should be -- needs to be -- the best song in the show. I would argue that it is is okay for the story but is it the best song in the show? Not for me. It's, um, a ballad, ballad, ballad. I had to go rewatch it before reply here because I remember not really liking it, but I wanted to give it a second chance. It's a perfectly nice song. But for me just isn't special enough (YMMV of course).

That's why I thought it was brilliantly framed, going back and forth between the two performances -- the one actually happening (the actor singing it in the workshop) and the one in Jon's mind (Susan singing the same words to him).  I don't think it's at all profound as a piece within the show he's workshopping, but him imagining Susan telling him he's turned off the volume just when I've begun to sing is fantastic, so the dual performance winds up being a great scene within the film, even though there are stronger, catchier individual songs.

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