In The Heights: An Exuberant Rhapsody That Celebrates Hispanic Culture
Lin-Manuel Miranda & Quiara Alegría Hudes join forces with Crazy Rich Asians director, Jon M. Chu, for In The Heights, a sweet, sugary summertime musical that celebrates Hispanic culture. Lathered in universal themes about a community and their dreams, this fairly conventional yet energetic musical gets by on its charms and genuinely touching emotional resonance.
A film version of the Broadway musical in which Usnavi, a sympathetic New York bodega owner, saves every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life.
It should be pointed out up front that we’ve never seen the In The Heights play — or Lin-Manuel Miranda’s highly praised Hamilton (we know, we know, shame on us). It’s also worth saying that we’re not the biggest fans of musicals, per se, so just take everything we have to say here with a heavy grain of salt. With that said, some of our qualms here might come as no surprise. For instance, this filmic adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ broadway play was a little too heavy on the show tunes for our blood. And we know, it’s weird to gripe about a musical being too, well, musical, but In The Heights is comprised of predominately songs — most of which weren’t exactly the most catchy or pleasing to our tastes.
Of the 17 songs that fill up about half of the film’s total runtime (down from the play’s 23 total musical numbers), there were only maybe 2 or 3 songs that were catchy enough that we’d really listen to them on their own. Still, there’s a toe-tapping quality to all of them, even the ones that were a bit grating to us, and an undeniably infectious energy that made the whole affair a pretty good time. Even if the music didn’t always win us over, some of the musical numbers are just a joy to behold. Jon M. Chu churns everything into a vibrant, sun-soaked spectacle, which might just be the most kinetic and whimsical musical since Damien Chazelle’s La La Land (although In The Heights never comes close to eclipsing Chazelle’s musical in our opinion). Some of Christopher Scott’s choreography is neat and quite inspired; he finds the rhythm and musicality in even the most mundane things, which is pretty cool to see. There’s also loads of extras filling out each scene, and it’s always a pleasure to see actual bodies instead of a swarm of CGI imitations.
What makes the film (and broadway play) worth seeing is what it has to say, from the way it celebrates Hispanic culture (specifically Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican) to its commentary on gentrification and its universal focus on dreams (which transcend any and all cultural boarders). There’s really nothing subtle about it, and like its emotions, the points and messages it has to offer are worn visibly and proudly on its sleeve. The film takes place over the course of several days in the relentless heat of a Washington Heights, New York neighborhood block, both before and after a blackout. Framed as a flashback told by Usnavi (who humorously got his name when his parents immigrated to the US and saw a boat named: US Navy), the film dives into the hopes and dreams of several of the neighborhood block’s inhabitants. It lays its thesis out early on using a hand-stitched napkin as an apt metaphor; it’s about the little things and little details (as illustrated by the hand-stitched napkin), being seen and having your story heard. Who on Earth can’t relate to that?!
It’s also about gentrification pushing all the color and culture out of the places they call home, but its primary focus is on the community’s collective dreams of a better life. While it’s true that not everyone is represented here (and for what it’s worth, we don’t think they have to be), but In The Heights has a little something that everyone can relate to. The film’s runtime feels a little overly long, which is slightly exacerbated by its lax pace, but it builds toward something truly moving. It’s also cleverly fragmented, giving the audience ample time with the film’s many central characters so that we know them and their dreams intimately — we see them and hear their story. There’s no rushing the story along; we sit all the way down into the character’s and their stories in a way that echoes a portion of the film’s main objective. The film’s visuals have a radiant glow, and the direction matches the kinetic quality of the music and is full of silky-smooth camera moves. The music, while not always being a total home run, is still fun and serviceable to both an audience's needs and the story.
It’s a bit melodramatic at times, a little too conventional than we would’ve preferred, and massively lacking in sweat for all its alleged heat, but its emotions are genuine and touching. It’s really hard to knock something this sincere that very clearly has its heart in the right place, and it’s really terrific to see a film that treat Spanish as normal (by not always having it subtitled), but we did hope to enjoy it a bit more than we actually did. Even then, it’s a sweet little treat that provides some respite from the burgeoning summer heat, and its infectious spirit will doubtlessly leave you a bit lifted.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of musicals or Lin-Manuel Miranda, definitely give In The Heights a watch. It’s a sweet sugary treat that will assuage that summer heat!
Rating: 3.5 dance moves outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!