Sunday, June 13, 2021

In the Heights (2021)

Usnavi is a bodega owner in Washington Heights with dreams of moving back to the Domincan Republic.  He has a crush on Vanessa, a hairstylist from Daniela's Salon, who has dreams of being a fashion designer.  His best friend is Benny, who works for Kevin Rosario's cab company.  Kevin's daughter, Nina, has just returned from her freshman year at Stanford.  She and Benny had a thing that may rekindle.  Claudia, an elderly woman from Cuba, has become the abuela (grandmother) to most of the youth on the block.  Sonny is a teenager who works for Usnavi.  There are other lesser characters, including Lin-Manuel Miranda's cameo as a street vendor.

Much like Hamilton, the majority of the story is told in song.  There is dialogue, but rapping is the driver of most of the action.  It is a singing, dancing extravaganza.  The characters can be charming but their 'problems' are often juvenile.  Usnavi is too shy to ask Vanessa on a date.  Nina doesn't have a Puerto Rican community to support her at Stanford.  Vanessa needs a cosigner to rent a place closer to the fashion district.  It is hard to get invested in the numerous little dreams of the plentiful characters.  It is very busy and, at nearly two and a half hours, quite long.  There are imbedded messages about racism, immigration, and gentrification.  This often came across as whining.  When Sonny turned out to be a Dreamer, it was just par for the course.  America is so unfair.  Nonetheless, every backstory about the 'old country' is always a much worse situation; America offered opportunity and employment, but a lot of focus goes to the negatives.  Wonderful.

Not being a fan of rap, this was mostly boring.  It drags on as every story is a foregone conclusion.  Well, Usnavi's story was a bit of a mystery on account of the framing, but it all turns out as the standard happy endings.  My favorite part of the movie was the revelation of Usnavi's naming; when his father migrated to America, he saw a ship and liked the name: US Navy.

If you are a Lin-Manuel Miranda fan or like rap, this might be for you.  Otherwise, skip.

No comments: