Synopsis

From Warner Bros.:

The scent of a cafecito caliente hangs in the air just outside of the 181st Street subway stop, where a kaleidoscope of dreams rallies this vibrant and tight-knit community. At the intersection of it all is the likeable, magnetic bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), who saves every penny from his daily grind as he hopes, imagines and sings about a better life.

Review

Picture it: December 2019 (yes, that long ago). The first trailer for In the Heights is released. I get a text from my mother that says, “In the Heights!!!! Que Bonita!!” I see it and am completely mesmerized. The colors, the music, the cinematography. Everything about it screams SUMMER HIT. I recall my mother telling me that we needed to learn the music (we had not seen the show on stage, but were familiar with a few songs) so we can be “ready when it comes out in June”… then a pandemic hits. The world stops, masks go on, theaters close, and release dates shift. The film becomes undated for a few weeks and then is rescheduled for June 2021... and now it’s here. And it’s glorious.

At my Mother’s Day IMAX screening, there were maybe 20 people there, but the sheer energy and electricity that beams from this movie made the theater feel packed to the brim. In the Heights is the perfect summer movie. It has the energy needed to get people to come back to theaters. I loved just about every second of it. I am a huge fan of musicals and a big Lin-Manuel Miranda guy, so I was excited to have this experience. And have it I did. Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, Now You See Me 2) has crafted a beautiful, fun, funny, and electric celebration (celebration is the best way to describe this film).

To start, the music is off the chain. As I said, my mother (who went with me to this screening) wanted us to prepare for this film. I did not prepare as much as she did, so it became much more of a surprise when the film began. I knew the opening number (which we will get to in a moment), but that was it. My expectation was that it was going to be, like its successor Hamilton, all rap, all the way through. It is neither of those things. While music does sustain the majority of the film’s 2 hour and 20 minute runtime, it is intercut with dialogue to advance the story and provide a break, which I liked, and it is mostly not rap music, which I really appreciated. Noting against rap music, but I just loved how the music in In the Heights is mostly Latin-influenced and covers a lot of ground (by that I mean, it doesn’t all sound the same). 

The music in the film has been remastered and redone for the screen, and let me tell you, it is phenomenal. Everything sounds fuller and grander. I do know that some songs were made bigger for the screen (like “96,000”) and some songs were cut (I think 7 in total), but it all works to the films benefit. The opening number for this film… whooo. The opening number in this film is stellar. It’s about 10 minutes long, but it’s so great because it introduces you to all of the characters and sets up all the motifs used for their songs. It’s also just a hella good song (it’s on my daily playlist now). This is honestly one of my favorite opening numbers in a musical. Period. The other sequences that stand out are “No Me Diga,” “96,000,” “The Club/Blackout,” “Paciencia y Fe,” “Carnaval del Barrio,” “When the Sun Goes Down,” and the finale. I straight up just named over half of the songs on the soundtrack, but I’m being so honest when I say all these numbers are evocative and electric in their own ways.

The look and style of the film needs to be commended as well. I love the way director Chu directed this film. Everything looks and feels so great. You can tell the passion that went into the making of this film. The cinematography is gorgeous and the colors in this film are so bright and vibrant – that’s the word for this film… VIBRANT – it makes the film so much fun to watch. Every number has its own style. “96,000” is closest stylistically to “Fabulous” from High School Musical 2. I know that sounds weird, but once you see it, you’ll be like “I get it.” That one, “The Club,” or “Carnaval del Barrio” are the most fun numbers. “Paciencia y Fe” is absolutely beautiful (and honestly, could earn Olga Merediz an Oscar nomination a la Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables). And the choreography is FIRE! The choreographers were in their BAG, you hear me?

The only issue I have with the film lies in some of the dialogue. Some of it is very… corny is probably the best way to describe it. The dialogue does provide a needed break to keep the music from becoming monotonous or seeming never-ending, but it often times doesn’t seem vert natural. “Let me just… listen to my block.” Who says that? Twice? Unironically? Also I would have liked to see more of Benny and Nina’s relationship. It might be more fleshed out in the stage show, I don’t know, Maybe their other songs got cut (they have 2).

The performances are great as well and everybody’s voices were great. Corey Hawkins as Benny really surprised me. I knew he was a good actor but I did not know he could sing like that. Also, shout out to Daphne Rubin-Vega as Daniela. She was another standout. Again, Olga Merediz is fantastic, but Anthony Ramos blew it out of the water. He absolutely killed it. I honestly can’t imagine Lin-Manuel playing this role. It seems so unlike him. But Anthony Ramos killed it.

I really, REALLY enjoyed my time watching In the Heights. I love that the film is an honest and unabashed celebration of New York and Latin culture. Very much like Crazy Rich Asians or Raya and the Last Dragon for Asian culture, or Black Panther for black culture, this film was made for Hispanic and Latinx communities. It is so important to see yourself represented in art and this film is the perfect way to do that. Also, it is the perfect summer film. It would not be able to come out any other time. They were smart to hold it. It comes out June 11th, so SEE IT IN A THEATER IF YOU CAN! I don’t think the small screen would do it justice. This is definitely one of my favorite films of 2021 so far, and it will probably make the year-end list as well… We’ll see.