In the Heights

 2.5/4

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barerra, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Gregory Diaz IV, Jimmy Smits, Olga Merediz

Rated PG-13 for Some Language and Suggestive References

As much as I love musicals, I'm going to have to recommend giving "In the Heights" a pass.  Although I do have some affection for it.  It's light and airy (although it attempts, with limited success, to broach more serious matters), but it's overlong and it's hard to differentiate one song from another.

Musicals rarely have strong stories, and "In the Heights" is no exception.  I haven't seen the stage show, but if it's anything like this, its progressive ideals and fusion of musical genres are the only reason I can think of why this film was nominated for a Pulitzer.  In any event, the film follows the goings on in Washington Heights.  This is the fantasy version of New York; a riot of color and energy where everyone knows everyone and a person can own a business and an apartment.  The film follows a few characters as the neighborhood is going through its inevitable changes.  Usnavi (Ramos) has decided to pack up and move to the Dominican Republic, which he views through the lens of nostalgia.  He gets cold feet when he falls for the local beauty, Vanessa (Barerra).  Meanwhile Nina (Grace) has dropped out of Stanford and is struggling to figure out what to do with herself.

If there is one thing that a musical needs, it's energy.  And lots of it.  Any good musical will have the audience tapping their feet and humming the music.  Who can't hear "Hakuna Matata" from "The Lion King" in their head just by reading the words.  Not only does this never happen during "In the Heights," but the songs are almost all played at the same energy level.  They look the same, they sound the same, they feel the same.  And what starts out as something lively and energetic grows old and moldy by the time the movie is half over.

The cast members have the pipes and the moves to play their characters, but no one stands out.  Anthony Ramos has a certain low-key charm that shines through every once in a while, but he doesn't display much charisma or presence.  Ditto for his love interest Melissa Barerra.  She is pretty and has a nice voice, but her personality doesn't jump off the screen.  The background characters are more interesting (I was particularly partial to the trio of salon ladies led by Dahne Rubin-Vega.

John M. Chu can best be described as a director-for-hire.  Nothing in his resume, which includes "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra," the big screen version of "Jem and the Holograms" (which I don't think anyone saw), and a Justin Bieber concert film.  Yeah, he directed the charming sleeper hit "Crazy Rich Asians," but the success of that movie was more from the charm and chemistry of Henry Goulding and Constance Wu than anything he did.  This is a bland musical that can't capture the energy of the music or the world it creates.  Strange as it sounds, I thought a lot about "Step Up Revolution" while watching this movie, and it did what this movie attempts with more success.

"In the Heights" is certainly not a bad film, but in the pantheon of big movie musicals, it won't rank very high.  I saw it and was somewhat entertained, but that's it.

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