Thursday, December 01, 2005

RENT, Thanksgiving

Ok wow, I've got too much to say in one blog here. I guess I'll throw out what I can for now and either forget the rest (highly likely given my memory) or finish up another time.

So Amy, Randy, Heather & I saw RENT last Wednesday. Amy & I got there early and ate dinner at the Ugly Toona Saloona. It's kind of an odd place, as it's definitely very much a bar atmosphere (like Adobe Gilas), but they have a lot of seafood options... priced as you would expect for seafood entrees. I tried to keep more on the inexpensive side, so for the meal I just got a burger (as did Amy), but I had to try the Shrimp & Lobster Bisque. It was pretty tasty -- not as good as, say, Lindeys or the Ocean Club, but still good stuff. Judging by that at least I wouldn't be afraid of trying their other seafood dishes.

So yeah, the movie. I definitely enjoyed the movie. It didn't blow me away like I was hoping for, but it was good. Not quite as faithful of an adaptation as Phantom, but still pretty good, and the fact that it was most of the original cast was awesome. VERY cool seeing all those folks that I'm used to hearing from the original soundtrack - they all did a great job, and contrary to a lot of worries folks had, Roger (Adam Pascal) was really the only one who looked a little old, and it was only REALLY noticeable in one scene. I liked a lot of the visualizations added ... flashbacks to Roger & April meeting and such, images of the life support folks disappearing, the TVs in Maureen's show, Maureen flirting with the secretary while Joanne and Mark meet with Alexi... etc. I really missed a lot of the "in-between songs" singing... and just like in Phantom, the converted a lot of sung dialogue into regular spoken stuff. Which was kind of unsettling because 1) it was wierd knowing what they were going to say and 2) the spoken dialogue still rhymed, and people just don't SPEAK in rhyme... Also, cutting out a lot of the in-between music resulted in a number of the songs feeling more stilted, losing the flow. Some of the changes they made in pacing didn't make a whole lot of sense either. I mean, I can understand rewriting things (especially when you cut some stuff - you have to reinsert what was important there somewhere else), but why stretch out the beginning stuff? I don't see why Maureen's show had to be moved back, etc. Just odd. Another thing which I noticed in Phantom and here again in RENT. The movie felt REALLY LONG. Even with the stuff they cut out, there's just something about taking a show which typically has a 15-minute intermission and cramming it all together...
So yeah... good but not great. Definitely no substitute for the absolute awesomeness that is the stage version, but I'll surely get the DVD anyway. It'll be a nice option since the show's not always playing nearby. (It's coming to Columbus next year... April 22-23... Amy's due date is 4/20. Cruel fate indeed). If anyone else out there saw it, I'd love to hear what you thought.

Thanksgiving was a good time - parents and Amy's mom came over and we ate here. I think we may be nearing double digits on the number of times we've used the nice china in the past 5 years ;) . Almost out of leftovers... which is probably good, because a week is pretty much pushing it on leftovers anyway.

I think that's enough for now.
  • SAD NEWS: 2Cos is closing 2/25/06. Going to be extremely sad to see it go - there's been a lot of great shows there and we'll miss it quite a bit. That said, with those financials, I can definitely understand the decision, and if I had to choose, I'd much rather see Shadowbox continue and keep going strong. Meanwhile, the current Christmas at 2Co's show is awesome - the best XMas show they've done. Lots of great music, some really funny bits, and of course, gotta love the Christmas Queenies.
  • If caffeine is good for your memory, why is mine so shitty?
  • If Lists of Bests were still updating, this would have been a great addition: Empire's 50 Greatest Independent Films. A good list, and I've seen a lot more of them then I expected.