I’ve never been an avid fan of musicals because I’ve never felt like the songs truly captured the amount of emotion the characters had. It would always seem to detract from the story and character development by putting everything in the form of a song and turning menial tasks into a musical number. Although I do believe that, sometimes, when used properly, the addition of songs to a film can add more layers and depth, I think that RENT went a little overboard and lost a little bit of its magic ever since it’s been adapted from the opera, La Boheme.

Unlike the other musicals I’ve watched before in the past, RENT had a more complex and intricate storyline that I felt like a movie would have provided a better lens for us to watch the story unfold through. Maybe I just like it when things are more realistic, so I’m not super into the melodrama and grand gestures that go along with musical performances. I can appreciate the talent, the artistry, the music, but as a film, I felt like it was a bit lackluster.

Instead of having the story follow multiple couples, if it focused more on one couple, I would’ve been more emotionally invested in RENT. Mimi and Roger fell in love almost immediately; there was no journey for me to follow. I wanted to fall in love with them as they fell in love with each other, but instead she just asked for him to light her candle and suddenly they were in love. That’s probably why, towards the end, when they finally embraced and confessed their undying love for each other, I didn’t feel as emotional as I would’ve with other romantic films.

There were certain parts of RENT I did enjoy, though, such as Mimi’s character as a whole, I thought was very intriguing. I also found Maureen’s character very unique, although I wasn’t particularly fond of her. I could admire the acting and the performance aspect of the whole production. Mimi portrayed this promiscuous, fun and lively girl who wasn’t afraid to go for what she wanted. Maureen is also extremely bold and flirtatious, and I’m all for the women empowerment in RENT. I loved the whole idea of breaking societal norms and being spontaneous and chasing after whatever it is that you wanted. It felt very uplifting and the overall message was endearing. Other than that, I don’t think there was anything that I would want to see a second time.