In The Heights 2021

 

Wish I had liked this loud colorful kinetic New York City musical more than I did. It was overlong and repetitive especially in many of the musical numbers  which were crowded it seemed just for the sake of being crowded. I also thought of “West Side Story”but this musical doesn’t have the great music that is still with us today. I doubt if I will be humming any of the hip hop songs down the road. The cast was pretty and easy to look at but they also blended into each other with the exception of Anthony Ramos who should have a terrific career and Olga Merediz who plays Abula Claudia who has a lovely number towards the end of the film and might even get herself a supporting actress Oscar nomination. Also good was Daphne Rubin-Vega and too bad she was too old to play one of the young women with all the romance thrown at them. When she was on, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The musical numbers were too bland even though the director filled the screen with lots of frantic swirling dancers in bright colorful costumes and clothes, as I said they were too repetitive with lots of cuteness including a parody in a city pool of a big Busby Berkeley number which made me shake my head. There is good on location dancing in the streets and the city looks hot and sexy but so what New York always looks good on film, check out “Gotham” and “Jessica Jones”. There is a black out, a lottery win, romantic bickering and of course a happy ending. The movie itself bombed at the box-office probably this had something to do with the damn pandemic but It just wasn’t that good. Yes the blu ray looks great and if you want to spend 2 ½ hours of loudness and flash then see it.