Boom Goes the Dynamite?

Before he created the musical Rent, composer Jonathan Larson wrote a largely autobiographical show called (many things, at different points in the process, but ultimately) tick, tick, BOOM! It is so autobiographical, in fact, that you might think that the new film adaptation of the show is in fact a biopic about Larson's life. But no... or at least, not only; this movie adapts an existing musical that was itself adapted after Larson's death from his original one-man show.

At its worst, tick, tick, BOOM! still betrays that initial origin. It often feels like every cliche one-man show mocked in every sitcom featuring a struggling actor character. It can be incredibly whiny, incredibly self-indulgent, and incredibly something only said actor's closest friends would feel compelled to sit through. The story is riddled with trite platitudes and navel gazing presented as profound revelation.

I mention all of that "worst stuff" up front, because while I really think it drags down the potential of what this movie could be, the fact remains that the rest of the time, when tick, tick, BOOM! is good, it is very, very good.

To be clear, I think it's only the parts of this film that show Larson, the character, performing a "show within the show" that felt self-pitying and cloying. The movie also features plenty of "real life" scenes (sometimes interwoven with music) that feel much more genuine, and much more moving.

And the music is everything that to me, the snippets of staged performances are not. This is a collection of incredibly smart and clever songs by Larson that, for my money, outshines his more well-known tunes for Rent. In these lyrics, I found sharper comedy, greater introspection, deeper emotion, and denser wordplay. In the music, I found more soaring tunes, and smart references to other Broadway shows. (And in this adaptation in particular, very well-crafted orchestrations.)

There are two not-so-secret weapons here working to this movie's advantage. One is Lin-Manuel Miranda. This is his film directorial debut, but I don't think you would know that from the results. This is a more than capable effort that's really deliberate about the use of camera, staging, and editing. The way he conceives his scenes go beyond trying to put a stage production on film; there's a lot of thought here in how to open things up here beyond what you often see in movies adapted from plays or musicals. (A mid-film number, "Sunday," is an especially great moment -- a dream sequence brought to life, and populated with more than a dozen musical theater legends in delightful cameos.)

The other great asset is Andrew Garfield, who is great in the lead role of Jonathan Larson. It's not just "wow, he can sing" (though he can). It's a great performance all around: when simply listening to other characters, when trying to make those whiny stage moments work, when actually making the dramatic interludes work... and yes, most of all in the songs. Particularly moving -- against all odds, because it's the most self-indulgent song in the entire film -- is the ballad "Why," performed alone at a piano on an empty stage.

Since I watched the movie, but before I got to writing here about it, the news came that Stephen Sondheim passed away. He was a key inspiration for Larson, and is played in this movie by Bradley Whitford (and, in a brief voice-over cameo, by himself). The role is too small for me to comment on much, but it feels worth noting that the godfather of modern musical theater is indeed represented here -- perhaps another reason to watch the movie, if you're a fan of his work.

Musical theater inherently requires more suspension of disbelief from the audience... and perhaps that's hardest when the balance is off, as I feel it is here. But as cringe-worthy as I found tick, tick, BOOM! to be at some times, I found it to be equally potent at others. I'd say it works out to something like a B-. Fans of musicals will likely want to check it out; fans of Rent certainly will. Everyone else might show more caution.