A film adaptation of the semi-autobiographical musical by the same name, ‘tick, tick… BOOM!’ presents us with the story of Jonathan Larson, creator of the hit musical ‘Rent’, whilst he was still an aspiring writer trying to succeed in New York City. Set before his fame and success, the film follows Jonathan in the week leading up to his 30th birthday, as he prepares for and delivers his first workshop for his musical ‘Superbia’.
Andrew Garfield, most famous for his role as Spider-Man, plays Jonathan Larson. This was undeniably a choice that came off as a shock to many as the role requires singing, a skill that Garfield himself was not aware that he had until he began preparing for this film.
Despite this, his voice is actually amazing, and he very convincingly plays a struggling artist in search of his big break. His somewhat scatty acting perfectly represents a man that always has a new song and story playing in his head, and this along with his charisma gives birth to a very likeable character that you end up loving and rooting for despite his mistakes.
Although Garfield’s performance is definitely spectacular, he isn’t the standout actor for me in this film. In my opinion, that title would have to go to Robin De Jesús. De Jesús plays Michael, Larson’s best friend, therefore resulting in an assumption that he is merely a side character, but this was not the case as to me, he stole the show.
De Jesús presents us with a beautifully complex character that not only acts as comic relief but also offers us some of the most heartbreaking moments of the movie. The ability of De Jesús to make me laugh and cry at the same time was astounding.
The film opens with a stunning sequence of home video-style shots depicting Jon performing the original stage version of ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ and doing other things such as going on a date with his girlfriend. This evokes a very personal and nostalgic feeling from the very moment the film begins. We also see this home movie style of filming at the end of the movie which nicely weaves in some actual home videos of Larson leading up to the credit scenes. This marked a wonderful directing choice from Lin Manuel Miranda.
The movie musical soundtrack contains some great songs. A few of my personal favourites include ‘Sunday’, ‘Therapy’, ‘Boho Days’ and ‘Come to Your Senses’. The songs were all sung by brilliant voices such as Vanessa Hudgens who plays Karessa and Joshua Henry who plays Roger and previously worked with Manuel Miranda in the music department of Manuel Miranda’s other directorial and writing venture, the musical ‘In the Heights’.
There are many easter eggs throughout the film, some of which were hints at his later work such as ‘Rent’. A particularly large easter egg is during the performance of ‘Sunday’ when there are cameos made by famous musical performers – some of whom had worked with Larson when he was still alive.
These cameos were small parts showing the performers as diners who take part in the song; some of them include Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Wilson Jermain Heredia. They appeared in the original production of Larson’s ‘Rent’ that he unfortunately never watched as he died a few days before its opening night. There are also other cameos in the film by other stars like André De Shields, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lin Manuel Miranda himself.
Overall, the musical was a stunningly written work by Jonathan Larson and it was truly well adapted into a movie screenplay by Steven Levenson. It is also brought to life by a wonderful ensemble cast of actors and vocalists and directors. There is an amazing mixture of comedic relief and lightheartedness with gripping and emotional scenes which addressed serious topics such as the AIDS epidemic and gay rights. All in all, warning tissues are a must for this movie!
Words by: Carla Booth
Edited by: Harsheni Maniarasan