“I Want to Take You Higher” … Maybe
(Lyric above borrowed from Sly and the Family Stone’s song of the same name found on their 1969 album Stand!; film clip from Michael Wadleigh’s 1970 documentary Woodstock capturing aspects of a wide range of performances and attendees at the famous 1969 music festival, held in upstate NY.)
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) when they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative.
In the Heights (Jon M. Chu) rated PG-13 143 min.
Opening Chatter (no spoilers): Another week has rolled by with little I really cared to watch for these analytical purposes (although as a response to my own comments in a review [May 20, 2021] of The Woman in the Window [Joe Wright] I re-watched the better versions of this concept, Rear Window [Alfred Hitchcock, 1954] and The Girl on the Train [Tate Taylor, 2016; review in our October 27, 2016 posting]), with further distractions dealing with car repairs and probable provider-switching of TV/Internet service so I got to only 1 new release anyway, certainly the one with the largest sense of potential impact, even though it didn’t fully stir me the way it has the lauding-CCAL, the long-awaited play-to-screen-adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre-Hamilton-hit, In the Heights about a large cast of interconnected-characters (mostly Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico heritage) in Manhattan’s northern-most-neighborhood, Washington Heights, as romance, fear, triumphs, and a large helping of energetic musical numbers give a notable presence to a Latinx (more on that term later in this review) community, constantly ready to offer mutual support for its fascinating populace.
There’s a lot of joy in this movie of sueñitos (“little dreams”), along with some heartbreak and lots of infectious music in a structure known in the academic world of film studies as an integrated musical (has nothing to do with ethnicity of the characters; instead it’s a narrative where anyone at anytime can successfully break into song and/or dance rather than it being a story where musical numbers are justified by professionals in rehearsal or on-stage—as with the various versions of A Star Is Born) so these streets/bodegas/swimming pools are easily “alive with the sound of music” whenever circumstances call for it. I appreciate what In the Heights sets out to accomplish regarding representation and uplift more so than I continue to be wowed by what I saw and heard, but unless you truly despise musicals I think you’d encounter it as an enjoyable experience, which you can find in many theaters if you’re back into the social flow or on HBO Max for no extra charge as long as you’re a subscriber. Also, in the Short Takes section I’ll offer suggestions for some choices on the Turner Classic Movies channel (but too much extra text for line-justified-layout like you see here [Related Links stuff at each posting’s end is similarly-ragged], at least to be done by this burned-out-BlogSpot-drone—oh, tedious software!), along with my standard dose of industry-related-trivia.
Here’s the trailer for In the Heights:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge it; activate
that same button or use the “esc” keyboard key to return to normal size.)
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $. To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid those important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters like this:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
What Happens: In the northernmost part of NYC’s Manhattan Island is the neighborhood of Washington Heights (named for Revolutionary War-era Fort Washington, highest point on the island as defense against British troops; also the grand George Washington Bridge, which comes into this neighborhood from New Jersey, is often a visual icon in the background of this shot-on-location-movie), now largely settled by immigrants and their descendants from the Caribbean’s Dominican Republic (along with a good number of those of Puerto Rican-ancestry). We’re quickly thrust into the nature of this environment by our narrator/main character, Usnavi de la Vega (Anthony Ramos)—re-named for the first ship his father saw as they entered New York harbor, a U.S. Navy vessel, when the kid was 8 years old—who appears to be at a refreshment stand on a beach telling some young kids about his former life in Washington Heights where he ran a bodega (convenience store) helped out by his perpetually-late younger cousin, Sonny de la Vega (Gregory Diaz IV). We also get to know Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz)—not Usnavi’s, nor anyone else’s, true grandmother but the unofficial matriarch of the community (came from Cuba long ago, faced many struggles over the years); Kevin Rosario (Jimmy Smits), who owns a local cab company, and his dispatcher, Benny (Corey Hawkins); aspiring-Midtown-fashion-designer Vanessa Morales (Melissa Barrera), Usnavi’s secret love whom he’s not yet gotten the courage to ask out (she’s not likely to get out of the neighborhood either, as her desired-apartment-application's rejected based on a lousy credit rating).
The other major characters to appear begin with Kevin’s brainy daughter, Nina (Leslie Grace), back home for the summer after her first year at Stanford (very troubled by how she feels she doesn’t fit in there [endured some racism too], can’t afford to pay for sophomore year even after Dad sold off half his business to cover her freshman bills; he says not to worry about it, but she’s quietly dropped out, ashamed), whose very public/enraptured-partner is Benny; next there are the salon ladies Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Carla (Stephanie Beatriz), and Cuca (Dascha Polanco)—the first 2 are lovers—with Daniela about to move her business (where Vanessa also works) to the Bronx due to rising rents in the Heights. Oh, lest I forget, Lin-Manuel Miranda (co-author, with Quiara Alegría Hudes [sole screenwriter of this current screen-adaptation], of the earlier stage version of the same name of this story [Broadway debut, 2008], played Usnavi on stage [you might also know him from Hamilton, yes?]) has a small role as Piragüero, the Piragua Guy, selling from his cart a sno-cone/shave-ice type treat, constantly in his customer-warfare with the Mr. Softee Truck Driver (Christopher Jackson).
Once all of this is established, along with a fuller sense of the entire neighborhood (which you can see for yourself at this site which gives you the movie’s first 8:31), it’s mainly the working out in limited terms of these plot elements as the movie continues to run its lengthy course with the primary other additions being Usnavi’s desire to reclaim his father’s run-down-shack on the beach in the Dominican Republic, Nina’s conflict over trying again to establish a better identity at Stanford (with Benny just as eager to keep her in the Heights), and a community-wide dream over winning $96,000 in the local lottery (Usnavi learns the winning ticket was sold at his bodega) with these characters all giving us an idea of what they’re eager to do with such a windfall (culminating in a marvelously-staged-aquatic-ballet-number at the huge Highbridge Pool, reminiscent [and consciously-inspired by] those Esther Wllliams’ water-choreography-spectacles from back in Hollywood’s Golden Age). Other elements of this story are the ongoing burdensome summer heat (having lived a couple of summers in NYC—although in Queens—I can testify how miserably hot [enhanced by humidity] those months can be) leading to a power blackout, but there’s nothing particularly dramatic or revelatory about this situation even though we get frequent-onscreen-countdown-graphics until the juice is cut off at night.
⇒As these interwoven-storylines come to closure we learn Kevin sold the rest of his cab company to afford keeping his daughter at Stanford, which she angrily rejects at first for not having been consulted but changes her mind about returning in order to help find strategies for undocumented immigrant kids, such as Sonny, to survive in the U.S. (Benny’s going to find some way to join her); Abuela dies, leading to a communal mourning, but she had the winning ticket which she passed on to Usnavi so he’s set to return to the D.R.; Usnavi gets Daniela to co-sign for a Downtown apartment for Vanessa which finally opens her eyes as to how much he cares for her; Usnavi gives the ticket to lawyer Alejandro (Mateo Gómez) to pay Sonny’s DACA fees, giving him quasi-legal status; Usnavi finds his attraction to the Heights and Vanessa is too strong to ignore so he stays put; we then see in wider shots how his “beach” location with those kids is just a painted backdrop while one of the children is his daughter with Vanessa. In a post-credits scene, Piragüero celebrates his vending-triumph as the Mister Softee truck crashes, leaving him as the sole-street-thirst-quencher-option.⇐
So What? This movie’s adapted from the 2005 Miranda-Hudes play which became a Broadway hit in 2008, snagged 4 major Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Choreography, Original Score [by Miranda]),* then was in the early stages of being adapted for the screen but got sidetracked, further pushed back by Miranda’s astounding success with the stage version of Hamilton: An American Musical (Broadway, 2015). A few years later when it all finally came together, shot in NYC in 2019, its intended 2020 release was pushed back until now due to COVID-19 restrictions that essentially stopped moviegoing in most markets over the past year. It finally arrived in theaters last weekend now that more of them are open, simultaneously available for streaming on HBO Max. While anticipation for this Miranda “follow-up” (despite its earlier creation) was high, not only by audiences enthralled with Hamilton … eager to see even more of such energizing-narratives from this talented playwright but also by nervous-theater-chain-owners hoping this movie would truly be the big early-summer-blockbuster luring leery patrons back into big-crowd, big-screen experiences, that second aspect hasn’t played out as huge as intended so far (a bit more on that in this review’s next section).
While I’m generally not a big fan of musicals—except for ones so exuberant you can’t dismiss them, such as Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952) or those with substantial social content from West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961) through Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972) to Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002), all of which in the latter group are multiple-Oscar-winners (only Cabaret wasn’t Best Picture, losing to The Godfather [Francis Ford Coppola, 1972])—I found aspects of In the Heights to be engaging, although its overall intention of celebrating Latinx culture withinin our urban U.S.A., while necessary and admirable given both the general lack of such in cinema (and other entertainment venues marketed to the “mainstream”—except for Major League Baseball, Latin American football [soccer]) and the sparse presence of actors of Latin American descent in most big-screen-productions, it ultimately felt more like needed-gap-filling than a fabulous story for me (an old White man that I am, even as I try to be more open to heritages unlike my own).
*To get a sense of how this story worked on stage, here’s a short video (5:06) from the 2008 Tony Awards show as the original Broadway cast does the “96,000” number (no swimming pool, though).
I totally agree with a character’s bold statement about the people he embraces, “We are not erasable!,” but what I was able to learn here about a culture somewhat different from my own (in terms of language, fealty to Caribbean countries I know little about through my own ignorance, even the dominance of café con leche as the drink of choice in this neighborhood)—although completely the same in terms of romances progressing clumsily, parent-adult child bickering (misunderstanding each other in the process), entire communities with aspirations toward better socioeconomic stability—I easily comprehended what was presented without needing all those repetitions bringing the running time to almost 2½ hours. Yes, I know characters and stories such as these need to be seen more often outside of Spanish-language TV, that such presence is vital to every segment of our all-too-often-silo-insulated-society, as well as how this movie’s adapted from the type of play patrons expect to run for this long, the cast breaking out frequently into show-stopping-numbers featuring strong vocalists/dozens of dancers, yet, just for me (and another San Francisco-area-critic [who shall remain nameless, so as to protect the innocent]) it just became too drawn-out and predictable, despite its sincere celebration of the citizens of Washington Heights, its catchy tunes, its high-energy-cinematic-productions. However—love it or not—at least you don’t have to be bilingual to appreciate it as almost all the dialogue’s in English or what’s not is mostly translated with subtitles or isn’t that vitally-consequential, as you can easily get the sense of what’s said from a scene’s context.
Bottom Line Final Comments: In the Heights had an enormous amount of hype but wasn’t able to hit its intended heights in its weekend debut, coming in at #2 for domestic (U.S.-Canada) releases with $11.5 million in ticket sales despite playing in 3,456 theaters, unable to budge A Quiet Place Part II (John Krasinski) from the top perch despite that one losing 229 of its prior venues (still has 3,515) with a domestic total after 3 weeks of $109.4 million (worldwide it’s at $201.3 million; … Heights is now only in domestic release). In fact, … Heights just barely topped horror-movie-sequel The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (Michael Chaves) which took in $10.3 million (worldwide after 2 weeks, $112.2 million) and another debut, the kid-friendly Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Will Gluck) with $10.1 million (worldwide $68.9 million), so it seems clear for the moment that alien monsters, demons, and bunnies are proving to be more attractive to audiences than the dynamic celebration of an under-represented-American-community (in Other Cinema-Related Stuff farther below you’ll find arguments Warner Bros. 2021 policy of simultaneously releasing products in theaters and on HBO Max isn’t responsible for … the Heights’ soft box-office, so judge for yourself). This movie could hardly ask for a better CCAL-embrace, though, with the Rotten Tomatoes critics offering a lofty 96% positive reviews while those at Metacritic are equally-generous (their numbers are usually lower than RT’s, where all you have to get is some staffer’s impression of a thumbs-up) with an 84% average score (one of their top responses of 2021 so far for anything I’m aware of them reviewing). So, let me actively include myself among those whose comments/attitudes toward In the Heights may display their shortcomings (the vast critical-majority wouldn't seem to qualify as such, evidenced by 254 reviews surveyed by RT of which only about 18 might seem to be Latinx writers—based only on my stereotypical-assumptions about surnames—all of whom liked it, so the other 226 who are also positive [only 10 were negative] could easily be non-Latinx as me, yet they embraced it more so than me; at MC only 2 of 52 joined me in the "mixed"-response-zone, the others all positive including an assumed 5 Latinx evaluators) as I now shift into my wrap-up tactic, a Musical Metaphor.
The symbolic-song I’ve chosen to address narrative themes of In the Heights is “America” from the previously-noted West Side Story, a film I consider to be a true 5 stars-masterpiece (also adapted from a successful stage play [1957; music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents] which certainly helped it along in winning 10 of 11-nominated-Oscars [including Best Picture, Director, Film Editing, Scoring of a Musical Picture, Sound], as does the fact of stage and screen versions being loosely based on William Shakespeare’s famed Romeo and Juliet [1597]), therefore bringing a better result (at least for me) than the related, earnest-but-stretched-out intentions within In the Heights. If that value-comparison doesn’t bother you, then maybe the mid-20th-century-time-period-concerns shown in the clip just below where males’ dominance over their respective females is a given (even as the women push back some) and the use of clearly-non-Latinx Natalie Wood as plot-primary-female Maria, along with Sharks’-leader Bernardo played by Greek-American George Chakiris (certainly the casting and gender-relationships in … Heights are more “woke”—although maybe not “woke” enough for some viewers, as noted in the review comments just below), will cause you to question how I could be ignoring the 1961-problematic-aspects of this clip in using it to illustrate what’s being explored with much-more-contemporary-consciousness In the Heights? Fair enough complaints if you see it that way, but given the opportunity to again watch the Best Supporting Actor (Chakiris) and Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno—from Puerto Rico, no casting questions there) lead their opposing troupes in the song-and-dance-contest over the U.S. being a more-desirable-place to be than their Caribbean home vs. the overt racism they encounter in our supposed “paradise,” I not only have a choreographed-example of cinematic excellence that matches anything I see in In the Heights but it also directly addresses the generally-unexplored-social-stigmas the … Heights characters (except Nina) must frequently endure (giving them all reasons to fantasize about improving their situations with the lottery jackpot).
But—again, before the Metaphor (sorry to delay playing so long; other thoughts keep emerging)—to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln (who doesn’t have a bridge coming into this part of Manhattan; you have to head down to Midtown to find his tunnel), “You can’t please all of the people all of the time,” as In the Heights has been criticized for its lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latinx actors* (director Chu addresses/apologizes for this situation in this video, as does Lin-Manuel Miranda in print; Chu also caught some heat for not presenting a broader social range of characters in his previous big-screen-splash, Crazy Rich Asians [2018; review in our August 30, 2018 posting], although given the source material of that movie such critiques seem less viable to me than the ones raised about … Heights). Therefore, come with me if you will away from Washington Heights to the Hell’s Kitchen area of Midtown Manhattan where the Sharks and their ladyfriends are involved in an elaborate, strenuous rooftop-dance (further firing themselves up for the inevitable conflict with their White rivals, the Jets) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogwR6L43KVw, a scene from the 1961 film (if you just want the song on its own, search in YouTube for the soundtracks from the 1957 Broadway play and/or this 1961 film adaptation). Or, maybe to get to the inner-heart of what In the Heights is all about we should abandon plays-transformed-to-screen entirely and get truly Metaphorical with Paul Simon’s “American Tune” (on his 1973 There Goes Rhymin’ Simon album) at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=O6cfYS-LVEQ with its explorations of “We come in the age’s most uncertain hour And sing an American tune […] Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day And I’m trying to get some rest.” Pick what you like; ultimately we’re all in this together. (Also, West Side Story’s being updated as well by Steven Spielberg; here’s a teaser for his version, due in December 2021.)
*I'll finally address this term, Latinx, about people of Latin American heritage, which may be more known in academic/political usage than in common parlance, as a recent NPR survey found that only 3% of those usually called Latinos even use this world; for some it’s an alternative to Hispanic (indicating someone from a Spanish-speaking culture, but as this includes Spain it’s not ideal for those who wish to focus on Latin America) or Latino (indicating someone from a Latin American heritage, so it includes Brazil and other Western Hemisphere countries not implied by "Hispanic") which is often used generically but officially would need to be “Latino/a” to include both males and females; further, even Latino/a implies traditional binary genders which many people no longer find appropriate to themselves, thus “Latinx” is used by some but is unknown/ignored/despised by others.
Suggestions for TCM cablecasts
At least until the pandemic subsides Two Guys also want to encourage you to consider movies you might be interested in that don’t require subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime, similar Internet platforms (we may well be stuck inside for longer than those 30-day-free-initial-offers), or premium-tier-cable-TV-fees. While there are a good number of video networks offering movies of various sorts (mostly broken up by commercials), one dependable source of fine cinematic programming is Turner Classic Movies (available in lots of basic-cable-packages) so I’ll be offering suggestions of possible choices for you running from Thursday afternoon of the current week (I usually get this blog posted by early Thursday mornings) on through Thursday morning of the following week. All times are for U.S. Pacific zone so if you see something of interest please verify actual show time in your area for the day listed. These recommendations are my particular favorites (no matter when they’re on, although some of those early-day-ones might need to be recorded, watched later), but there’s considerably more to pick from you might like even better; feel free to explore their entire schedule here. You can also click the down arrow at the right of each listing for additional, useful info.
I’ll bet if you checked that entire schedule link just above you’d find other options of interest, but these are the only ones grabbing my attention at present. Please dig in further for other possibilities.
I’m in the OOCU regarding the TCM picks below as they're the only ones that grabbed my attention.
Saturday June 19, 2021
3:00 PM Jimi Hendrix (Gary Weiss, 1973) A documentary with concert footage 1967-’70 including various festivals: Monterey Pop, Isle of Wight, Woodstock. Also interviews including Eric Clapton, Germaine Greer, Jimi’s father “Al” Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Buddy Miles, Little Richard, Lou Reed,
Pete Townsend. I haven’t seen this but I’d think 98 min. on this amazing man would be worthwhile.
Monday June 21, 2021
10:15 PM Key Largo (John Huston, 1948) Here’s another crucial gangster story, more in the film noir realm as exiled gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson, alluding to his earlier Rico role in Little Caesar [1931]) is smuggled back into the country during a Florida hurricane where he and his gang take hotel occupants Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore hostage. Claire Trevor as Rocco’s desperate-for-a-drink-moll, Gaye Dawn, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
If you’d like your own PDF of the rating/summary of this week's review, suggestions for TCM cablecasts, links to Two Guys info click this link to access then save, print, or whatever you need.
Other Cinema-Related Stuff: In quick fashion, here is just one extra item you might like: (1) In the Heights less-than-spectacular-debut not the fault of simultaneous availability on HBO Max. As usual for now I’ll close out this section with Joni Mitchell’s "Big Yellow Taxi" (from her 1970 Ladies of the Canyon album)—because “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone”—and my reminder you can always search for streaming/rental/purchase movie options at JustWatch.
Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:
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Here’s more information about In the Heights:
https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/heights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhDzZp6wN3E (32:27 interview with director Jon M. Chu, scriptwriter-actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, and actors Corey Hawkins, Jimmy Smits, Anthony Ramos, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Dascha Polanco, Gregory Diaz IV, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera,
Olga Merediz [interrupted by ads at about 6:45, 9:58, 13:51, 20:19, 23:26])
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_the_heights_2021
https://www.metacritic.com/movie/in-the-heights
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If you’d rather contact Ken directly rather than leaving a comment here please use my email address of kenburke409@gmail.com—type it directly if the link doesn’t work. (But if you truly have too much time on your hands you might want to explore some even-longer-and-more-obtuse-than-my-film-reviews-academic-articles about various cinematic topics at my website, https://kenburke.academia.edu, which could really give you something to talk to me about.)
If we did talk, though, you’d easily see how my early-70s-age informs my references, Musical Metaphors, etc. in these reviews because I’m clearly a guy of the later 20th century, not so much the contemporary world. I’ve come to accept my ongoing situation, though, realizing we all (if fate allows) keep getting older, we just have to embrace it, as Joni Mitchell did so well in "The Circle Game" offering sage advice even when she was quite young herself.
By the way, if you’re ever at The Hotel California knock on my door—but you know what the check-out policy is so be prepared to stay for awhile (quite an eternal while, in fact). Ken
P.S. Just to show that I haven’t fully flushed Texas out of my system here’s an alternative destination for you, Home in a Texas Bar, with Gary P. Nunn and Jerry Jeff Walker. But wherever the rest of my body may be my heart’s always with my longtime-companion, lover, and wife, Nina Kindblad, so here’s our favorite shared song—Neil Young’s "Harvest Moon"
—from the performance we saw at the Desert Trip concerts in Indio, CA on October 15, 2016 (as a full moon was rising over the stadium) because “I’m still in love with you,” my dearest,
a never-changing-reality even as the moon waxes and wanes over the months/years to come. But, just as we can raunchy at times (in private of course) Neil and his backing band, Promise of the Real, on that same night also did a lengthy, fantastic version of "Cowgirl in the Sand"
(19:06) which I’d also like to commit to this blog’s always-ending-tunes; I never tire of listening to it, then and now (one of my idle dreams is to play guitar even half this good).
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