Audiences have been waiting for a film version of "Rent" since the show opened on Broadway in 1995, so when the film would finally arrive, it would have high expectations to meet. And while there are moments of this film that are extremely satisfying, it doesn't achieve the potential level of excellence it could have. What director Chris Columbus succeeded in doing was making sure that this was a period piece, not a modern statement, since, in truth, the show now seems dated on Broadway because of just that. It is also beneficial to see the performances of most of the original cast, with a wonderful addition of Tracie Thoms. However, the film greatly suffers by changing the piece from being a rock opera, to a conventional musical, eliminating nearly all of the recitative and adding a significant amount of dialog, which ranges from bland to laughable. And while the film is set in alphabet city 1989, one can't help but feel that they seem to be living in the present day, especially by adding the unnecessary commitment ceremony of Maureen and Joanne. Other elements of the story seem sugar coated, such as not mentioning the fact that Rodger's girlfriend slit her wrists, in the film we are left to believe she simply died of HIV. And with the addition of Tracie Thom, we get Rosario Dawson's Mimi. Dawson is an adept actress, but she does not succeed in finding the emotional vulnerability that is vital in order to make Mimi work. Since Thom was not in the original cast, but played Joanne in a replacement cast on Broadway, This writer believes that Marcy Harriell should have been chosen to play Mimi, as she was the only Mimi i saw on stage who truly broke my heart.
