Have you watched “In the Heights” yet?
“In the Heights” started as a Broadway musical in 2008 — written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
It’s the story of a bodega owner who’s looking back on his days in Washington Heights; a New York City neighborhood where he grew up.
The movie was supposed to come out last summer, but COVID happened, and well, here we are! I watched it earlier this week on HBO Max and my main takeaway is that it’s a good, fun movie and I really liked the singing and dance numbers.
As for the storyline, I think the movie trailer is a little deceiving. It says it’s a story of a neighborhood that’s disappearing… which isn’t what I got when I watched it.
I do think it’s a story lots of people can relate to — especially after COVID. We are all dealing with change in our communities; we want to preserve what we can but we’re hoping for better days ahead.
There’s definitely evidence that Lin-Manuel wrote it, as many of the raps sound similar to those in “Hamilton,” but it’s not overkill.
Some of the scenes — given the location — reminded me of RENT a tad, which I enjoyed.
It’s a fun movie for summer, but I didn’t feel invested in the characters enough for this to be a GREAT movie. I’ll probably watch it again, but it’s not an instant hit for me.
If you watched it, what did you think?
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