In the Heights was the Broadway Musical Lin-Manuel Miranda created before he created Hamilton. This is the movie/HBO Max adaptation of that. At times it seems like this would be a better experience on Broadway. But other times the scenes push past what could be done onstage.
Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) is a Dominican Republican immigrant who runs a bodega in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. But he dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic and re-opening his father’s bar. He spent “the best years of his life” there. He tries to save money for his dream, while also trying to look out for his friends and his neighborhood. The Heights are starting to lose their Latinx and immigrant roots because of creeping gentrification. Inevitability, Usnavi has to make a choice between his dream and his neighborhood.
But the movie isn’t just about Usnavi. His girlfriend Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) is trying to be a freelance fashion designer while she works at the local beauty shop by day. Without money or access to materials, she struggles. His best friend Nina (Leslie Grace), is returning to the Heights after a tough year at an Ivy League school. She was the smartest person in the neighborhood, but she struggled with being the token minority at the university. And his cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) works with him at the bodega, but he is an illegal that dreams of becoming a full citizen.
Overall, there’s just too much going on. Vanessa and Sonny’s stories felt like they needed an extra scene or two to fill out their character arcs.
The acting is very good. Even though almost everything is sung, there are some standard dialogue scenes as well. The actors move in and out of those effortlessly and the audience can still feel their emotions.
Of course, it is a movie musical, so how are the songs and dances? They’re good, but unfortunately they remind us too much of other things. The songs are all well-written but nothing is a memorable as Hamilton. The dance choreography is decent, but nothing is even on par with the more complex numbers in shows like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or Glee. There is only one really interesting dance sequence towards the ends. Two characters appear to defy gravity; while it uses obvious CGI, it is effective.
If you’re a big fan of movie musicals or Lin-Manuel Miranda you will enjoy this movie. If you’re looking for a socially conscious film, this seems to be a good reflection of some of the current struggles of the Latinx community in New York (though it does seemingly ignore the Afro-Caribbeans that would also be part of the barrio). But this movie isn’t Hamilton or Singin’ in the Rain. If someone doesn’t like musicals, this isn’t one I can see being an exception. I’m rating this an HBO Now.