In the Heights movie review 2021

MOVIE TITLE: In The Heights

In theaters June 11, 2021 and HBO Max

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours, 23 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

Warner Brothers has created a fun musical about two islands: New York City and the Dominican Republic. It’s written by Lin Manuel Miranda, most famous for his Broadway smash hit HAMILTON, and Quiara Alegria Hudes, who wrote the original book and musical stage play. Add the fast-singing Rap style of Miranda to Jon M. Chu’s playful directing style in Crazy Rich Asians, and you get a summertime fusion of culture, music, and immigration issues. I don’t usually give my Movie Review Mom grade until the end of my review, but it’s going to be pretty obvious that I really loved many of the moments in this film.

The story’s heart is all about “suenitos”, which means little dreams in Spanish, referring both to the dreams immigrants have when they come to the USA, as well as to the “Dreamers” who are children brought to this country illegally by their parents.

THINGS I LIKED:

Lin Manuel Miranda is so musically talented, but he also knows how to create memorable characters and a compelling story that can keep us engaged for almost 2 1/2 hours! In the Broadway musical, Lin Manuel Miranda plays the lead role, but in this movie version, he has gracefully passed the baton over to another talented actor/singer, Anthony Ramos who is fantastic in the role. His character breaks the 4^th wall by speaking directly to the audience at times, letting us into his world and his dream.
The cast is absolutely terrific and introduces us to some new talent, including Melissa Barrera (her abs are incredible!), Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Daphne Rubin-Vegas (her thighs are impressive!), and Gregory Diaz IV. Surprisingly smaller roles are given to veteran stars Jimmy Smits (I’ve never heard him sing before!), Marc Anthony (I’ve definitely heard him sing before!), and a fun cameo with Christopher Jackson from HAMILTON.
There’s a great opening scene that reminded me of the opening scene in La La Land. Plenty of super energetic choreography that will make you want to get up and dance.
Olga Merediz plays Abuela (grandmother) which is perfect because she played the same role on Broadway and received a 2008 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical!
There are so many delightful moments and surprises that make certain scenes so memorable. For example, there’s a cute musical number in a beauty salon where the manikin heads move, offering visual humor to the song. Another scene uses animated graphics to emphasize what people are saying and singing while walking down a street. Another fantastic musical number begins on a balcony where I was really worried the two singers would fall off, but instead, I gasped when they began to dance on the walls! So fun! There’s also a very poignant scene on a subway to symbolize the journeys we take in our lives. The $96K musical number at the public swimming pool is a standout and feels like a magical Esther Williams water number from the 1940s and 1950s. By the way, what would YOU do with $96K? Comment down below! I’d love to hear about YOUR dream!
You really get a flavor for the Latino barrios of New York City.
Latino communities represented in the film are predominantly from the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. You get to see their country flags and even some plates of food for a taste of their culture.
I love it when filmmakers pay attention to the little details, so be prepared to look for Easter eggs!
REALLY great production design and set pieces.
I loved the feeling of community and how all of these disparate families came together to create a unique sense of belonging in a country where they don’t feel accepted.
I got teary-eyed during a super touching scene in Act 3. This movie will make you laugh and cry.

Keep watching the rolling credits after the movie ends for another cute scene with Lin Manuel Miranda and Christopher Jackson.
I laughed out loud when one of the characters is on the phone on hold. The on-hold music is the song King George sings in the musical HAMILTON. Adorable. I absolutely LOVED Jonathan Groff’s version of King George!! The best!
A LOT of Spanish is spoken in the movie, mostly without subtitles. To give you a little help, I’m including some…

SPANISH VOCABULARY YOU HEAR IN THE MOVIE:

Bueno: okay

Oye: Listen

Abuela: grandmother

Que dios le bendiga: God bless you

No me diga: Don’t say it! OR No way! OR Say it isn’t so

Piragua: a Puerto Rican shaved ice like a snow cone. I tasted my first one when I went to Panama a few years ago.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Viewers need to know there is very little spoken dialogue. In the style of HAMILTON, almost every line is sung.
Sometimes, the audio doesn’t always sync up with the lips of the person singing. OOPS!
I was loving every second of the movie until it got political and I felt the energy of the entire audience decline. The story is about the plight of “undocumented immigrants” who feel powerless in the United States. I speak Spanish fluently and have lived in Mexico and Spain for several years, so I absolutely understand their desire to come to the USA to improve their lives. One of my sons is even dating a lovely girl from Cuba who just came here 4 years ago with her family legally. She’s gorgeous, by the way, and looks a lot like the beautiful Melissa Barerra! What do YOU think?

What I have a problem with is people who break the law to come here illegally and then demand legal rights like voting and financial benefits. When they wave their flag in defiance, it makes me wonder why they don’t just go back to their own country if they love their country so much and hate it here in America? Does that sound harsh? Dreamers are in a very difficult situation since they were children when their parents brought them across the border illegally. I absolutely understand including those issues in the film because it’s about this unique community; I’m just saying that the audience became noticeably quiet during those scenes.
One part of the story really bugged me. Nina worked hard in high school and did so well that she was accepted into college, the first girl in the barrio to do so. She quits school because she can’t afford to go to Stanford University anymore and doesn’t feel a sense of community like she does in the barrio. We’re supposed to feel sorry for her, but she could have easily gone to a less expensive university. No one forced her to choose a ridiculously expensive college like Stanford. In reality, she probably would have been given a scholarship because universities are falling all over themselves lately to ensure diversity is a part of their student body and campus culture. Stanford is in California which has a very heavy Latino population, so I’m sure she could have found friends there. Rather than complain, she could have been the one to create a community or club there. Okay, off my soap box now.
I had to do a double-take when I first saw Marc Anthony just to be sure it was him. He’s usually so dapper and handsome, so I was kind of shocked to see him look like he does in the film. How can you include him in a musical and have him NOT sing? What?!
There are a few shaky-cam moments that always make me dizzy.
Fans of the Broadway stage musical might be disappointed by some of the changes that have been made in the film version.
Act 3 gets a bit messy with the narrative and order of scenes.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Some profanity
Someone robs a store
Transvestites are in the cast.
Lots of cleavage. Another character shimmies her chest in every scene she’s in. (I’m talking to you Dascha Polanco.)

THEMES:

“Paciencia y fe” (patience & faith)
Power vs. powerlessness
Community
Family
Hope
Education
Inserting dignity in small ways
Culture

FUNNY LINES:

* “Buy me a bikini.” – Abuela

* You do you.” – Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV)

INTERESTING LINES:

“The streets were made of music.” – Usnavi de la Vegas (hilarious name that’s explained in the movie) – Anthony Ramos
“The details tell the world we’re not invisible.” – Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz)
“There’s no shame in having a different path.” – Kevin Rosario (Jimmy Smits)
“Let me just listen to my block.” – Nina (Leslie Grace)