tick, tick... BOOM! | Review
Is there anything Lin-Manuel Miranda can’t do? The Pulitzer-Grammy-Emmy-winning artist (and Oscar winner, any day now), known for his acting, producing, and songwriting prowess on musical hits like In the Heights and Hamilton, and Disney films like Moana and, more recently, Encanto, can now say directing is another thing he excels at. His directorial debut tick, tick… BOOM! is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical one-man rock musical from Jonathan Larson, the composer of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Rent, which follows his struggles as a starving artist trying to make a name for himself. Unfortunately, in a cruel twist of fate, Larson never got to experience the reception to his one and only hit, as he died from an undiagnosed heart defect the day of Rent’s first Off-Broadway performance. He was only 35. This film not only acts as an adaptation of Larson’s musical of the same name, but also as a loving tribute to a man who influenced Broadway and Miranda, himself.
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) stars as Larson, waiting tables at a diner by day and writing his futuristic rock musical, Superbia, by night (which he’s been working on for eight years). He’s approaching his 30th birthday and he wants, needs, this musical to be the thing that brings him massive success before the big 3-0, like his idol Stephen Sondheim (who, unfortunately, passed away this weekend in real life). His best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús, In the Heights) and girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp, Love, Simon) love and support him, but they also want him to have a backup plan in case he never reaches this success. What follows is Larson’s neglect of his loved ones in his pursuit of stardom.
Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson
While tick, tick… BOOM! has a simple premise, what makes it stand out is Garfield’s wonderful performance and Miranda’s assured direction. This is Garfield’s first musical role and he does a surprising job at singing and dancing and embodying the iconic composer in his obsession for greatness (we see footage of the real Larson at the end and you can see how impressive Garfield’s mimicry is). Miranda makes it seem like he’s been directing movies forever by how well he tells this story. It’s well-paced and full of energy, filled with well-staged and memorable musical numbers. Admittedly, it did take me some time to get used to the film’s narrative structure, which switches between Larson’s one-man show, scenes as they actually happened, and musical sequences (I didn’t know anything about the film prior to watching, so I was confused if the one-man show scenes were happening before or after the depicted events).
But most of all, you can tell how much love and care went into this production. Miranda first saw Rent when he was a teenager, crediting the musical as the inspiration for his career in writing his own musicals. A few years later, Miranda saw tick, tick… BOOM! off Broadway, and just a few years after that, he even starred as Larson in a production of tick, tick… BOOM! Larson paved the way for Miranda to reinvent the genre with In the Heights and Hamilton. You can see the similarities between this film and Hamilton. Both feature men who work like they’re running out of time. Both are concerned about their respective legacies. In a way, they’re surrogates for Miranda, the creative who seems to always be working, never taking a break.
Michael (Robin de Jesús), Carolyn (Mj Rodriguez), and Freddy (Ben Levi Ross)
Miranda feels like Larson’s spiritual successor. He and his team went to great lengths to interview Larson’s friends and family members, and recreating Larson’s New York City apartment and the Moondance Diner he worked at. The film includes previously unreleased songs, including the film’s highlight “Sextet,” a song from Superbia. There are countless cameos from Broadway legends and current stars (which I won’t spoil here), all of whom want to play a part in celebrating Larson. While the film does risk veering into hagiography territory, it’s ultimately too much fun to fault. Some might even find Larson a bit grating and self-absorbed, which is fair, but I found Garfield’s charming performance winning me over.
Thanks to Miranda’s direction, the screen play from Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen), and the bevy of strong performances, tick, tick… BOOM! is the best musical adaptation I’ve seen all year (in a film with an unusual amount, including great adaptations like In the Heights, bad ones like Dear Evan Hansen, and the upcoming remake of West Side Story). It’s not just a celebration of Jonathan Larson, but to musical theater as well. It even has the late Stephen Sondheim’s final piece of work (Bradley Whitford portrays the legendary composer and lyricist on screen, but the real-life Sondheim provides a vocal performance near the end of the film). The film recognizes Sondheim as a pivotal influence and mentor figure to Larson, much like in real life. This whole production is an infectious labor of love, dedicated to the heroes who came before us, and for the ones who will come after.
