Tuesday, February 8, 2022

tick...tick...BOOM! (2021)

IMDb plot summary: On the cusp of his 30th birthday, a promising young theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressures of life as an artist in New York City.
Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Starring Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, and Robin de Jesus.

Tick Tick Boom is the film version of Jonathan Larson's first successful musical. Larson would, of course, go on to write Rent, though he passed away suddenly of an aneurysm shortly before his biggest success open. Tick Tick Boom is a largely autobiographical work about Larson struggling to find his voice, starring Andrew Garfield as our center character. This film is directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and it is first and foremost an unapologetic love letter to musical theater. So much so that I can't even truly process what it would be like to watch this NOT as a theater fan. The show itself already was full of references to the showtunes that made Larson who he was (particularly in "Sunday" and "Why"), and the movie keeps leaning right on into that with seemingly infinite number of Broadway favorites in cameo appearances. Garfield is great as the lead, easily holding his own during the musical numbers, but Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus, and Vanessa Hudgens make for a great supporting cast. It captures so many things I love about musical theater through some fantastic performances. The theater kid warm fuzzies wrapped me up tight on this one.

How it entered my Flickchart:
tick, tick...BOOM! > Monsters
tick, tick...BOOM! > My Name Is Joe
tick, tick...BOOM! > Crimes and Misdemeanors
tick, tick...BOOM! < Moxie
tick, tick...BOOM! > Nosferatu
tick, tick...BOOM! > United 93
tick, tick...BOOM! > Sabrina (1954)
tick, tick...BOOM! > Dead Ringers
tick, tick...BOOM! < Amahl and the Night Visitors
tick, tick...BOOM! < Equus
tick, tick...BOOM! > Schindler's List
tick, tick...BOOM! > Deathtrap
Final spot: #228 out of 3495, or 93%.

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