If you loved Hamilton you'll probably at least really enjoy In the Heights. If you saw Hamilton and thought it was overhyped or a little exhausting (I know those people are out there) you should definitely steer clear.
At 2 1/2 hours, In the Heights feels very long indeed and the sheer breath of its songs and musical numbers can be a little numbing at times, but it is also frequently deliriously fun and infectious, a bit of a candy colored fairy tale that is unapologetically old fashioned and determined to make audiences feel good.
In a way, it's the ideal movie to get people back into theaters and I regret watching it streaming on HBO Max as I think it diminished its appeal and impact somewhat. The movie looks amazing and has the same ambitious sprawl of the director Jon M. Chu's last big budget effort, the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.
While that movie was a rom com it could have just as easily been a musical, just like this film could have just as easily been a rom com. It's plot is very low stakes -- the hero must determine whether to realize a lifelong dream about relocating from Washington Heights to his native Dominican Republic, but is torn because of all the family both real and informal he's developed here in the states.
That is pretty much it. The movie has a number of other little side plots and some pointed and poignant nods to modern-day political issues like immigration -- but for the most part it's a throwback, slice of life extravaganza, which is just... fine.
I am just a little confusing by the breathless raves this film has received. The musical numbers are fantastic and gloriously staged but the songs themselves didn't really have the same earworm quality that Hamilton's did -- at least for me.
It probably suffers from one character too many -- and while it's refreshing to see a cast of mostly unknowns (veteran actor Jimmy Smits is one of the few exceptions) I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the movie as I'd wanted to be or as much as filmmakers wanted me to be.
And with all that being said, the movie is a triumph for representation, it feels authentic and it makes great use of real NYC locations which give it a vibrancy and life all its own. And I would be perfectly happy for it to be the kind of movie that galvanizes people to return to see movies in theaters again.
It's a very sweet movie -- almost unbearably cute at times (I literally thought it might end with a wink, but it just barely didn't) and it isn't exactly bursting with high stakes and tension. I think it's telling that it was Broadway icon Lin Manuel Miranda's first major breakthrough. It feels like a lot of the musical ideas he would later fully realize in Hamilton appear to be germinated here in slightly less complex forms.
It's a little overstuffed and overlong, and I called the ending about n hour early. But it's a hard movie to hate on, especially when it has such great intentions. Basically, if you want a frothy, feel good time it'll satisfy but I am looking for more substance from my would-be Best Picture nominees.
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