Starring Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Jimmy Smits, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Written by Quiara Alegria Hudes & Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Directed by Jon M. Chu.
★★★½
To bring Lin-Manuel Miranda's breakthrough 2008 Broadway play to the big screen, director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) opted to be as bright and dazzling as possible. The sky is blue, the sun is hot, the streets are alive, and the background extras are ready to dance on a moment's notice if a lead breaks into song. We get some classic dance homages (Busby Berkeley being the most obvious) and breakout vocals from some of Broadway's best.
Miranda is a smaller role here, as he's aged out of playing Usnavi, our protagonist, the Our Town Stage Manager of Washington Heights, a block of culture hanging on while inflation and small businesses closing threaten its existence. Usnavi is played by Anthony Ramos, whom Hamilton fans will recognize ("Me, I died for him"), and it's nice to see some other faces in unexpected roles. Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans should get a kick out of seeing Stephanie Beatriz as the very non-Diaz salon worker Carla. Did I know Jimmy Smits could sing before? I don't know, but he can.
These are fun people to hang out with for a couple hours. Is it meaty? At times. The plot isn't exactly complex. We know how transferring musicals to the big screen can go horrifically wrong (Cats, anyone?) but this one delivers.
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