No day but today!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Wonderful music, inspiring story!!!

Cons: Not for those who don't want to hear about sexuality, drugs, and AIDS.

The Bottom Line: 
I recommend this movie not only for its music, but for the story itself. It take you to the side of humanity that we rarely see in movies, real life.

Author's Review
No day but today. It's an excellent way to view life, and a wonderful song in the musical of Rent.

This movie is based on the incredible Broadway musical. Now, I may not have seen it on Broadway, however I did see it when they toured to Pittsburgh, PA. I fell in love with the story and the music. When I found out that they were making it into a movie, I was ecstatic.

This movie is definitely not for the conservative. If you go by the title, you'd think it's just about paying the rent. It's not. It delves so much deeper. It enters into the side of humanity that many people ignore. It's a side that includes homosexuality, drugs, and AIDS. It's a story of fighting addiction and disease, of finding love, of losing a friend, and of surviving. This is the story of friends living in New York. These friends are all artists in their own way. Mark is a videographer, Roger is a rock singer, Mimi is an exotic dancer, Angel is a street drummer, Joanne is a lawyer, Collins is a professor, and Maureen is...well...Maureen. You'd have to watch it to understand. Then, there's Benny. Benny once was a roommate with Mark and Roger, until he married and ended up owning the buildings. He promised everyone free rent, but ended up needing the rent money. He had the power and heat shut off, leaving everyone in the dark and cold on Christmas Eve. Believing that a deal is a deal, everyone refuses to pay their rent. But that's only the beginning. The story takes you through the complex life of each of these characters, except for Benny. You are even introduced to a Life Meeting, a meeting for people who have AIDS. It's a moving experience to watch. The friends end up separated, by disagreements and death, yet are brought back together in the end. There's so much to this movie that it's impossible for me to describe it all. My advice is that you watch it for yourself.

This musical is very touching. It's most popular song, "Seasons of Love", is moving. It tells us to define our life, not as how we live, but how we love. Love one another!

I recommend this movie to almost everyone. It's a heart-wrenching story of love, life, death, and survival. Each time I watch this movie, I'm reminded that life is short. I'm moved to tears. We never know what's going to happen tomorrow. So, as the song says...there's no day but today.