ConverseSneaker
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Final Performance Dvd Review
I'm not finished with it yet and I haven't watched the special features because I just finished Act 1, but it is amazing!
I LOVE the cast! I actually saw most of them live last June, but Tracie Thoms and Reneé Elise Goldsbury are FAR better than Merle Endridge or Tamarya Gray. I'm actually having shrieking omg moments with Renee', she's so much different vocally from most Mimi's and I love it! She's just my idea of Mimi, the one I always had and never saw before.
Edit: I just checked Amazon(where I ordered mine) and I saw it's not supposed to be released until tomorrow!  Somebody goofed!
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fjays
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I adored the girl playing Mimi.
She was outstanding!
And Tracy Thomas.. Just.. WOAH!
The guy playing Roger had an amazing voice but I didn't like that he wasn't all that attractive. To me, Roger must sort of have that "dirty, grungy, hot" thing going on. I'm not superficial, its just what I get from it.
Oh and I didn't like the Angel. It bugged me that he wasn't "cute" enough and sorta didn't play with the role enough. Shame.
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Lepitot
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Yeah, I got my copy of it on Saturday (ordered it on Amazon...wasn't supposed to arrive until the ninth, found it in the store early and bought it).
I also really like Mimi.
And I really like Eden as Maureen, but JMann doesn't.
I LOOOVE Christmas Bells...especially the one right before Maureen's protest.
I also love when they brought the original cast out. (And I agree about Angel...good acting but he's not as good as the original...and DAMN is the original FINE...that's all I could think about when they were singing is how sexy he is haha)
I've only watched one of the special features, but it was cool. It had some nice interviews and some cool behind the scene looks.
I'm extremely happy with it. I was actually just watching it (but I turned it off so I could get on the computer).
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ConverseSneaker
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I agree, Angel and Collins just weren't as good as I wanted them to be. 
But I LOVE MIMI! She just makes that role! She's a lot better of a singer than Tamarya Grey was (which I've already said, but Grey could NOT nail Mimi's notes. She was shakey and horrible and whiny about it. And she couldn't act and her hair was not Mimi. It bothered me a lot).
I liked Roger, even though he wasn't the hottest guy, he did a great job with the role. I like his voice better than Adam Pascal so I was happy.
I love Eden as Maureen. One of the things that bugged me in the movie was how it felt that Joanne showed all the love in the relationship but I never saw anything coming from Idina's Maureen, but from Eden I got it.
And I've been singing "And it's beginning to snow!" all day now. No, it's not snowing here.
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wicked_boy
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I'm hoping to get this soon...
I've gotta get myself onto amazon!
I think it's a good idea that they recorded the show, it's considered such an "epic" move for Broadway and it will help the lagacy of Rent to live on!
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dolbinau
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I thought the guy who played Roger was better looking than Adam Pascal (on film anyway, strangely he is actually much older in reality).
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High-baritonne
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I was a little repelled by Angel and Collins, but except from that it is a wonderful film. I watched it last night, I really loved the Mark. I can't wait to watch the special features.
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DaddyDiesel
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Really justin Johnson is one of the long running angels. I think hes played angel more then the original guy. I didnt think justin was bad as much as his counter part blew goat balls. Collins was terrible.
I thought it funny that roger was kind of a punk emo image. (but he played the role really well and sang great.) The guy playing mark felt almost like a black haired anthony rapp impersonater with a voice not quite as good. (sorry his voice wasnt my fav. at times.)
I am going to go against the grain and say That I didnt quite enjoy MiMis voice. It was missing some power at some parts. Ilike my MiMIs to be belty.
But overall it was a good solid DVD. It wasnt a blow my socks of kind of performance. But it was good.
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Jess046
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I thought Angel and Joanne were the obvious standouts in the cast. Mark was good too his only problem was that he wasn't Anthony Rapp 
I didn't like Mimi. Nice voice, but for me, she didn't capture Mimi's character. Maureen was good, but a little over-the-top. Collins really didn't stand out to me at all. And Roger...nice voice, but too pop. He needs that rocker edge. But I really did enjoy this production. Sometimes I wanted to see the whole stage, but it was filmed really well. Except for Contact- that was bit disorientating...
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Luc
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I could not stand Mimi at all.
But the special features were phenomenal. Absolutely amazing.
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Jman383
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| Lepitot wrote: | | And I really like Eden as Maureen, but JMann doesn't. |
You know me too well 
| ConverseSneaker wrote: | | I love Eden as Maureen. One of the things that bugged me in the movie was how it felt that Joanne showed all the love in the relationship but I never saw anything coming from Idina's Maureen, but from Eden I got it. |
No, I completely disagree here. I saw Eden both live in the show (the last public performance actually) and on the dvd. She's not good. She's WAY too butch for the role, she's biting off WAY more than she can chew with the vocals, and her acting is dreadful IMO. Idina was spot on, and not just because she was the original. She got the character. Maureen ISNT suppose to have anything coming from her to Joanne. Why else would Joanne be so upset from being ignored?
Idina's Maureen is perfection IMO. She was flirty, sexy, cute, ditsy, spunky, and everything Maureen should be. Eden, however, missed the mark by a long shot 
As for me, I honestly loved everyone in the case besides Eden and Telly. Eden was just micast, and Telly... was just hurrendous. Ugh. Everyone else was BRILLZ though, and it was an HONOR to see the last public performance of the show (in which Rosario Dawson sat 2 rows in front of me btw). I'll never forget it!
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Lauraa
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I only got my DVD the other day but I LOVE it
| ConverseSneaker wrote: | | I liked Roger, even though he wasn't the hottest guy, he did a great job with the role. |
| Quote: | | The guy playing Roger had an amazing voice but I didn't like that he wasn't all that attractive. |
So... am I the only person who finds Will Chase really attractive then?
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sylvesterm11
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| Jman383 wrote: | | Telly... was just hurrendous. Ugh. |
LOL. His "Feliz navidad" is always so awkward. He doesn't really flow with the rest of the cast IMO, and he always seemed to be there when I saw it on Broadway.
I, also, hate Eden. But I only hate one Maureen more than Eden... NICOLETTE HART. It's not even the fact that she's blonde, she's just horrid.
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ActingDude17
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| sylvesterm11 wrote: | | I only hate one Maureen more than Eden... NICOLETTE HART. It's not even the fact that she's blonde, she's just horrid. |
What does her being blonde have anything to do with it at all? There's nothing in the script that specifies Maureen's hair color. Oh wait, she has to have the same one as the original, right? 
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ConverseSneaker
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| Jman383 wrote: | I saw Eden both live in the show (the last public performance actually) and on the dvd. She's not good. She's WAY too butch for the role, she's biting off WAY more than she can chew with the vocals, and her acting is dreadful IMO. Idina was spot on, and not just because she was the original. She got the character. Maureen ISNT suppose to have anything coming from her to Joanne. Why else would Joanne be so upset from being ignored?
Idina's Maureen is perfection IMO. She was flirty, sexy, cute, ditsy, spunky, and everything Maureen should be. Eden, however, missed the mark by a long shot
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I saw Eden live too! I saw most of the cast two months before closing. I see what you mean about being "too butch" but I still prefer her to Idina who just seemed so stand-offish and bored most of the time. With Eden and Tracy, I at least saw the attraction besides looks. Then again, this is all only opinion. I can enjoy Idina, but I liked Eden just as much.
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Quique
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Got this off Netflix and watched it a few days ago.
Overall, the cast was fine. Any complaints I have are nitpicketty sort of things.
My biggest complaint? That most of it wasn't actually the final performance. A lot of it was filmed prior to closing night without an audience. The bits with the audience were from the final performance. Disappointing.
The cast--Eden literally carbon-copied Idina's vocal performance. That bugged me enough to want to fast forward the scenes she was in. She wasn't terrible but she wasn't original. A good impersonator she was.
Apart from the creepy flat affect, Adam as Mark was easy on the eyes but I agree that he too seemed to channel his role's originator. But that was mostly in the sound of his voice, not so much in delivery and inflection. He varied it up enough that it didn't constantly remind me of Anthony.
Angel was good but he seemed bored at times. He was also a bit too masculine/muscular looking to pull off the drag.
Mimi was OK, though she seemed better suited for the role of Joanne.
I enjoyed Collins. His voice is amazing, even though he did go a bit over the top in the "I'll Cover You" reprise. Like Angel, I felt his heart wasn't 100% into the performance. Seemed detached.
I was expecting to read fangirl comment after fangirl comment about how Will Chase is hawt and smexy. Unattractive? Really? I think he is quite handsome and I loved his voice. His take on Roger just felt right. He never over-acted nor lost focus of what his character is struggling with every day. His reactions were always subdued yet it never felt like he was phoning it in. The best among the cast.
Joanne was excellent. She never missed a beat and gave 100%. And she made the role--which I've always found to be a bore--quite interesting.
Great special features. It annoyed me that they kept trying to make it look like that lottery dude was crying. Give me a break. They chased him around and shoved that camera up his nose until they finally caught a glimpse of him rubbing his eye. And, of course, after applying American Idol-esque editing and sound, what was certainly just an itch is now a heartwrenching sobfest. Gawd.
And who the eff is Telly?
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ActingDude17
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I have to agree with you about Will Chase. Why the heck do people judge him on his looks? I really wish girls would stop doing that, with all Rogers. I didn't judge Idina Menzel's Maureen based on her looks...But anyway, I couldn't agree more. Will Chase's vocals were great and his acting spot-on. I may have enjoyed his acting, dare I say it...moreso than Adam Pascal's? 
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Quique
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Just figured out Telly is the "Honest living" dude in the cast. How is he horrendous? OK, so he has sort of a high, 'jarring-at-first' voice but that's hardly his fault. I think he was wonderful. He beautifully hit those notes in "Will I" and it was nice to see an ensemble member put forth so much enthusiasm into their performance.
I saw it again a couple of days ago and something about the Mimi bugs me. She's more a Joanne. Not a Mimi. Isn't edgy at all and totally unconvincing as a drug addict. Her voice is great but a tad thin for Mimi's songs.
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Jman383
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| ActingDude17 wrote: | | sylvesterm11 wrote: | | I only hate one Maureen more than Eden... NICOLETTE HART. It's not even the fact that she's blonde, she's just horrid. |
What does her being blonde have anything to do with it at all? There's nothing in the script that specifies Maureen's hair color. Oh wait, she has to have the same one as the original, right? |
This is actually a funny subject. Maureen was originally written as and cast (in the workshops) as a blonde. When Idina came along, however, that all changed. And actually, there IS a line in which it specifices what Maureen should look like. In Christmas Bells, Roger and Mark are discussing and Mimi, and Roger says, "There she is!" and Mark says,
"Maureen?" Thinking it's Maureen, due to the similar hair style from the back. She turns around, and of course, it's not Maureen, but from the back, even Mark was convinced. This, of course, was because Idina and Daphne had the exact same hair style and color in the OBC.
And Quique, Telly was horrendous to me because his "Will I" was AWFUL. It was ruined by his obnoxious, high pitched, grating, nasal voice. Seriously, dreadful IMO.
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Quique
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Aww, you're so mean, lol.
He did cause a wtf reaction from me as well when he first started singing. But he grew on me by "La Vie Boheme." I noticed it was most distracting when he sang with others as it stood out too much. But when he sang alone, it wasn't too bad.
Another thing that bugged me (yes, a lot of things bug me about this "live" performance, ha) is that for a final "live" performance, it's incredibly dull. I expected there to be some excitement, for the actors to give their all. A certain kind of energy. You see that in the finale footage, but that was one of the few parts that was actually taped live.
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sylvesterm11
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| ActingDude17 wrote: | | sylvesterm11 wrote: | | I only hate one Maureen more than Eden... NICOLETTE HART. It's not even the fact that she's blonde, she's just horrid. |
What does her being blonde have anything to do with it at all? There's nothing in the script that specifies Maureen's hair color. Oh wait, she has to have the same one as the original, right? |
...that would be why I said it's not because she's blonde. k thanks.
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ActingDude17
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| sylvesterm11 wrote: | | ActingDude17 wrote: | | sylvesterm11 wrote: | | I only hate one Maureen more than Eden... NICOLETTE HART. It's not even the fact that she's blonde, she's just horrid. |
What does her being blonde have anything to do with it at all? There's nothing in the script that specifies Maureen's hair color. Oh wait, she has to have the same one as the original, right? |
...that would be why I said it's not because she's blonde. k thanks. |
First off, please don't be sarcastic with me. Second, I took it that when you said it WASN'T her hair being blonde that that would be a possible drawback too, if not the main one. I'm sorry I misunderstood you. Geez...
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The Very Angry Woman
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| ActingDude17 wrote: | | I have to agree with you about Will Chase. Why the heck do people judge him on his looks? I really wish girls would stop doing that, with all Rogers. I didn't judge Idina Menzel's Maureen based on her looks... |
Because it's the entertainment industry. Complaining about someone judging an actor on their looks is like going to Las Vegas and complaining about the smoke, or going to Toronto in the winter and complaining it's cold. It's going to happen. It comes with the territory -- so why bother whining about it?
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Quique
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Wow, third time I've watched this in the last couple weeks, lol.
Anyway, some observations after a third viewing...
Hmm, I might have been a bit hasty in my assessment of Adam's Mark. He did seem a bit 'stiff' and emotionally stunted at first but, really, he gives a fantastic performance. He isn't as 'bubbly' as other Marks but that doesn't necessarily make him one-note. And isn't he just the most adorable thing ever? 
Some of the editing is really sloppy.
I really hate the cheesy mics they use for this show. I thought they'd chuck them by now and use your typical wig/hair mic.
I'm glad they've kept the show's 'look' on video. It's common practice to redesign lighting, usually making it brighter and many times creating a whole new, more T.V. friendly look. I hate that. Here, they've managed to keep the original, unaltered lighting design without sacrificing visual quality.
This is one of few shows whose arrangement consists of nothing but synths, guitars, drumsets...and I love it. Synths are glorious when the score is written with them in mind. They suck balls when they replace instruments in orchestral scores.
This show is soooooooooo dated. I first got into it in 1996, shortly after it opened on Broadway and first saw it in 1997 at the Nederlander with the original cast. It was so fresh and hip at the time. I love that it's so dated though. It isn't distracting or cheesy.
That "Out Tonight" blocking/choreography is friggen scary, lol. There has to have been a Mimi out there who has seriously injured herself. I used to cringe during this scene whenever I saw it live. I mean, with those boots and those thin rails/poles..and that height. Yipes. Of the live Mimis I've seen Daphne was the one who was most daring. She had me and my firends cringing throughout as we were sure she was gonna lose her footing and fall flat on her face, or something. The part where she grabs the rail and swings into a sitting position was done with such force, it caused gasps. She was crazy, lol. She was incredible and all others have paled in comparison.
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