Talent wasted in ‘Rent’

In the opening minutes of “Rent” we see the actors on a bare stage, singing their hearts out to an empty theater. The voices soar in thrilling harmonies as they sing about what makes up a year in one’s life.

I think to myself, this is brilliant. Little did I know that from there it would mostly be all downhill.

For while “Rent,” Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer-winning 1995 darling of the stage, has wonderful musicality and an enormously talented cast, the movie version only serves to highlight another case of style over substance.

Under the direction of Chris Columbus (“Home Alone”) the film comes off as unoriginal and as contrived as an episode of “Friends,” except they’re living in much shabbier quarters -- and with HIV.

Set in 1989, New York’s seamy Lower East Side is the backdrop for the story. Aspiring filmmaker Mark (Anthony Rapp) and faded rock star Roger (Adam Pascal) receive eviction notices on Christmas Eve.

Former roommate and landlord Benny (Taye Diggs) offers to let them stay if they can stop Maureen (Idina Menzel) from staging her protest performance piece. Why that is so important to Benny’s partners is never made clear.

Maureen left Mark for Joanne (Tracie Thoms), a Harvard grad lawyer. In the amusing number “Tango Maureen” we learn that Maureen is beautiful but self-centered and has a wandering eye.

Mimi (Rosario Dawson) works at the Cat Scratch Club and flirts with Roger. Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia) is a drag queen who rescues former MIT professor Tom (Jesse L. Martin) after he’s mugged.

The entire ensemble is made up of terrific performers, and all but Thoms and Dawson are original cast members.

With the exception of Angel and Tom, the characters don’t seem fully dimensional. Just because you can belt out all your thoughts with show-stopping passion doesn’t make them deep.

The ending, while heartfelt, adds a little cheese to go along with all that ham.

* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.

‘Ice Harvest’ twists into one cool movie

Harold Ramis has been an actor, writer and director in many classic comedies of the last thirty years. “Animal House,” “Ghostbusters” and “Groundhog Day” are just a few of his credits. But his latest effort, “The Ice Harvest” takes a major turn to the darker side of humor.

Walking firmly in the comedy noir footsteps of the Coen brothers, this film resembles the murky plots of “Fargo” and “Blood Simple” much more than his previous feel-good movies.

John Cusack is superb as a lightweight mob lawyer whose boss runs strip joints and massage parlors in Kansas. He teams up with a buddy played with verve by Billy Bob Thornton.

Together they rip off the boss for $2 million in cash on Christmas Eve and think they have their getaway made in the shade.

Oliver Platt as their drunken pal and Connie Nielson as the resident femme fatale are outstanding as they drop into the strange mix of the story.

Outrageous complications ensue as one wild plot twist leads to another. All plans are turned upside down, inside out and sideways as unexpected grim developments emerge. Double cross becomes triple cross until no predictable outcome can be assumed.

Randy Quaid appears in a great cameo at the end that helps seal the deal in the bizarre finale.

Fast paced and intriguing at every turn, Ramis proves himself the equal of the best in this realm as he moves clearly into the Coen brothers’ turf. If you’re a fan of this eccentric genre, you will not be disappointed.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office.

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