Lately, movie musicals haven't exactly delighted audiences. “The Prom” was downright terrible, “Descendants” falls more into the “so bad it's good” category, and the sight of “Cats” makes you want to gouge your eyes out. Will “In the Heights,” made under the careful guidance of the incredibly talented Lin-Manuel Miranda, set things right?

Synopsis

Manhattan's Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights is a place where office workers enjoy a cup of café con leche in the morning, a middle-aged man habitually pushes a piragua cart, and neighbors are happy to throw a carnaval del barrio from time to time.

Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), the cheerful and enterprising owner of the local bodega, dreams of one day returning to the Dominican Republic and buying back the bar that once belonged to his father. At the same time, he tries to sort out his feelings for the local beauty Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) and support his childhood friend Nina (Leslie Grace), who has just dropped out of the prestigious Stanford University in distress.

“In the Heights” as a Story

Once again, we have what is called a “slice of life.” The plot doesn't shine with jaw-dropping twists, mind-blowing events, or unexpected actions. We watch people and their relationships, which take up the vast majority of screen time.

The main theme becomes what we put into the concept of “home” and what places we can call our home. The main characters can't figure out their place in life, the world, or even among other Americans who aren't always friendly to immigrants. They can fall in love, argue, make up, but they never stop searching for themselves.

If you look at the film from a bit of a distance, the story might seem overly simple and primitive. To some extent, that's true, and nominally, the plot becomes the weakest component of this new adaptation.

Why “nominally”? Because everything else is simply amazing.

“In the Heights” as a Musical

For two and a half hours, you can watch a beautiful union of music, atmosphere, and characters on screen, each complementing the other like ingredients in a complex dish.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has once again proven the seemingly impossible – it is possible to create an outstanding musical based on hip-hop and Latin American motifs; this musical simply bursts with life, energy, and passion, and it's impossible not to fall in love with it.

Special mention goes to the brilliant team of directors in the person of director Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) and choreographer Christopher Scott. No single number feels too similar to the previous one, and the numbers with large crowds are a feast for the eyes.

Even though the songs come one after another (after all, “In the Heights” is an adaptation of a fairly large musical with a decent number of songs that need to be packed in as much as possible), they don't create a feeling of oversaturation or fatigue. This is a huge and incomparable plus.

Acting Performances

When discussing “In the Heights,” you can't just ignore the actors – especially considering they have to not only act but also sing, dance, and deliver fairly fast rap. So let's focus on a couple of them in particular.

Usnavi turned out to be a charismatic, well-rounded, and excellent protagonist. It must be said that Anthony Ramos delights more and more with every appearance on screen. It all started with small roles in “A Star Is Born,” then a fairly large supporting role in Miranda's TV version of “Hamilton,” and now a full-fledged lead role!

A special place in the heart of the author of this article was unexpectedly taken by the very young Gregory Diaz, who played Usnavi's cousin who helps him run the bodega. Usually, children and teenagers are the weak link, especially in musicals (I'm looking at you, “Annie”). However, this kid has a great future ahead of him.

The rest of the cast is strong enough to successfully handle the tasks at hand, but not so much as to single out anyone in particular.

For Broadway fans, there are a couple of Easter eggs: we get great cameos from Lin-Manuel Miranda himself (who originally played Usnavi), his friend and collaborator Christopher Jackson (who played Benny in the original cast), and the simply brilliant Broadway actor Patrick Page, who recently received a well-deserved Tony nomination for his role in the musical “Hadestown.” Just listen to him.

Fans of Miranda's other famous work, “Hamilton,” which came out on Disney+ in the summer of 2020, will be delighted by an unexpected little reference. I laughed a lot.

Conclusion

The conclusion will be simple and concise. This is unequivocally the best movie musical of the last few years. If you're not bothered by people singing and dancing in sync on screen, you can't miss this. We can only hope that “In the Heights” will be profitable. As they say, our lot is “Paciencia y fe.”