Review Roundup: IN THE HEIGHTS Film Adaptation; What Did the Critics Think?

Lights up on Washington Heights! The film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In The Heights" is now in theaters and on HBO Max.

Check out BroadwayWorld's review of the film here, and find out what other critics are saying about the electrifying new movie below.

The creator of "Hamilton" and the director of "Crazy Rich Asians" invite you to a cinematic event, where the streets are made of music and little dreams become big... "In the Heights." Lights up on Washington Heights...The scent of a cafecito caliente hangs in the air just outside of the 181st Street subway stop, where a kaleidoscope of dreams rallies this vibrant and tight-knit community.

At the intersection of it all is the likeable, magnetic bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), who saves every penny from his daily grind as he hopes, imagines and sings about a better life. "In the Heights" fuses Lin-Manuel Miranda's kinetic music and lyrics with director Jon M. Chu's lively and authentic eye for storytelling to capture a world very much of its place, but universal in its experience.

The cast of "In The Heights" features Anthony Ramos, Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Dascha Polanco, Stephanie Beatriz, Gregory Diaz IV, Olga Meridez, and Jimmy Smits.

BroadwayWorld will update our list whenever new reviews are released.

The critics have spoken...

---

A.O. Scott, The New York Times (Critic's Pick!): Like Usnavi, the movie - bristling with ideas, verbal wit and musical invention - wears its heart on its sleeve. It also reflects his virtues: generosity, decency, hard work, pride. Ramos's charisma is perfectly suited to the role. His modesty is as winning and genuine as his bravado, and he's a strong theatrical singer as well as a subtle film actor. It would be unfair to the rest of the wonderful cast - and false to the inclusive, familial spirit that makes "In the Heights" so winning - to say he dominates the screen. He's the one who keeps the party going, and the reason it's happening at all.

Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: Other than one poignant tragedy that we can all see coming, "In the Heights" isn't so much about plot as about what it feels like to be young and hopeful and so alive that you simply have to dance, because words aren't enough. Director Jon M. Chu ("Crazy Rich Asians") lets us feel the hot, heavy air of a Washington Heights summer, and dazzles us with movement: enormous swathes of fabric unfurling from buildings as Vanessa races down an empty street; a swimming-pool number that would have made Busby Berkeley proud; a sweetly romantic dance on a fire escape that happily turns our hearts upside down. All of the actors are charming, particularly a beaming Miranda in a small role; everyone seems impossibly beautiful.

Jocelyn Noveck, Roanoke Times: But the plot was always the lesser part of this equation. What shines are the inventive and joyous musical numbers - like "96,000," in that swimming pool, in which everyone imagines how they'd spend lottery winnings. Or "Carnaval del Barrio," in which Daniela urges friends to celebrate amid a blackout. All characters are beautifully cast, but a standout is Hawkins, who has the soulful voice of a young Christopher Jackson (the original Benny, who has a cameo here) and charisma that burns through the screen.

Katie Walsh, Richmond Times-Dispatch: This will no doubt be a deserving breakout performance for the immensely talented and magnetic Ramos, who co-starred in the stage musical, as well as in "Hamilton." However, it's Hawkins, who co-starred as Dr. Dre in "Straight Outta Compton" who stuns in his first screen musical role, as Benny. Who knew he had that voice? Those moves? Grace and Barrera are also superstars in the making. Mexican actress Barrera owns the screen in every moment, especially in a sizzling nightclub number. The entire film is a brilliantly woven tapestry of performances, music and environment, as well as the choreography by Christopher Scott and cinematography by Alice Brooks, two longtime collaborators of Chu's.

Julian Roman, MovieWeb: In the Heights celebrates the cultural contributions of its immigrant community. The food, language, fashion, art, and dancing pull from the multi-ethnic soup of Washington Heights. I lived there for eight years. This is the first mainstream film to show the neighborhood's incredible diversity in a purely positive light. Hollywood rarely portrays Manhattan above 96th street. It's a completely different ballgame from what's seen on Friends and Seinfeld reruns. In the Heights will open eyes and hearts to a different experience that's also uniquely American.

Monica Sisavat, POPSUGAR: With the exception of Selena: The Series, it's been a very long time since I've watched a show or movie where I've truly felt seen. I laughed at all the characters' jokes, I immediately recognized the Maizena and Café Bustelo in the bodega, I danced along with the music, I understood when they spoke Spanish, and I almost felt as if Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz) was my own grandmother giving me advice. Seeing the idiosyncrasies of Latinx culture being shown in such a positive light gave me an immense sense of pride and joy. It felt like home.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: "Even if Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu brings more life to those explosive numbers than to the soapy connective tissue that threads them together, the jubilant spirit of Warners' big-screen adaptation - held back for a year by the pandemic - is contagious. This is a stirring valentine to a neighborhood and its people that, as the film tells it, stared gentrification in the eye and stood their ground, staying true to their cultural identity."

Lisa Trifone, Third Coast Review: In the end, Miranda, Chu and their massive (and massively talented) cast prove one thing for certain: the era of the big studio movie musical is alive and well, and even if In the Heights doesn't quite reliably reach majestic ones of it's own, we're lucky they're still making them like this at all.

Sean Collier, Pittsburgh Magazine: Thoughtful and existential though it can be, however, "In the Heights" is more of a celebration than a meditation. The adaptation is dynamically, vibrantly, precisely directed by Jon M. Chu (best known for "Crazy Rich Asians" and soon to tackle another Broadway hit, "Wicked"). Chu turns the bones of the film - the movement of the camera, the shape of the spaces, the way light and shape unfold - into fellow characters, dancing and singing with the cast.

Esther Zuckerman, Thrillist: Though In the Heights is being released on HBO Max at the same time it hits theaters on June 10, it practically demands to be viewed on as large a screen as possible. If you're squinting at a TV set or a computer, you might miss some of the details painted on the walls of the bodegas or the dancers tucked into the corner. Chu successfully blends the heightened reality that the genre requires with the energy of shooting on location in the streets of Washington Heights. A veteran of the Step Up franchise, Chu treats every extra walking the streets of upper Manhattan as a member of his chorus.

Matt Goldberg, Collider: "In a time where it feels like we're more separated than ever, not just from those who disagree with us but even our friends and family, In the Heights is a glowing celebration of how even when we forge our own path we're never alone when we're supported by our communities. Chu taps into that deep, earnest love of a place and the people that populate it, and then goes wild with musical numbers that make you want to get out of your seat and cheer. If ever there was a movie that demanded people get back to the theater post-pandemic, In the Heights is it."

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: "For all its rich tapestry and radiant ingenues, it's that casual centering of so many marginalized voices that makes the movie feel, in its own way, revolutionary: a Technicolor marvel as heady as Old Hollywood, and as modern as this moment."

Scott Mendelson, Forbes: "While the whole doesn't equal the sum of its parts, many of the components are spectacular. The cast is aces throughout. Ramos carries the entire deeply episodic movie on his shoulders, and Olga Merediz gets a show-stopper of a number that might win her an Oscar if popular sentiment builds between now and October."

Hoai-Tran Bui, SlashFilm: "This is a musical that is bursting with energy, and vigor, and the raw imperfections of youth. It's a little rough around the edges, but that's part of its appeal. The feature film adaptation of In the Heights tries to recapture these rough edges, but it does it with a bit of the glitz and glamour that comes with every Hollywood musical. The end result is a movie musical that feels both a little too imperfect and too perfect, but everything is just so joyous and full of spectacle that you don't notice much."

Mike Reyes, CinemaBlend: "In The Heights' timely story has a topical message that feels right at home in a musical setting. The running theme of dreams and dealing with the obstacles that are presented to stand in their way is a classic foundation that's reinvigorated by the way that Huedes adapts her own book into the realities of today."

Mae Abdulbaki, ScreenRant: "In the Heights is a rapturous celebration of the Latinx community. The film's New York City setting is incredibly well utilized - the streets, the bodega, the public pool, the subway, and the interior rooms are all used in ways that not only elevate the story, but turn Washington Heights into an additional character."

Siddhant Adlakha, IGN: "The In the Heights movie lives in the shadow of both these works in the way it adapts Miranda's show. The result is a pure distillation of what he set out to achieve, updated in ways that not only work for a modern retelling but often work better than the original text. It's also one of the liveliest and most moving films you're likely to see this year."

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: "It is a sweet-natured film with Sunny-D optimism and a no-place-like-home ethic; in a pleasant way, it felt like a feature-length version of that moment in Fame when all the kids start dancing and singing around the yellow cab outside New York's High School of Performing Arts. You might also compare it to West Side Story, soon to be revived by Steven Spielberg. But this is a world of all jets and no sharks, or all sharks and no jets. There is no serious conflict here, and the quarrels, family rows and lovers' tiffs disappear very quickly."

Peter Debruge, Variety: "In the Heights" was always an upbeat and joyful show, as well as an inspiration in the representation department: It featured Latinos playing Latinos, singing in intricate, rapid-fire rhymes peppered with Spanish expressions and references to Caribbean culture - the food, the fashion and above all, the music."

Juan A. Ramirez, Theatrely: "Leave everything at home and tell that friend with the speakers to come through, because Jon M. Chu's In the Heights is the glimmering rainbow under an open fire hydrant, and with just as much force. From its electrifying opening number, the film cements itself as one of the great movie musicals, and sets a high bar for those to come."

Neil Pond, Parade: "In the Heights is a musical love story, on more than one level, with an even deeper message about where we come from, the lives we make for ourselves and each other, things we give and give back, and a reminder of the riches to be found in America's vibrant communities of color, anywhere."

Clarisse Loughrey, Independent: "Chu and Quiara Alegría Hudes, who wrote the book for the original musical and the film's screenplay, share heartily in Miranda's vision. So does the film's cast, who each bring a sense of vitality and warmth to their characters. Smits brings a fatherly graciousness; Olga Merediz brings simple, unfussy beauty to the role of Claudia, the "Abuela" who's cared for her neighbourhood for years. Corey Hawkins plays Benny, who pines for Nina, with twinkly-eyed romanticism, as he croons along to "When You're Home" and "When the Sun Goes Down". Ramos, meanwhile, delivers a performance worthy of someone whose star is rapidly on the rise - the camera remains in awe him, entranced by his freckled features, as he lights up with small joys, fears, and desires."

Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily: "But the cleverness of Miranda's lyrics and the dexterity of his music, moving between different Latin styles such as salsa and samba, can't entirely belie the weaknesses of Quiara Alegria Hudes' book. The screenplay, also written by Hudes, juggles so many characters that the storylines can be undernourished. Nonetheless, the filmmakers have crafted a cultural portrait of people searching for a better life who are continually hindered by their lack of financial resources, which is often a byproduct of their being made to feel like outsiders in America. If the individual plot strands tend toward the schematic, their cumulative force underlines the discrimination and inequity that imperils many immigrant communities."

Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair: "In the Heights is a shiny product, and one longs for more variation and texture in its sunny, wholesome picture. Every character is so determinedly nice, the neighborhood so jolly and amiable, that it all begins to seem too much like Hollywood-or Broadway-fantasy. There needn't have been a true villain, nor did Miranda or Chu have to toughen things up by diagramming hard social issues. But a celebration of a community would ultimately be more celebratory, in a more honest and palpable way, if it had a stronger connection to the vagaries and messiness of the real world. For example, there is little intimation of any queerness dwelling in Washington Heights (a brief appearance from RuPaul's Drag Race favorite Valentina isn't quite enough), which adds to the movie's persistent whiff of old-fashionedness."

Brian Truitt, USA Today: "The screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes (who wrote the book for the stage musical) puts Usnavi's storyline as its de facto central plot, and Ramos' strong multifaceted performance and his inherent likability keeps you invested through the store owner's ups and downs. (You'll also want to see Barrera and Grace in another movie, stat.)"

Monica Castillo, The Wrap: "Original "In the Heights" book writer Quiara Alegría Hudes returns to write the screenplay, altering a few plot details and the order of the songs from the stage version. Chu's sharp direction breaks out of the limitations of a theatrical space, expanding the film's scope to capture a sense of the busy, bustling life in this neighborhood. His vision expands and enriches the show's rendering of Washington Heights into a moving spectacle, elevating mundane mornings or trips to the pool into something mesmerizing and exhilarating."

Dana Stevens, Slate: "Each individual storyline examines a different set of tensions within this community: between the aspirations of immigrant parents and the very different plans of their first-generation kids, between diehard Heights residents and businesses pulling up roots to make way for encroaching gentrifiers, between those, like Usnavi and Vanessa, who long to get out of the neighborhood and those, like Nina, pining to find a way back to the security and community they once found there. And in a ripped-from-the-headlines addition that would have felt fresher at the time of the film's intended release in the summer of 2020, a pair of characters attend a demonstration in support of the DREAM Act."

Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times: "Chu tapped into similar elements of generational conflict and cultural confusion in his previous movie, "Crazy Rich Asians," and showed a ready talent for squeezing those themes into deft, crowd-pleasing packages. Those same instincts are on display here, as are the musical-directing chops - the eye for color and expressive movement - that gave his contributions to the "Step Up" dance-movie franchise their own vibrant kick."

Roger Friedman, Showbiz411: "Chu's version is updated, sleek, drenched in color and sound. You can't not be happy plopped down in the world of Usnavi de la Vega, played by Anthony Ramos in a movie star making turn. Ramos is probably better known from "Hamilton" but this will establish him as he is our guide through the Heights."

Helen O'Hara, Empire: "Yet the pace never seriously falters because director Jon M. Chu makes each number distinct and gives the film enormous momentum. His camera drifts through the quieter scenes and shifts every couple of bars during the musical numbers, never still for longer than a few seconds. But he never resorts to the sort of frenetic music video-style cutting that might tempt a lesser filmmaker; a veteran of the two best instalments of the Step Up franchise as well as Crazy Rich Asians, he knows how to shoot dancing and when to focus on the emotion, and he's cast sufficiently talented triple-threats to avoid any need to cut around them."

Alissa Wilkinson, Vox: "What cinema affords so readily to its storytellers is the ability to visually build a full, richly layered world in a way you really can't do onstage. In the Heights director Jon M. Chu, hot off his Crazy Rich Asians success, leans into the possibilities. Now, Washington Heights is a character, not just a few buildings. Its residents are singing and dancing on the street corners, in the alleys, in living rooms, in salsa clubs. The film is an intoxicating capture of both a culture and a city."

David Erlich, IndieWire: "A full-throated celebration of the diverse Latinx community that's been the lifeblood of Washington Heights since the white flight of the 1960s, "In the Heights" paved the way for "Hamilton" by transposing hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and other decidedly non-white sounds into a cadence that would appeal to Broadway audiences. The show is steeped in the customs and characters who defined Miranda's upper-Manhattan neighborhood, but that local flavor has been filtered through the mind of a musical theater nerd whose heart is evenly split between the likes of Big Pun and Jonathan Larson."

Mick LaSalle, SF Chronicle Datebook: "It's alive. Art is either alive or dead, and this movie is emphatically and exuberantly living, energized by what can only truly be described as love. The movie's love is for the place, for the characters and for all their dreams. In movies, as in life, love is rare. It makes everything better, and it must be respected."

Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily: "As a theatre piece, In The Heights isn't as celebrated as Hamilton - what 21st century musical is? - but this earlier work proves to be fetching in its own right, filling the screen with a slew of characters at a crossroads in their young lives. Not surprisingly then, the film boasts a romantic, exuberant tone, as if the story is lit up from within by the unbridled emotions pulsating through Usnavi and his friends."

Gerald Biggerstaff, Instinct Magazine: "One of the biggest strengths of In the Heights is the cast. Anthony Ramos plays the main character/ narrator Usnavi de la Vega, originated on Broadway by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays Piragüero (Piraqua Guy) in the film. The only other original cast member from the Broadway production to make the transition to the silver screen is Olga Merediz who plays Abuela Claudia in both versions. Merediz is absolutely sublime in reprising her stage character for the silver screen."

To post a comment, you must register and login.