Review: In the Heights

 

HOLA! Bienvenidos, Everybody! Hey y'all, good morning. Today, I am talking... In the Heights. My name is Santiago, you probably never heard my name, reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated. Ok ok ok, got a little carried away there. Here is my review of the In the Heights movie! 

If you haven't seen the movie yet, this is a SPOILER review, so check back in after you see it and read.

In the Heights is the story of Dominican-American, Usnavi, who owns a bodega in Washington Heights, New York and is working hard to bring back his dad's business in DR while being surrounded by the latin community including Abuela Claudia, his cousin Sonny, best friend Benny and his love interest Vanessa. In the Heights stars Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Jimmy Smits, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, Noah Catala, and special appearances of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Christopher Jackson(for fans of Hamilton, it's Alexander Hamilton and George Washington). It's directed by Jon M. Chu, written by Quiara Alegría Hudes and produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

After Jon M. Chu directed the critically acclaimed romantic comedy/Asian-American ensemble piece, Crazy Rich Asians, he has recently helmed one of the most beloved musicals ever produced with an awesome representation of Latin-Americans! Now, if you loved the In the Heights musical, that you're fan of Miranda's work and that you loved Hamilton(like myself), you will enjoy this movie! But if you've never heard of In the Heights, give it a freaking watch! It's the perfect sing-along movie in a very long time.

Let's start with the opening sequence, we immediately get to know Usnavi and his job and then there's every main character that comes into the picture. From the editing to the choreography, it's one of the best movie openings of not just this year, but I think, of all time. There are a lot of songs that I loved like Benny's dispatch, Breathe and yes, 96,000! Let me get into that. With 96,000, I think it's catchiest one of them all! Then there's Piragua, which I was longer, The Club and Blackout. Now, I 'm going to get serious, guys, and go a bit off-topic. Last week, my Abuela passed away and of course I was sad, which makes it very hard for me to talk about Claudia's unfortunate passing. Olga Merediz really killed it as the community's Abuela, she shined in every scene and provided wisdom for these characters and seeing her go was truly painful for me to watch.

Now, speaking of performances, I thought Anthony Ramos was the perfect Usnavi, he truly held a candle to Lin's previous incarnation of the character and yes, I did love Vanessa, not just because that she was GORGEOUS.(I'm probably going to be sipping over her for weeks), but it's the fact that she didn't get her job because of well, her background, is what truly made my blood boil. Her dream is to become a pro fashion designer and I just really appreciate what she wants to do in life. I'm excited for what Melissa Barrera is going to do next, like her upcoming appearance in the new Scream movie. The scene with Nina, played by Leslie Grace, where she talks about how she was searched in her dorm room at Stanford because her roommate lost her necklace and she couldn't find and that the RA thought that she had it, put me on the edge of my seat. Leslie needs a least a nomination for her performance alone! I also loved the fact that Stephanie Beatriz, who plays Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn 99, one of my favorite shows ever, was in it! I'm very excited to see what Sonny's actor, Gregory Diaz IV, will do next. 

Now, I want to take about the central topic of In the Heights, and that's gentrification, immigration and family perspective. For example, Nina's father, Kevin Rosario thinks that Nina wants a college education outside of the Heights, but in actuality, it's what he wants. One case of gentrification is where the upper class owns half of the block and that rents have skyrocketed and with immigration, Usnavi's dad named him after a Naval ship that said "U.S. Navy", and how Latin Americans have found their place on Upper Manhattan/Washington Heights. 

Those issues, combined with the story, songs and characters make this a must-watch movie of this year! 

I'll rank this as a 10/10

Thank you, gracias for reading my review and don't forget to share your thoughts down below.