This disappointment leads him to pen Tick, Tick… Boom!, but in real life, the musical is a monologue. He has spent the last eight years working on his dystopian science-fiction musical Superbia, and while it did get a workshop at the Playwrights Horizons as shown in the film, nobody has expressed their interest in producing it. The film’s core conflict lies in Jon’s emotional turmoil with his impending 30th birthday. It's a joyously self-indulgent sequence that will delight those with a love of musicals, and it's hard to believe anybody other than Miranda could have pulled it together.At the beginning of Tick, Tick… Boom!, Andrew Garfield’s character Jonathan introduces himself, and the narrator claims that the succeeding events are true, except for the parts that he made up.
Miranda starred in a revival of the musical in 2014 and he lets Larson's talent do the talking, rather than add his own spin onto proceedings.īroadway fans will be pleased with Miranda's involvement though, as there's one particular number that outdoes the MCU in terms of cameos. Since it's based on Larson's work, this isn't another Hamilton or In the Heights, though. We know that Lin-Manuel Miranda can be a bit of an acquired taste when it comes to his musical stylings. However, anybody will be able to relate to the broader theme of worrying about the impact you have in your life, and whether you'll ever achieve a goal you set out to do. It's Larson's story told through his eyes and a celebration of his talent, rather than a deep exploration of him as a person. He's not completely let off the hook, but as Susan puts it in voiceover at the start: "Everything you're about to see is true, except for the parts Jonathan made up."
TICK TOCK BOOM MOVIE MOVIE
Were you to be critical of anything, it's that the movie never fully explores the impact of Larson's obsession on those around him.
There's even a fun cameo from Bradley Whitford as the Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim. They all receive their own numbers to perform, but it's when they come together – such as in the brilliant opener '30/90' – that you realise just how talented this ensemble is. While it's definitely Garfield's show, there's strong supporting turns from Alexandra Shipp as Susan, Robin de Jesús as Michael and Vanessa Hudgens as Karessa, one of Jon's friends who also performs in the monologue. It's compelling to watch, and it's hard to believe this is his first musical role. He's also aware of when to slow things down to make the emotional impact, such as in the ballad 'Why'. Garfield conveys this with a restless performance that sees Jon always moving, a bundle of nervous energy that's barely contained. The ticking in the title refers to the pressure Jon feels to make his mark before he's 30, which affects his relationship with his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) and best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús).
In the central role, Andrew Garfield is a revelation with a magnetic performance up there with his strongest to date. Netflix movies have often had criticism over their 'TV feel', but you'll wish you saw this film on the biggest screen possible. This gives Miranda the freedom to be creative with the story Jon is telling, crafting inventive and fantastical sequences from a 90s hip-hop video to a powerhouse duet that cuts between a workshop and Jon's imagination. Instead, he cleverly cuts between Jon (Garfield) performing his monologue to an audience and the flashbacks he's describing. Miranda takes inspiration from this, but the movie is far from a stagey recreation of either version of the musical. Instead, it focuses on the eponymous autobiographical "rock monologue" he created in 1990 which tells the story of his struggles to get his first musical, Superbia, produced.įollowing Larson's death, the monologue was revised into a three-actor musical. While there are nods to the masterpiece that he would create and the influences behind it, tick, tick. He suffered an aortic dissection believed to caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Jonathan Larson tragically passed away at the age of 35 on the morning of Rent's first Off-Broadway performance.
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