Tick, Tick…BOOM! (2021)

Directed by: Lin-Manuel Miranda | 115 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus, Vanessa Hudgens, Joshua Henry, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Michaela Jaé (MJ) Rodriguez, Ben Levi Ross, Judith Light, Bradley Whitford, Laura Benanti, Danielle Ferland, Micaela Diamond

Jonathan Larson is a big name in the musical world. He earned that big name on the basis of ‘Rent’, a musical that enjoyed great success on Broadway for years and then conquered the whole world. There is an eerie anecdote about Larson. The day before the final version of Rent was released, he died of an aneurysm, not yet 35 years old. Thus the triumphal march of ‘Rent’ immediately became a posthumous one.

Before ‘Rent’ became a hit, Larson had already created a number of musical theater works. The first one (‘Superbia’) took him no less than 8 years. The second (‘tick, tick…BOOM!’) is about the period he made ‘Superbia’. In the film adaptation of ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ we not only see the musical in feature film form, but in between we also see a performance of this work, with the same actors who act in the feature film.

‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ tells how Larson wants to sell ‘Superbia’ on the big shots of Broadway. In between, we see how he manages to survive in early 90s New York. With a job in a diner, a crappy apartment, a girlfriend who is not suited for a poverty-stricken life, gay friends who are dying of AIDS and a chronic shortage of money. But also with the support of musical legend Stephen Sondheim.

In ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ there is a lot of singing, and then it is a blessing that the music is quite enjoyable. The musical has small songs in the style of Billy Joel and larger songs in the style of Jim Steinmann. In addition, there is some classical musical work, orchestrated pieces such as those by Larson’s great hero Stephen Sondheim. The music is wonderfully performed by a cast that not only sings well, but also acts well.

That musical pleasure makes up for the lack of narrative focus. Sometimes it’s about the struggle with ‘Superbia’, sometimes about troubles in love, sometimes about a missing song, sometimes about hurt friends. Although those elements all have their own drama, they are missing in the bigger picture. There is no shortage of exaggerated sentiment. Such sentiment works well in the theater, but on the screen it is sometimes a bit too much.

That makes ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ not much less on it. With Andrew Garfield as the shining centerpiece, the film entertains from the first to the last note. With its original storytelling, wonderful music, fine actors, recognizable New York and a few nice jokes, ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ well above average. A beautiful tribute to its tragic creator.