Tick, Tick...Boom Review
By: Mallory Johnson
The highly anticipated movie adaptation of the late Jonathan Larson’s first hit musical Tick, Tick...Boom recently came out in theatres (November 12th) and on Netflix (November 19th). The movie (and musical) is about Jonathan’s life and his process creating his first musical (that sadly did not become successful) Superbia. Before I go any further, SPOILER ALERT. Also, trigger warnings for: homelessness, homophobia, the AIDS crisis, discussion of drug use, alcohol, grief, death, and sexual content. The movie stars Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman, Hacksaw Ridge), Alexandra Shipp (Love Simon, Dark Phoenix), Robin de Jesus (The Boys in the Band, Camp), and Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical, Beastly). The movie also has a TON of cameos from Broadway legends, so make sure to pay attention because some are blink, and you will miss it moments (especially make sure to watch the diner brunch scene!) Tick, Tick...Boom is Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut and he aced it! The casting (especially with Andrew Garfield as Jonathan) is exceptional: Andrew learned how to sing and play piano so he could completely BECOME Jonathan. Also, he looks a lot like Jonathan: at the very start of the movie, I thought they put in a clip of Jon, but I was wrong! Bradley Whitford’s portrayal of Stephen Sondheim blew my mind - I did not even recognize who the actor was until I looked him up! Robin de Jesus killed it as Jon’s best friend Michael – I cannot wait to see him in more movies, television shows, and musicals in the future!
It is important to note that the adapted version of the musical is an adaptation of the one man show that Jonathan wrote, and there are differences with the full musical version (but the movie is fantastic, so it does not matter).
While reading reviews for the movie, I noticed a theme: everyone is agreeing that the movie is a “love letter to theatre and theatre lovers.” I completely agree. It is filled with references to the musical Rent (which is my favorite musical). After Tick, Tick...Boom got successful, Jonathan picked up writing a new musical…. called Rent. Tragically, the night before Rent was premiering off Broadway, Jonathan died of a sudden aortic aneurysm. The movie discusses Jonathan’s fear of turning 30, which is emotional to me as he died at age 35. There is one line in the song Swimming that breaks my heart: “Will I make it to 40?” The line is in reference to Jon swimming laps at the pool, but I believe it has a double meaning. A similar spoken line is the one that his friend Michael says to him: “How many Jonathan Larson’s are there in the world? One.”
Overall, I LOVED this movie. It holds a special place in my heart because Rent is my favorite musical. I watched the Rent movie before I started questioning my sexuality and it was very eye opening. Watching Tick, Tick...Boom felt like watching Bohemian Rhapsody, where I wish that Jonathan Larson/Freddie Mercury were here today to see their huge impact. At times the movie felt like a documentary (I say this in the best way possible). I give it a very strong 10/10 and highly recommend checking it out, and then checking out Rent if you have not!