Bohemian Travesty

Columbia Pictures

C'mon guys, chill! The cool kids of Chris Columbus's 'Rent'

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• Jonathan Larson
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Great fiction might often be a lie that sounds like the truth. (So, too, for great songs, great religion, or a great movie.) But artful liars can sidestep that with an elegant phrase, a startling camera angle, an unexpected harmony, a melody whose merits go beyond being memorable (jingles and nightmares are memorable, too). If only Rent were a better piece of work--if it were phony but fabulous--it might lead to one of those great aesthetics-versus-morality dilemmas. A movie that rewrites history though great songs--that could be a truly guilty pleasure. A lie that sounds like shit, though, is another neighborhood.