Pure liquified joy extracted and painted on the cinema screen. I watched this film with an airy smile… not a grin, not with belly laughs, but with a gentle smile. So much fun and full of life. Not perfect, if I have to put my sourpuss hat on, but there’s a reason my usually quiet movie theater applauded at the end.

In the Heights is about a small vanishing Puerto Rican / Dominican / Cuban neighborhood in Nuevo York City and all its people with their dreams. The shop owner, the guy who pushes the ice cart, the ladies in the beauty salon, the gal returning from college, the proud papa who got her there by running a dispatch, the abuela who adopted everyone in the neighborhood. Each person with their own songs, their own dances, their own hopes, fears, and joys. Not a deep plot, but a human one.

This was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda before Hamilton and you can totally hear his cadence and his lyrical style in many of the songs. Especially when Anthony Ramos as Usnavi sings some of his tunes… you can hear good ol’ John Lawrence and it felt like home. But everyone is good and is given their own time to shine. And I dig how Usnavi got his name.

And since I have to put the sourpuss hat on, I guess I’d argue it gets a little unfocused in the final act. There’s a undercurrent of people being powerless and about undocumented people… but it’s kind of washed out by the rest of the play. It seems very tangential and maybe it was a little more direct in the original stage? Or maybe I’m just clueless and didn’t see the hints plastered throughout.

But otherwise, this is just a movie about joy and life and community. Really worth seeing, especially for Miranda fans (and presumably fans of the play and stage musicals in general). A great heartwarming film full of good old fashioned fun, songs, and dances.

Score: 87