วีดีโอ

I agree with a lot of points that you made. I think the quality of the AIDS storyline is definitely affected by whether it was a straight person or a queer person writing it. Also, William Finn is objectively better at writing characters who feel like real people to the audience. I think RENT was very underbaked, and it didn’t help that Larson passed away before getting to make adjustments to it (*hot take: I don’t think Rent would be as iconic as it is if he hadn’t died right when it opened; I think that his death just added to the novelty of the show and kept people from examining it critically*). I also think that Falsettos benefited from being a focused narrative with, at most, 7 characters throughout the show; but I also believe that’s what kept it from winning best musical (a musical without an ensemble doesn’t tend to win mainstream awards, even if it’s better). The music in Rent isn’t super complex overall, so it was more accessible to the masses; while William Finn is out here writing some interesting, complicated music and tying up the story very clearly and effectively.

You better check your dates, pal. When SPLHCB, Smile was very close to completion. More, SPLHCB was one of many nails in the SMiLE coffin.

Great video but I am absolutely cackling at the usage of roxas’s theme during the overview of the aids crisis

i dont feel crazy for hating rent anymore thank you

falsettos has 'whizzer going down' and rent doesn't. nuff said.

With Smiley Smile having SMiLE's best tracks, and flopping on release, I don't think SMiLE would have been much of a heavy hitter compared to everything else being released at the time. I love The Beach Boys to death but I just don't think SMiLE would've caught on.

I think you missed the point of Rent lol

If anything, Hedwig's forced transition is a critique of strictly enforced gender binaries, and Hedwig's botched surgery brings her dysphoria because it put her outside of the binary. I think this film does show how enforced gender norms contribute to the cycle of trauma and abuse in queer people.

This feels so confirming. I paused this video 5 minutes in, realizing that I had somehow never watched rent despite hearing about it so much, and came away from it feeling deeply unimpressed. Some of the songs were good but most of them were a few good lines with a whole lot of fluff surrounding them. The spotlight kept shining on extras like i was supposed to know or care who they were, as if the show didn't have enough main characters already? Benny was set up as a major antagonist and just as quickly became a bestie? There were so many plot points that just weren't discussed with enough detail to know what the hell was going on? It felt great to come back to this video after watching rent for the first time and not hear its praises sung like I'd expected lol. It's not bad its just... people talk about this show like it's les mes.

The "are you sleeping?" line in Surf's Up is borrowed from the old French song Frere Jacques. If you listen to the very next line Brian sings "brother John" which is the translation of Frere Jacques. I always thought that was such a random, yet beautiful addition to the song.

I personally think all the not-so-positive moments, like would you light my candle and take me or leave me, sorta intend to make you feel this way. Like, they are borderline homeless artists, they are inherently horrible people with life experience that we can relate to. It’s meant to be bland and BAD for the decadence in life sometimes, that’s personally why I empathize with this musical. It’s pure deterioration of life, and Santa Fe is just a dream. It’s a scene presented to you about how we celebrate living lives recklessly meaning that I don’t care who I fuck, I don’t care if I’m flirting around, etc. Are they healthy? NO. It’s a scene of a group of people convincing themselves to keep living however they want when they were entirely struggling. Also, the ending part where they all come out to sing together to me looks like a curtain call almost, like it’s no longer a part of the plot. So makes sense that Angel (or rather, the actor, in the gender neutral sense I think) comes out. I do think you include many valid opinions about the downsides of Rent. I haven’t thought of it that way!

I feel like Falsettos makes you grow a connection with the characters and especially in Act 1 when they get introduced and are then further explored throughout duets and solos that have so much emotion and passion. I also love how it ended with the song 'Father to Son' which definitely showed how much Marvin truely cared for Jason even though it must be very difficult for him to try and connect with his son after leaving him and his mother for another man. Act 2 is very consistent at the beginning and closely follows what happened in Act 1 which makes it feel like a very consistent story rather then a musical. It then of course slowly introduces the prospect of AIDS in the song 'Something bad is happening' and i really like that this song inspires panic in Charlotte which then passes to Cordelia after she realises how severe this situation is and how distressed her girlfriend is, this also shows how much she cares for her. This mention of a new unknown disease can also make the audience contemplate what might happen to characters that are so near and dear such as Whizzer and Marvin. These two have a sweet but complicated relationship that only makes you feel more heartbroken after Whizzers eventual demise which is also built up on song by song. I can't help but mention the way Whizzer is portrayed in the song 'You gotta die some time' with the shift of him originally welcoming death and then later becoming emotional over his description of death being very similiar to Marvin. This makes him realise how much he'll miss Marvin when he's gone which is a tear jerker for sure. Christian Borle's and Andrew Rannell's passion in the song 'What would i do' is what made me ball my eyes out the most and it is a extremely emotional, fantastic and heart wretching song that is very powerful and an amazing close to this masterpiece of a musical, for sure my all time favourite.

Well said. A great quick breakdown of one of my absolute favorite movies.

bro went our prayered on us

People don't talk nearly enough about how Rent is very obviously a cheap knock off of Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. You know that rock musical from the early 90s that was an ensemble musical that was A string of musical number versions of the stories on the Aids Memorial Quilt. Elegies is incredible and doesn't get nearly enough credit for everything Rent tried to do and failed. The Rain Keeps Falling Down is an absolute masterpiece of a song and all the songs are amazing IMO. But Falsettos also deserves credit for being as incredible as it is. Its just really hard to compare Rent and Falsettos because they're entirely different stories. Elegies and Rent both use non linear story telling and have very similar musical styles and themes but Elegies has so much depth and substance and was deeply rooted within the queer activism movement of the time. It was created by activists to my understanding and it shows. Falsettos is a very different story than Rent but Rent took a lot from Elegies.

It's such a shame it wasn't finished in 1967. It was SO CLOSE. Definitely the biggest and saddest what if? in all of rock.

falsettos rules

2:36 What movie is this from?

The spongebob edit killed me 🤣 Wonderful analysis my dude, and your sense of humor is also delightful.

By suggesting these 2 productions should be in competition it implies that there is only space for 1 LGBT themed production/story. I had never seen “Falsettos” so I decided to watch it this afternoon and I have to say I did not enjoy it as much as “RENT.” For me personally I did not enjoy the music in “Falsettos” as much as I did in “RENT.” I respect “Falsettos” has a fan base and appreciate the individual. who made this video clearly enjoys it more than “RENT.” However, as a Gay man, if I were made to choose I would choose “RENT” over “Falsettos” in every aspect; story/script, production, characters, music/score, set design, ect. I would recommend watching both to decide for oneself, but if you’re only able to watch one my pick would be “RENT”

i know its not the point. but bro hates the best song in RENT. that is crazy bro hating la vie boheme is crazy

La Vie Boheme is an anthem for every teen and early 20s alternative arts kid who ever rebelled. How dare you write off the lyrics as “random” then call it a day. It perfectly encapsulates the ignorance and spontaneity that comes from youth while highlighting the many different medias that we attached ourselves to when we were longing for individuality even if we barely knew the intricacies of those medias. It’s a celebration of reckless abandon that reminds us of who we were when we didn’t know who we were. It’s raw, it’s silly but it’s real. La Vie Boheme is the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for Broadway.

I'M CRYING... I'M CRYING AND YOU MAKE A SPONGEBOB MOVIE JOKE (just a joke that was fucking class)

"It be the tears of the gay lovers!" fucking got me lmaoooo great analysis! I'm so happy that Falsettos is getting some much needed love

I’m so glad to hear this. It’s been one of my favourite films since it came out.

You keep saying Tony Asher with a picture of Bruce Johnston...😆😆

I stopped watching after the 5th episode. Went back after a few weeks and tried to watch 6th and 7th episode, what a mistake. It became worse than a soap opera after the first 2-3 episodes, which were good. There was repetition in the episodic storylines, the acting became more monotonous (especially Faith Hill and her daughter). The wagon train basically became "stuck in the mud", with the girl just being sassy, Faith being useless, McGraw/Sam just getting mad at somebody, and us, the audience, just waiting around to see who is killed next. Horrible, unauthentic drama.

Falsettos is easily one of the best stage shows ever created. The sincerity and depth of all the characters, the arcs and developments, the score, the ACTING, the harmonies, the ending. The thing that makes falsettos so much better than rent for me is how you can see this family fight and tear apart, but in the end repair and love each other, just to abruptly be destroyed by Whizzer’s death. That’s it. No uplifting song about moving on from death, it just derails and ends the whole show. It’s so accurate as to how HIV/AIDS actually affected families. There was no explanation. And I agree, Marvin’s amazing development makes the death so much more impactful. They’re happy and have a loving, healthy relationship, and suddenly it’s all over. I could talk about this show all day- god it’s just amazing!!

I love Lin Manuel Miranda AND Hedwig. And I didn't GET Hedwig and the Angry Inch until I saw Neil Patrick Harris' version. John Cameron Mitchell was there the night I saw NPH. I saw him come out of the stage door. After seeing the Broadway version I grew to appreciate the movie more. I think it is a masterpiece. I didn't like Tommy Gnosis in the movie, though. I like the way they played it on stage with the same actor playing both roles. It opens up the possibility that Tommy Gnosis might not exists, or that Tommy IS Hedwig, somehow living a dual life as a rock star and his Stalker. Or maybe Hedwig and her entire backstory is something in Tommy's broken mind. Hedwig is always performing in the shadow of Tommy's stadium tour. I don't see any evidence that Mitchel and Trask intended that interpretation, but the literal story in the movie is less interesting to me. I do love JCM's voice. I realized in retrospect after I was in love with him since the early 1990s. I had the cast album for The Secret Garden, and I played every song where Dickon's voice appeared over and over again. I didn't connect it to Hedwig until after I saw it on Broadway in 2014 then re-watched the movie and started googling past credits. Speaking of past credits, maybe do a video essay on Shortbus? It's not a musical, but it's very musical, and it was directed by JCM.

I'm surprised you didn't mention the controversy surrounding Rent -- author Sarah Schulman asserts that many of the details of the show were stolen from her novel PEOPLE IN TROUBLE. More significantly (at least IMHO), she points out that Larson depicts the queer characters through a distinctly heterosexual lens, robbing them of their agency. I don't think TH-cam allows external links in comments, but you can easily find articles on the subject if you do a search.

okay cmon you could've mentioned any song from beach boys loves but ding dang, its a good song

Just wanted to say I love the Kingdom Hearts, Persona 5 and Undertale music in the background ♥

Well, "lejos" means "far away" in Spanish and is by no means a common name. I was expecting the pseudonym to pay off somehow during the film but it never did. Weird head scratching touch.😅

SURE talk about the second act of Falsettos with Undertale in the background, as if I even needed my heart not to flood with feelings (these two works of art have owned my soul since I was a teen)

Funny enough both the movie of rent and falsettos have tracy tomms

I need to find a way to see this show and listen to the soundtrack!

If you haven't seen it, Lindsay Ellis has an excellent video on Rent that I think you'll appreciate.

Who are you mate ??? You have No idea about the Soul of Music !!!!!

I watched Falsettos for the first time recently and it made me cry so much

I don't blame Brian at all for not getting it "finished" until he did BWPS. An enormous task that would've required everyone's full support and co-operation. Maybe if Brian had delegated the production to smaller production teams, it would've made sense. I'm sure that the way Brian originally envisioned the project would've been extraordinary, but with this new way of production he should've taken longer to master the process but due to him not being well, it was at the wrong place at the wrong time. This is why I really am good with Smiley Smile, but am really glad the SMiLE sessions got published.

falsettos is my favorite musical and a genuine masterpiece. i really can’t recommend it enough. it’s legit the saddest thing i have ever seen in my entire life. i have never seen rent, but i truly can’t find a musical i adore nearly as much as falsettos. the music is beautiful and the story is funny and somehow also gut wrenching. it is absolutely breathtaking. i can watch it over and over and never get tired of it.

Just wrote a separate comment but I need to emphasize how unbelievably problematic it is to pit two works of art against each other because they both have queer people. It is the root of what is wrong within the queer community.

This comparison disgusts me. Other than AIDS and NYC, these shows have absolutely nothing in common and it’s so offensive to put them in the same category, and I say that as a queer Jew who grew up in the 90s. One show is about young bohemians in alphabet city who cannot afford their rent, the other about an upper class family who can afford house calls from a psychiatrist. One show is about the AIDS crisis in the early 80s-when it had just begun and no one knew what it was yet + thought it was a gay disease, the other in the early 90s when there was medication and it was established that not only gay people got it. One is a modern musical w showtimes and Sondheim-esque composions, the other a rock musical. could go on and on and on. Company has more in common with Falsettos, and Spring Awakening more in common with Rent. Hamilton has more in common with the two than they do with each other. In no just world should these two shows be put in the same category.

Good Vibrations is one of those songs that is 100%, no doubt, the greatest song of all time. Just like Bohemian Rhapsody or Stairway to Heaven, it's one of those songs that can't be beat. To the point that it's completely unfair to say that it's less than any other song. It's peak, and any song you put above it will definitely come down to taste or feeling on that day.

Great review- I remember watching this as a kid and loving it!

I know the smile sessions (which i orefer to BWPS) isnt smile but i like it and there are definitely the makings of a masterpiece there

Why does mike get so much hate?

White guilt? Colonialist? What are you smoking? lol

I was fooled, I'm talking about bait and switch. I expected a show about James Dutton, it quickly became more about his daughter. It's a feminist wet dream. Not only is she a man, but she's better than the average man, she's a Comanche warrior. She "marries" a Comanche as well. But they made sure to let you know there would be no ceremony and no God, because feminists and Leftists have no place for God. And of course, according to Leftist history, Comanches are always better than white people. Especially here, as these were friendly and helpful and not at all dangerous. Don't forget, fluent in English. Excuse me, what? This was not the show I was promised, I was tricked.

The saddest part in falsettos imo was during Jason’s Jewish thing (I’m not even gonna attempt to try and spell it…) when the doctor, if I recall correctly, pulls Whizzer away because he’s too sick and Jason just give the most soul crushing look like he knows this is the last time he’s gonna see Whizzer