‘In the Heights’ not quite great, but hard to hate

“In the Heights” (HBO Max and theaters), the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2005 stage musical, asks a viewer to commit to the NYC neighborhood of Washington Heights and its colorful Hispanic-American characters for 2 hours and 23 minutes. That’s a pretty big ask when the arcs are so broadly drawn and free of surprises.

Sense of place

But the spirit of director John M. Chu’s film, shot on location and nearby, is hard to argue with. Washington Heights is portrayed as nice and safe, like a small town within a big city. The most crime we see is a petty theft from Usnavi’s (Anthony Ramos, “Hamilton”) convenience store. This is statistically accurate, as the barrio has bounced back from the crime of the late 20^th century.

And it’s refreshing that Miranda (music/lyrics, plus a role as the Piragua Guy) and Quiara Alegría Hudes (screenplay) don’t make the “woke” musical one would expect.

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At one point, Nina (professional singer Leslie Grace) tells of being searched for her roommate’s missing pearls at Stanford. But it’s not a lecture on racial profiling; it’s character defining. Nina’s takeaway is that she’s ashamed at herself for apologizing to the profilers.

Pursuing their suenos

The journeys of Nina, her friend Usnavi, and Usnavi’s prospective girlfriend Vanessa (Melissa Barrera, breaking into English-language roles) are universal. They pursue their suenos (dreams). Usnavi wants to run a beachfront bar in the Dominican Republic. Vanessa aims to be a fashion designer in the richer part of NYC.

Nina is caught up in her cab-dispatcher father’s (Jimmy Smits) dreams for her. We eventually come to an inevitable dinner-table showdown where Nina informs him that her dreams don’t match his.

It’s a good example of how “In the Heights” kept me at a distance. I knew this moment was coming, but I had to wait a long time to get to it. And when we do get to it, it’s what we expect.

The film balances grounded issues and magical realism – in the most extreme example, Nina and her boyfriend (“24: Legacy’s” Corey Hawkins) defy gravity and dance on the side of a building.

Don’t look too closely

While the struggles for a better life are universal, don’t look too closely at the economic or financial details.

Vanessa works as a nail painter in a salon and can afford her own apartment (granted, it’s next to the noisy El Train), and she is in the running for a nicer apartment in a more affluent community. Eventually, she’s rejected for that unit, but in what reality would she think she could swing it?

It won’t take most viewers out of the flow, but why is it so hard for movies and TV to get economic details right? Especially since a story is already about the struggles of being poor, why not be as realistic as possible?

Story-based songs

I have mixed feelings about the music. Miranda tells detailed stories in his songs, often significantly moving the narrative forward within a number. This is unusual among musicals, where the songs often represent a pause in the story’s forward movement. The downside is that these pieces can sound clunky and forced.

“In the Heights” doesn’t have a groaner, but it also lacks a showstopper. The closest is “96,000,” strikingly choreographed at a huge pool complex. Everyone shares their suenos of what they’d do if they won the state lottery.

That lottery plays an uncomfortably big role in the plot. Even though the winner does something unselfish with the winnings, it’s heartbreaking that $96,000 will go toward lawyers and government paperwork rather than something directly beneficial.

“In the Heights” isn’t as smile-worthy as other musicals of recent years (I’m thinking of “The Greatest Showman” in film and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” on TV). But I can see why people love it. I certainly can’t bring myself to dislike it.