RENT BY TOM MEEK

128 MINUTES | APPLE VALLEY + FLAGSHIP + PROVIDENCE PLACE 16 + SHOWCASE

Jonathan Larson’s hit musical — a loose modernization of Puccini’s La bohème — about a New York City artist community in the late 1980s finds an uncertain home on the big screen. The deal in Rent, of course, is that none of the eight central characters, half of whom are HIV positive, can afford to pay it. But they're a potent potpourri of personalities who evoke sympathy even though they’re essentially deadbeats and drug addicts. If you’ve seen Hair or Tommy, then you know the drill — fight the power and sing some snazzy tunes along the way. The musical numbers are infectious and tartly choreographed, but the direction by Christopher Columbus (Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter films) lacks the energy of his performers. The talented ensemble includes Rosario Dawson as the enchanting pole dancer, Anthony Rapp as the spurned nebbish documenting the group’s travails, and Law and Order’s Jesse L. Martin providing the soulful punch as the AIDS-ravaged half of a hard-luck couple.