Just to be clear, I considered this a smart move. A one-month subscription to Disney Plus is seven bucks. A ticket to see "Hamilton" back when you could actually go to a theater was approximately two months rent. I got the better end of the deal regardless of how I liked the production.
I had some curious reactions after the film was over. My knees still had arthritis. I still had money out on credit cards. And, oh yeah, I still needed to take a statin drug for my cholesterol. I had heard that "Hamilton" had amazing healing powers. Apparently not as much as I had been led to believe. And, as of this writing, show producer/writer/star/theater usher Lin Manuel Miranda was still not successful in finding a vaccine for COVID-19.
Disney is getting tons of unnecessary kudos for bringing this to the big screen. People are making it appear that this was genius to film the actual original cast back in June of 2016. Um, not really. Indeed, every show on Broadway is usually filmed once or twice for posterity's sake. This is a process that has been going on for more than five decades. Disney, you're not as smart as you think you are.
That said, I surprisingly found it all to be passable entertainment. It's really another version of the famed musical "1776" as if it would be produced by a high school in the south Bronx with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the costume seamstress. The music, as I expected, ran the gamut from inspirational Broadway show tunes to annoying rap soliloquies. From the sublime to the utterly ridiculous and incoherent. Certain characters like Aaron Burr and the two women in Hamilton's life are well-drawn. Others like King George are straight out of a SNL cast, although I have to admit that I enjoyed it when the King (the always welcome Jonathan Groff) was on stage.
Of course, the big gimmick with "Hamilton" is the diverse casting as Miranda wanted "America then to be shown by America now"...or whatever that means. To me, you want the best people for the roles regardless of color. I know folks who are offended by this casting. Ultimately, it's immaterial that Thomas Jefferson is played by a Black actor. Actually, with Black Lives Matter now looking to tear down his memorial, I find it comically ironic. Indeed, one of the big production numbers talks about the "world being upside down." Shit, I've been saying that for the last three months.
So, they are all here. Alexander Hamilton, Burr, George Washington, James Madison, and whoever else you forgot about for that eleventh-grade American history test. Some post-film research on-line shows me a myriad of articles that fact check what's going on in 'Hamilton." No big surprise for me. This is not scholarly history we are dealing with here. It's essentially Cliff Notes for that final Regents exam you need to take in the state of New York.
I must say, however, that one bit did intrigue me as I watched "Hamilton." Political disagreements that are settled with a pistol duel. This happens not once, not twice, but three times in "Hamilton." How do we get to work this stunt into present day Washington? And can Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell be the first two participants?
For "Hamilton," I would recommend you reading up on the plot points before you see it just as you might look at a libretto before seeing an Italian opera. There are some parts of the production where you have virtually no idea what is going on. Additionally, keep the cast credits handy on IMDB for the end because the closing credits feature perhaps the most illegible font in film history. Saul Bass titles, they are not.
So, seeing "Hamilton" won't kill you. That's actually a positive review from me because, at one time, I did think my viewing would be fatal. And definitely see it on TV for the bargain price. This is not worth $200 for a side mezzanine seat in any theater anywhere.
LEN'S RATING: Three stars.
Dinner last night: Leftover tri-tip with German potato salad and pan roasted tomatoes.
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