In 2005, the silver screen finally saw the film adaptation of the Broadway hit RENT. Written by Jonathan Larson, the stage and film adaptations followed the lives of a group of Bohemian artists struggling to get by at the turn of the 80s while living with the AIDS crisis. The film remains one of the few to actually live up to and do the stage production justice, with a majority of the original Broadway cast (including powerhouse Idina Menzel) reprising their original roles. Thankfully, the film did not shy away from the romance between characters Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin) and Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). Angel, a drag queen street musician living with AIDS, embodies the "noble suffering AIDS victim" described by Howie in The Broken Hearts Club, but he doesn't allow his disease to define him or control his life, as he goes on loving and living as he ever did; expressing his feelings and adoration for Tom while also supporting his friends - notably drug-addicted Mimi (Rosario Dawson) - through their trials and tribulations. Throughout the film, Angel doesn't allow fear to keep him from continuing to live his life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G51cIrBvp4 It also helps that Angel has one of the most memorable songs in the whole film, as he sings "Today 4 U" to Tom's former roommates upon being introduced to them for the first time in full drag, complete with a parkour-like flip and other impressive physical feats while wearing platformed boots. Angel's presence in the film is such a delight despite the hand he's been dealt that you forget he's sick until his heartbreaking death hits you like a punch in the gut.
Tommy Bobby Watanabe is an aspiring American novelist, stage actor, playwright, former LGBT rights activist, and has three years of independent professional wrestling experience and has been a big fan since 1998. An avid horror movie buff and comic book aficionado, TBW is honored to be featured on WhatCulture with some of the Internet's most talented writers and looks to spread his own knowledge and wit to WhatCulture's loyal readers.
