In what other movie can you watch grown men sing (beautifully), cry at the death of a (truly inspiring) drag queen, moo along with a crowd, learn about the effects of drugs and HIV/AIDS and be truly moved and awed besides Rent? This amazing ‘rock-opera’ written by the (sadly) late Jonathon Larson is a deep, moving and highly enjoyable musical. Perhaps a bit inappropriate for younger teens, and sometimes a little confusing, but still smile-worthy and completely inspiring. Rent forces you to reflect on your own life, and dig deep inside to examine your own morals, goals and regrets.

I saw Rent for the first time when I was ten-years-old, and though I didn’t even know was AIDs was, at the time, I still, somehow, made it through the movie, dancing along to the uncommon and perfect rhythms as I enjoyed such lyrics as no day but today and how did I get here? / how the hell? To this day, I’ve seen the movie a countless number of times, have watched the (truly amazing) Broadway tour and have read the autobiography of one of the leads. Why? The question at hand is not ‘why’, but ‘why not?’

There is absolutely nothing else like Rent. It explores themes, such as drugs, AIDS and sexuality, that few have dared write anything about before, much less a musical, and tells the lesson that we just need to keep pushing forward, and do what we think is right. We can’t wait around doing nothing, because our time on earth is not as long as one may hope.

Based on the opera La Boheme, Rent recreates the old, original characters perfectly, modernizing it to the point of no return. It follows the story of six friends in NYC: Roger, Mark, Maureen, Joanne, Colins and Angel as they each fight their own challenges, from AIDs to not being able to pay Rent to writing one more song before I go. It takes place over the course of just over a year, as the characters change, fall in love, move away and learn a little more about themselves.

Larson paints a perfect picture of the NYC’s upper east side, where he actually spent a lot of his life, and I couldn’t imagine having another favourite musical besides Rent. It’s perfect in every single way.