After facing a year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “In the Heights” premiered on HBO Max and in theaters across the country on June 10 and has quickly become one of the must-see, feel-good movies of the summer.
Adapted from the original Broadway play written by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin Manuel-Miranda, “In the Heights” tells the story of Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), the hardworking bodega owner whose dream is to move back to his childhood home in the Dominican Republic to rebuild his late father’s bar El Sueñito.
Set in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York during a sweltering blackout, the musical is a colorful celebration of community, culture and sueñitos (little dreams).
The 143-minute film, which was directed by Jon M. Chu, immerses viewers into the lives of the characters as they navigate through financial hardships, relationships, and the sometimes strenuous yet fulfilling journey of making one’s dream a reality.
Viewers are also introduced to Vanessa Morales (Melissa Barrera) who is Usnavi’s love interest, and a fiercely independent beauty salon worker who aspires to become a fashion designer.
Other characters include Nina Rosario (Leslie Grace), who has just returned to Washington Heights after secretly dropping out of Stanford; her father Kevin (Jimmy Smits), who has significantly downsized his cab company to pay for his daughter’s education; Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), who is the neighborhood’s adopted grandmother; Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV), who is Usnavi’s cousin; and Benny (Corey Hawkins), who works for Kevin as a dispatcher and is Nina’s love interest.
Featuring a predominantly Latinx cast, “In the Heights” showcases a vibrant commemoration of Latinx culture that is accompanied by a soundtrack that brilliantly fused hip-hop with the tropical sounds of salsa, remarkable dance numbers and lots of café con leche.
Ramos, who also played the dual roles of Philip Hamilton and John Lauren in Manuel-Miranda’s critically acclaimed Broadway play “Hamilton,” praised the film during a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show.”
“I think as a kid growing up, I never had a movie like this to watch. I’ve never seen this Latino explosion on a screen like this before,” Ramos said.
Manuel-Miranda, who played Usnavi in the Tony Award winning Broadway play and played the role of Mr. Piragüero in the film, said that he first began writing “In the Heights” when he was in high school.
“I knew I wanted a life in musicals, I directed “West Side Story” my senior year of high school and I knew that was kind of it for Puerto Rican guys in musical theater,” Manuel-Miranda said during his appearance on “The Tonight Show.” “That’s all that existed…and I just kind of was writing what was missing. And I wanted to, you know, I wanted to write musicals starring Latinos, telling different stories.”
While the film did not perform as well as anticipated during its opening week with only approximately $11 million in revenue, it was received well by critics and currently holds a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“In the Heights” was also praised by movie critics and moviegoers but recently faced some backlash after an article published by The Root criticized the film of lacking Afro-Latinx representation.
Leslie Grace, who played Nina and is Dominican-American, spoke with The Root’s Felice Leòn about the film and about the importance of diversity and inclusion.
“I feel so blessed that we get to express diversity that is within the Latinx community in a way that we haven’t been able to see onscreen. I hope that this is cracking that glass ceiling,” Grace said. “Because I do hope to see my brothers and sisters that are darker than me to lead these movies.”
“In the Heights” is currently in theaters now and is available to stream on HBO Max through July 11.
