Tick, Tick... Boom!: Movie Review

If we could pick one reason to experience "Tick, Tick... Boom!", it would be Andrew Garfield. This was Andrew Garfield's best performance on film and he certainly blurred the line between him and Jonathan Larson. But "Tick, Tick... Boom!" provides much more than just witnessing a performance of a lifetime and in tow is a tale that provides an emotional look into the highs and lows of the struggling creative.

With his 30th birthday coming soon, Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield) is a struggling composer and playwright who has yet to make his big break. But things might turn around soon as he has been invited to do an in-audience workshop of his play Superbia - of which he has been trying to complete for the past 8 years. In reality, Superbia is still missing one critical song in its 2nd act and as the deadline for the workshop looms ever nearer, what is Jonathan willing to sacrifice to achieve his dreams? 

For his directorial debut, we were mightily impressed with Lin-Manuel Miranda's ability to translate his unique style in "Tick, Tick... Boom!" oh so well. But this was a double-edged sword in this case because this quirk also meant that the narrative struggled to make its purpose clearer right from the very beginning. In fact, we were confused in the first thirty minutes of the film. What are we actually watching? Was this Jonathan recounting back on the days were he was a complete unknown? Is this "Tick, Tick... Boom!" based on the actual play or a totally different story altogther? Luckily, the writing eventually stabilizes and provides one heck of an emotional and thought-provoking experience. Of note, it showed the hard reality of achieving success - that hard work and sacrifice isn't enough sometimes - and giving it your all is only the first small step to a risk that may never bear fruit. And oh, we did mention Andrew Garfield right? Because his performance here is something else and you just have to see it to really appreciate the dedication and talent he showed in "Tick, Tick... Boom!". Overall, "Tick, Tick... Boom!" has all the basic elements to be a great musical. It has the drama, the songs, the performances, and the emotions to make it worth your time.        

Rating: 4 reels

Why you should watch it:

- Andrew Garfield can do anything and this is his best performance yet

- the songs were amazing in our opinion

Why you shouldn't watch it:

- had a rough start in the beginning