“Saving Face” & “Rent”

Saving Face

The //Netflix summary for Saving Face:

Dutiful daughter Wil (Michelle Krusiec) sidesteps her mother’s (Joan Chen) attempts to marry her off in Alice Wu’s romantic comedy set in New York. At 28, Wil’s the old maid of her traditional Chinese family, so there’s no way she can tell them about her budding romance with Vivian (Lynn Chen). But there’s no avoiding mom’s meddling matchmaking when she shows up on Wil’s doorstep looking for a place to stay.

What I liked about the movie: The acting is very well done, cast with very attractive leads in Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec, and Joan Chen.  The story is as tight as it can be, moving at a brisk pace at 91 minutes.

What I didn’t like: I would have liked to see more character development between male and female characters, to help underscore the role of women in Chinese culture.

Rent

The Netflix summary for Rent:

Members of the original 1996 Broadway cast star in Chris Columbus’s adaptation of the award-winning musical set in New York’s East Village. Based on Puccini’s “La Boheme,” the story follows a group of bohemians through life’s ups and down as they face true love, broken hearts, HIV, drug addiction … and of course, paying the rent.

What I liked about the movie: The music done by the original cast members.  Chris Columbus does a fine job of adapting the play to film.

What I didn’t like: Rosario Dawson appeared to be out of her league compared to the other performers.  It appears that the studio wanted a named actor or actress in one of the roles.  Unfortunately, her signing is only as good as an American Idol semi-finalist.

Saving Face:*** (out of 5)

Rent: ***