History YMMV / InTheHeights

* UnfortunteImplications: While it's agreed the film is great representation for Latinos, there has been discussion that the films exclude [[https://www.theroot.com/lets-talk-about-in-the-heights-and-the-erasure-of-dark-1847064126 Black and darker-skinned Latinos]]. Granted, there are plenty of Afro-Latinos and darker-skinned people as background characters and dancers (and in the film's salon scene, Daniela makes it a point to mention her Black background), and Nina's actress Leslie Grace is Afro-Latino, but all other main characters are either white or [[LatinoIsBrown brown]]. Benny, the only black character as part of the main cast, is non-Latino.

* WatchedItForTheRepresentation: The film's cast and crew has stated in interviews they want the film to be a cultural touchstone for Latinos the same way ''Film/BlackPanther'' was for America's Black community and ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'' was for the Asian community. Reviews by the community on social media prove that they succeeded.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: C’mon, guys, you get Marc Anthony and don’t let him sing a note?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In the movie, did Claudia know she won the lottery?

** The movie's version of the blackout scene adds a scarier moment, as Abuela Claudia dies during the blackout. We see her lying down suffering from the intense heat, and while she does go peacefully after her DeathSong, Usnavi frantically attempting to awaken her before screaming at Daniela to call 911 is distressingly realistic.

** Marc Anthony makes a strong impact as Sonny's deadbeat, drug addict father Gapo.

* NightmareFuel: "Blackout." The whole neighborhood goes dark (in the middle of a heatwave, no less!) and immediately, there are robbers in the street. AdultFear runs rampant as the cast try to find each other (Particularly Benny, Nina, Usnavi, and Vanessa, who spend the first half of the song crying out to each other in vain); Usnavi hurries to Abuela Claudia, who is at home by herself; and Sonny and Graffiti Pete are left to protect the bodega alone with only a baseball bat and some fireworks.

* SignatureSong: "96,000" is one hell of a showstopper that contains some of the most hardcore, take-no-prisoners rapping in Lin's career, and tends to get a lot of airplay on showtune radio stations; the Broadway cast performed an edited version at the Tony Awards, and it's the most common choice from the musical to play at any Broadway singalong since it's a great way to rouse the crowd. "Blackout" is also an amazing CrowdSong that packs in a ton of vocal talent.

* SignatureSong: "96,000" is one hell of a showstopper that contains some of the most hardcore, take-no-prisoners rapping in Lin's career, and tends to get a lot of airplay on showtune radio stations; the Broadway cast performed an edited version at the Tony Awards. "Blackout" is also an amazing CrowdSong that packs in a ton of vocal talent.

** In the movie, at Nina's party, Usnavi wears a flat cap similar to the one his stage counterpart wore, and Abuela Claudia comments that he's wearing his Papi's (father's) hat. The stage show was written by and starred Lin-Manuel Miranda as Usnavi, making him and his Usnavi a spiritual parent to Anthony Ramos' Usnavi. Furthermore, Miranda and Ramos played father and son Alexander and Philip Hamilton in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', the success of which helped ''In the Heights'' to get a movie adaptation greenlit and pulled out of DevelopmentHell!

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** Benny rapping about how if he won the lottery he'd go to business school, become successful and start golfing with Donald Trump as his caddy becomes harsh considering the amount of racism associated with Trump during his 2015-16 presidential campaign and following presidency. [[note]]Trump's handling of relief efforts for Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, caused even Lin to snap on Twitter and tell the President that he's going straight to hell.[[/note]] Though it also doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in hindsight, that Benny wants to become richer than Trump and bring him down a peg.
** Stagings in TheNewTens, and the subsequent movie adaptation, replace his name with that of professional golfer Tiger Woods. With the film release being delayed, this became its own FunnyAneurysmMoment moment when in February 2021, Tiger Woods got into a severe single-car accident. Many speculate that it may mean the end of his professional golf career.

* {{Glurge}}: The most common complaint about the non-musical dialogue and general plot.

** Chris Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda starring in this musical becomes this when considering their impact as the leading actors in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}''.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Benny rapping about how if he won the lottery he'd go to business school, become successful and start golfing with Donald Trump as his caddy becomes harsh considering the amount of racism associated with Trump during his 2015-16 presidential campaign and following presidency. [[note]]Trump's handling of relief efforts for Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, caused even [[NiceGuy Lin]] to ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes snap]]'' [[RageBreakingPoint on Twitter]] and tell the President that he's going straight to hell.[[/note]] Though it also doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in hindsight, that Benny wants to become richer than Trump and bring him down a peg. In any case, stagings in TheNewTens, and the subsequent movie adaptation, replace his name with that of professional golfer Tiger Woods.
** Which with the film release being delayed, became its own FunnyAneurysmMoment moment when in February 2021, Tiger Woods got into a severe single-car accident that many speculate, may mean the end of his professional golf career.

** Which with the film release being delayed, became its own JarsherInHindsight moment when in February 2021, Tiger Woods got into a severe single-car accident that many speculate, may mean the end of his professional golf career.

* ValuesResonance: With the increased political unrest in America in the late 2010s, and sheer number of young people becoming political activists -- many of the most prominent voices not even being done with ''high school'' yet! -- the teenage Sonny's political ambitions and determined idealism seem even more relevant than ever.

** Once again Melissa Barrera plays [[Series/{{Vida}} another DudeMagnet who lives in a predominantly Latino neighbourhood that is in danger of being gentrified.]]

** A character played by Lin-Manuel Miranda (in a musical he wrote) telling us in the opening song about how we've "prob'ly never heard [his] name." [[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} What's your name, man?]]

** In the film, Nina Rosario's father is [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Bail Organa.]]

** One of Lin-Manuel's early Youtube videos was him rapping about the show (before it officially debuted on Broadway) in a parody of "Bet on It" from ''Film/HighSchoolMusical''. He even directly calls out Kenny Ortega and the movies themselves. Cut to two years later, when who is cast but Corbin Bleu of ''HSM'' fame, in the role of Usnavi no less. The Kennedy Center's 2018 production added another level, when lead ''HSM'' actress Music/VanessaHudgens landed the role of [[CastingGag Vanessa]] -- opposite Anthony Ramos as Usnavi, who'd later star in the ''In the Heights'' movie.

* SignatureSong: "96,000" is one hell of a showstopper that contains some of the most hardcore, take-no-prisoners rapping in Lin's career, and tends to get a lot of airplay on showtune radio stations. "Blackout" is also an amazing CrowdSong that packs in a ton of vocal talent.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Benny rapping about how if he won the lottery he'd go to business school, become successful and start golfing with Donald Trump as his caddy becomes harsh considering the amount of racism that Trump has allowed to bloom during his 2015-16 presidential campaign. [[note]]Trump's handling of relief efforts for Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, caused even [[NiceGuy Lin]] to ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes snap]]'' [[RageBreakingPoint on Twitter]] and tell the President that he's going straight to hell.[[/note]] Though it also doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in hindsight, that Benny wants to become richer than Trump and bring him down a peg. In any case, stagings in TheNewTens, and the subsequent movie adaptation, replace his name with that of professional golfer Tiger Woods.

* EarWorm: Anything that Lin-Manuel Miranda raps.
** "I'll be downtowwwwwn!"
** "When I was a child I stayed wide awake, climbed to the highest place on every fire escape!"
** "Alza la bandera, la bandera Dominicana! Alza la bandera, la bandera Puertoriquena! Alza la bandera, la bandera Mejicana! Alza la bandera, la bandera Cubana!"
** "Parriba esa bandera! HEY! Alzala donde quiera! HEY! Recuerdo de mi tierra! HEY!"
** "Honk your horn if ya want it!" (Pit horns and car horns: [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound BA-BA-BAH!!]])
** "Anything at all can happen just before the sunrise..."
** The irresistible urge to snap your fingers along with "When The Sun Goes Down", which many a rude audience member did when the show was playing.
** "No pare, SIGUE SIGUE!" (Wooooooooooooah, wooooooooooooah)
** "The hydrants are open, [[TearJerker cool breezes blow]]."

* ValuesResonance: With the increased political unrest in America in the late 2010s, and sheer number of young people becoming political activists -- many of the most prominent voices not even being done with ''high school'' yet! -- the teenage Sonny's political ambitious and determined idealism seem even more relevant than ever.