History YMMV / InTheHeights

** Creator/ChristopherJackson playing an enjoyably smug Mister Softee.
** Patrick Page, best known as [[Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark the Green Goblin]] and [[Theatre/{{Hadestown}} Hades]], actually getting to play a NiceGuy as Pike Phillips.

** Usnavi, as in the musical, decides to [[spoiler:pay for Sonny's Green Card fees rather than build a new life in the Dominican Republic, and he asks why Sonny didn't ask for his help earlier]]. Was the tipping point in his decision just [[spoiler:the mural of the Dominican Republic and Vanessa's fashion line, ''or'' was it realizing that Sonny needed him]]? After all, Claudia said she couldn't leave Washington Heights unless Sonny came with her and Usnavi to the Dominican Republic, and Sonny politely refused. Usnavi may have asked, [[spoiler: "What would Abuela Claudia do with her lottery winnings?" and decided to honor her memory]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Film:
** Did Claudia know [[spoiler:she won the lottery]] since she's never shown acknowledging it and Usnavi could have just [[spoiler:found her ticket]] by chance? She did write "For Usnavi" on it, so she might have known [[spoiler: the ticket had ''some'' amount of payout, if not the full $96,000]].
** Usnavi, as in the musical, decides to [[spoiler:pay for Sonny's Green Card fees rather than build a new life in the Dominican Republic, and he asks why Sonny didn't ask for his help earlier]]. Was the tipping point in his decision just [[spoiler:the mural of the Dominican Republic and Vanessa's fashion line, ''or'' was it realizing that Sonny needed him]]? After all, Claudia said she couldn't leave Washington Heights unless Sonny came with her and Usnavi to the Dominican Republic, and Sonny politely refused. Usnavi may have asked, [[spoiler: "What would Abuela Claudia do with her lottery winnings?" and decided to honor her memory]].

* AlternativeJokeInterpretation: Carla's line in "Carnival de Barrio," "I'm Chile-Domini-Cu-Rican, but I always say I'm from Queens!" can be interpreted differently based on how the actress sings it. In most stage productions, Carla stumbles to pronounce the portmanteau of her parents' ethnicities, with the joke coming across as if she's coming up with it on the spot and she just says she's from Queens because it's too complicated to explain her MixedAncestry. However, the movie has Carla recite the "Chile-Domini-Cu-Rican" line without any struggle, with the new implication being that she's had to explain this enough that she's already crafted this word for her identity... but she'd rather say she's from Queens because she considers that her true home.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During Piragua Guy's first solo, he gets into a petty WimpFight with Mr. Softee. Then for some reason, he walks into an open bus while belting at the top of his lungs before walking out of the other exit. The bus riders have matching bewildered faces while he does that.
* FoeYay: More of SitcomArchnemesis-yay. Piragua Guy in the film shoots a DeathGlare at Mr. Softee, which is practically smoldering. They then get into a WimpFight when Piragua Guy whacks the guy's truck, and Mr. Softee retaliates by tossing sprinkles at him. In the end, they call truce when [[spoiler:the truck breaks down]].
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Stagings in TheNewTens, and the subsequent movie adaptation, replace a song line involving Benny wanting to play golf with Donald Trump with a reference to professional golfer Tiger Woods. With the film release being delayed, this became somewhat bittersweet when in February 2021, Tiger Woods got into a severe single-car accident, with many speculating that it may mean the end of his professional golf career.

** Lin's character Usnavi has a crush on a character named ''Vanessa.'' By the end of the decade, Lin married his long-time crush Vanessa Nadal.

** One of Lin-Manuel's early Youtube videos was him rapping about the show (in between its Off-Broadway and Broadway runs) 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.
** The video also featured Jonathan Groff, who was playing Melchior in ''Theatre/SpringAwakening'' - the production of which was on Broadway when In the Heights opened. Cut to 2015, and Groff was in [[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} Miranda's next Broadway outing/smash hit]] at the same time as the revival of Spring Awakening.
* MinorityShowGhetto: Sadly why the movie adaptation spent years in DevelopmentHell.

** "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.
** The movie's version of the blackout scene adds a scarier moment, as [[spoiler: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.]]

** Chris Jackson playing an enjoyably smug Mr. Softee.
** Patrick Page, best known as the Green Goblin and Hades, actually getting to play a NiceGuy as Pike Phillips.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Many fans of the musical took issue with how Benny's story was significantly cut down (an unfortunate necessity as the film runs two and a half hours as it is). Even some people who weren't familiar with the original noted that it felt like parts of his development were missing.

** Still more say Abuela Claudia too got the short end of the stick, with “Hundreds of Stories” and “Everything I Know” (which applies to both her and Nina) being cut, and “Pacience y Fe” being shifted to [[spoiler: just before her death, itself happening earlier than the play.]]
* UnfortunateImplications: 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-Latina, 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latino representation.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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-Latina, 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latino representation. Though Creator/RitaMoreno of all people actually defended the casting, saying that no movie cast is going to be completely accurate, and Latines should be supportive of any representation they can get at this point. She later walked back that statement.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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-Latina, 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latino representation. Though Creator/RitaMoreno of all people actually defended the casting, saying that no movie cast is going to be completely accurate, and Latines should be supportive of any representation they can get at this point.

** Did Claudia know [[spoiler:she won the lottery]] since she's never shown acknowledging it and Usnavi could have just [[spoiler:found her ticket]] by chance?

* AwesomeEgo: Benny spends most of his verses bragging about how awesome he is, but they're certainly entertaining to listen to.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latino representation. Though Creator/RitaMoreno of all people actually defended the casting, saying that no movie cast is going to be completely accurate, and Latines should be supportive of any representation they can get at this point.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latino representation.

* WatchedItForTheRepresentation: The film's cast and crew have 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, except for the aforementioned UnfortunateImplications.

* WatchedItForTheRepresentation: The film's cast and crew have 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...mostly (see above).

* {{Hypocrite}}: Usnavi accusing Vanessa of [[SlutShaming "shaking [her] ass with half of the Heights"]] during the blackout, when he'd previously told her he didn't mind if she danced with someone else, makes him come across this way.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latinx representation.

** Many found Nina and Kevin underdeveloped as well, due to their conflict over Nina dropping out of Stanford and Kevin selling his business to pay her tuition being pared down, their conflict over Nina and Benny's relationship being nonexistent, and Kevin's solo "Inútil" being cut.

* WatchedItForTheRepresentation: The film's cast and crew have 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.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance. Lin-Manuel Miranda also [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latinx representation.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In the movie, did Claudia know [[spoiler:she won the lottery]] since she's never shown acknowledging it and Usnavi could have just [[spoiler:found her ticket]] by chance?

** Patrick Page actually getting to play a NiceGuy as Pike Phillips.

* UnfortunateImplications: 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. Creator/JonMChu claims it wasn't an intentional choice and that they did audition several Afro-Latino actors for the main roles. He simply chose to cast the film based on AbilityOverAppearance.
** Lin-Manuel Miranda has since [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/1404565413116141570 Tweeted an apology]] for the lack of Afro-Latinx representation.

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