Line #40 YMMV/InTheHeights


1	* AccidentalAesop: It's okay to care for yourself first before caring for the community when you get an opportunity. The film has a subplot of [[spoiler:Sonny hiding that he is TheIllegal owing to his parents bringing him over to the United States when he was a baby. He talks about how he would use the lottery to improve the community if he won, without considering his own situation. After Abuela Claudia leaves the winning ticket to Usnavi and he decides to stay in Washington Heights, he tells Sonny that he'll use the money to get him a lawyer and to cover the fees for a Green Card application. Sonny hadn't even thought of that and is grateful to his cousin]].
2	* {{Adorkable}}: Usnavi. ''Oh so much.'' He's easily flustered around Vanessa, and when she's upset before Sonny steps in and asks her out for him, he draws a smiley face on the cooler door.
3	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
4	** 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]].
5	** Usnavi, as in the musical, decides to [[spoiler:stay in Washington Heights rather than build a new life in the Dominican Republic. While we never find out what he does with his share of the lottery winnings in the musical, in the movie he uses them to pay Sonny's Green Card fees, 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]].
6	* AlternativeJokeInterpretation: Carla's line in "Carnaval 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 mixed ancestry. However, the film 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.
7	* AwesomeEgo: Benny spends most of his verses bragging about how awesome he is, but they're certainly entertaining to listen to and the audience can clearly see he works hard enough to back it up.
8	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During Piragua Guy's first solo, he gets into a petty WimpFight with Mister 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 riders have matching bewildered faces as he does so.
9	%%* {{Glurge}}: The most common complaint about the non-musical dialogue and general plot.
10	* HarsherInHindsight: Stagings in TheNewTens, and the subsequent film adaptation, replace a song line involving Benny wanting to play golf with UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump with a reference to professional golfer Tiger Woods. With the film release being delayed, this became somewhat bittersweet when in February 2021, Woods got into a severe single-car accident, with many speculating that it may mean the end of his professional golf career.
11	* HeartwarmingInHindsight:
12	** 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.
13	** For the original Broadway production, Daphne Rubin-Vega recorded a DJ spiel to play on Graffiti Pete's boombox at the start. For the movie, she landed one of the major roles, Daniela.
14	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Music/MarcAnthony is much more well-known for his singing career than his acting career, so when he was cast in the film, many people were surprised when he was given the role of Sonny's father, who not only wasn't in the original stage show but doesn't have a song in the movie[[note]]although Anthony himself sings a song that plays over the film's end credits[[/note]]. And even though Anthony only has one scene in the film, he perfectly portrays who Sonny's father is--a bitter, depressed [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] who wishes he could have helped his son more than he did.
15	* IKnewIt: Fans predicted that Creator/LinManuelMiranda would play Piragua Guy well before [[https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/1139564844322099201?s=21 he officially announced that he would]].
16	* MemeticMutation:
17	** "You've been shaking your ass for, like, half of the Heights!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]One of Usnavi's lines to Vanessa during the duet the movie gives them during "Blackout"; Anthony Ramos' dramatic delivery inspired viewers to recreate the whole duet themselves.[[/labelnote]]
18	** Washington's not on your side.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda is playing the Piragua Guy and Christopher Jackson is playing Mr. Softee has lead to several jokes where Alexander Hamilton is trying to outsell George Washington with his piraguas, perverting the song "Washington On Your Side".[[/labelnote]]
19	* MinorityShowGhetto: Sadly why the film adaptation spent years in DevelopmentHell. Producers faced trying to find a bankable Latino star to get the film made - with Music/JenniferLopez or {{Music/Shakira}} as the leading contenders (and the latter isn't primarily an actress).
20	* {{Moe}}: Both Sonny and Carla are adorable. Sonny's a bright, optimistic kid who's never taken seriously by the cast but remains the OnlySaneMan. Carla's a ditzy airhead who fails to catch on to the cast's sex jokes and has an {{Adorkable}} moment trying to come up with something to sing at the carnival.
21	* NightmareFuel:
22	** "Blackout". The whole neighborhood goes dark (in the middle of a heatwave, no less!) and immediately, there are robbers in the street. Panic 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 Pete are left to protect the bodega alone with only a baseball bat and some fireworks.
23	** The film 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.
24	** Even worse is the implication of the musical's theme of gentrification in this context, when mixed with the line [[DoubleMeaning "We Are Powerless"]], repeated by the residents of Washington Heights as a mantra; they're trapped in darkness, unable to truly help themselves, and unsure when anyone will bother to help them.
25	* OneSceneWonder:
26	** Lin-Manuel collaborator and friend Creator/ChristopherJackson playing an enjoyably smug Mister Softee.
27	** Acclaimed stage veteran Patrick Page, best known as [[Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark the Green Goblin]] and [[Theatre/{{Hadestown}} Hades]], actually getting to play a NiceGuy as Pike Phillips.
28	** Music/MarcAnthony makes a strong impact as Sonny's deadbeat, alcoholic father Gapo.
29	* {{Padding}}: "The Club" seems especially out of place in the movie. After the dramatic argument between Kevin and Nina, with the latter revealing the racism she suffered at college and insisting she'll drop out, the movie bizarrely has most of the characters go to a club to have a gratuitous dance sequence that puts the plot on hold. Usnavi lets Vanessa dance with another guy, and then suddenly gets jealous and [[OperationJealousy decides to try and make her jealous]] by dancing with another girl. The sequence makes more sense in the stage version, where Benny and Nina have much more friction, and she goes there to apologise for her father's actions and he drunkenly rejects her. And with Usnavi and Vanessa, in the stage version he leaves to see Abuela Claudia and they are together when the blackout happens; in the film he stays in the club and throws a ConflictBall by complaining about her "shaking your ass for half of the heights". Everything gets put on hold just for a redundant dance sequence that neither serves the story nor the characters. Especially since some of the songs Abuela Claudia missed out on (see below) were cut in favour of this one.
30	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Vanessa is much better received in the movie. Creator/MelissaBarrera's spirited performance, and her beautiful singing voice were instantly noted to be a standout. The character's new motivation of becoming a fashion designer, and [[spoiler: confirming that she and Usnavi end up together with children]] make her feel more like a fleshed out presence.
31	* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/MelissaBarrera would become better known just half a year later by playing the lead role in ''{{Film/Scream 2022}}''.
32	* SignatureSong:
33	** "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.
34	** In the film version, many fans feel that "Carnaval del Barrio" rivals or surpasses "96,000" with its fun lyrics and stirring sense of identity.
35	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
36	** Many musical fans took issue with how Benny's story was significantly cut down (an unfortunate necessity as the film runs just short of two and a half hours as it is). Even some unfamiliar with the show noted that it felt like parts of his development were missing.
37	** 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" and the mother of the family being cut. Nina's reason for dropping out of Stanford changing to racist harassment and profiling was also controversial, as many fans found it less compelling (and more {{Anvilicious}}) than her dropping out due to her own financial anxiety and perfectionism, while also underselling Stanford's real-life Latino community.
38	** 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 “Paciencia y Fe” being shifted to [[spoiler:just before her death, itself happening earlier than the play]].
39	** Some feel that the changes to Usnavi's story made his happy ending feel less happy. In the play, he never really had a chance to go back to the Dominican Republic and it was more of a pipe dream that only became possible [[spoiler: thanks to the winning lottery ticket]]. In the film, he's saved up for years to be able to afford to go back, and has bought his father's bar; making it look like [[spoiler: he had to give up a dream he had worked so hard for to stay in New York.]]
40	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Benny's hoping to be rich enough to play golf with UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump. When the play premiered in 2005, Trump was more widely regarded as an eccentric billionaire, but his highly controversial 2017-2021 presidency drastically altered public perception of him, thus clearly establishing a divide between his depiction then and his reputation now. The film adaptation alters the line to reference Tiger Woods.
41	* ValuesDissonance: Cultural example. Some fans were baffled by moving "Carnaval del Barrio" to happening after [[spoiler: Abuela Claudia's death, feeling it jarring that they would have a party so soon after their matriarch dies]]. Others pointed out that it's actually quite apt from a cultural point of view; many Latino cultures [[spoiler: honour the dead by singing and dancing, as a celebration of their life]].
42	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: "Blackout" is one of the standup numbers for the show.
43	** In the stage show, Sonny and Graffiti Pete lighting fireworks to protect the bodega are given the appropriate pyrotechnics while keeping the actors' safety in mind. You then have the lights flashing in different colors.
44	** The movie has a beautiful shot of a breakdancer throwing down with a bunch of sparklers in the middle of the power outage. He juggles them with ''his feet'' while the people dance.
45	* 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/BlackPanther2018'' was for America's Black community and ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'' was for the Asian community. Enthusiastic reviews on social media prove that they mostly succeeded, except for the [[AcclaimedFlop low viewership]].

Context YMMV / InTheHeights