2012 Spiderman Sings in Tick, Tick Boom!
Released on Nov. 12 2021, the Netflix original movie “Tick, Tick…Boom!” starring Andrew Garfield, who played Spiderman in 2012, musically shocked and inspired audiences around the world. With director Lin Manuel Miranda, songwriter of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” as well as musical performances by Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, and Robert de Jesus, the movie has been nominated for 12 awards including Critics’ Choice Award for Best Picture and Satellite Award for Best Sound.
The movie is based on Jonathan Larson, a playwright who created the revolutionary Broadway musical “Rent”, who tragically died at the age of thirty five from an aortic aneurysm caused by his long fight with Marfan Syndrome, a disease that affects connective tissue in the body. Although few songs were added by Lin Manuel Miranda in the Netflix original, most of the songs were written by Larson, who performed the songs in 1992 in his own rock-monologue that remarked on his own struggles during the year of 1990.
Miranda talked to people who knew Larson in order to accurately depict his character in the auto-biographical film which is made clear in the way that audiences could feel an accurate representation of a struggling writer. Given the fact that this movie is Miranda’s director’s debut and surrounding the stigma of Netflix original movies, I’d say that this musical blew my expectations out of the water.
Garfield paid perfect homage to Larson, despite this being outside of his typical territory.. In interviews, Garfield reflects on the fact that this is his fist musically-focussed role, with having to perform 10 songs in the film where he is the lead vocalist. Though this is his first singing role, audiences such as myself were pleasantly surprised with his exquisite performance, specifically regarding his improv performance titled “Boho Days”. In the song, improvised by Garfield, he sings a jingle during a house party that remarks on the different roommates he has had over the years as well as his intricate layout of his apartment; which is no easy task considering Garfield is new to the musical world.
Although “Tick, Tick…Boom!” may not appeal to those who do not enjoy musicals, as a musical lover, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer creativity and beautiful visual representations of Larson’s life. Though Miranda’s work in the film surely deserved an overflow of recognition, it was Andrew Garfield’s performance in the movie that truly brought the musical to the, in my opinion, Academy Award-Winning extent.
