I saw the movie while I was home for Thanksgiving last week. I was not impressed. I've seen the musical on Broadway and on tour a few times, and I've had the OBC recording for years, seen the OBC 5 year reunion concert, etc, etc. The movie just wasn't what it could/should have been. Chris Columbus was flat-out the wrong choice for director. They cut songs out that shouldn't have been ("Halloween" anyone? "Contact," and the "Voice Mails" I think are more important than they give them credit for...all but one were nixed).
Adam Pascal was pretty bad as Roger. I've seen him in several Broadway shows, and I enjoy his original music, but he's not a particularly good actor. He was surprisingly good in Cabaret, so I was expecting more from him here.
And since when is Collins a fall-down drunk? I certainly don't expect (and I absolutely don't want) any of them to be straight laced prudes, but the fact they took his "to marijuana" line and the fact that he brought some Stoli for Mark and Roger on Christmas as a cue to make him continually stoned and/or drunk off his ass got tiresome.
And Joanne/Maureen's committment ceremony? I don't think so. I guess since they cut out Joanne's parents' voice mail, they felt they didn't need to acknowledge that the chances that her wealthy, lawyer parents would probably be less than thrilled with the fact that their daughter is off with Maureen, the trashy femme performance artist. "Sure honey, bring your new girlfriend (in her leather pants) to have your lesbian committment ceremony at our country club." Now don't take this the wrong way. I have ZERO issues with Maureen and Joanne being a couple. Though I do have a HUGE problem with her parents being so inexplicably fine with it. IMHO, it just wouldn't have happened. (Same goes w/ Collins being allowed to stay w/ Angel in his hospital room, circa 1980-whatever...As far as I could tell, it would be more like "you're not 'family,' get the hell out.")
They sanitized this movie WAY too much. They should have gone w/ the R rating, and left some semblance of the grittiness that should have been there in tact.
Sorry if this offends, since most of the people here seemed to love it. I just was not as impressed.
Oh, and whoever said Fredi Walker was offered but had to pull out because she was pregnant. I think that was Daphne Rubin-Vega (original Mimi) who just had a baby a year or so ago. As far as I know, Fredi (though I suppose she could have had a baby as well) was living in Barbados and had little interest in making a delve back into show business. Fine by me, as I rather enjoyed Tracie Thoms (I saw her on Broadway in Drowning Crow w/ Alfre Woodard and Anthony Mackie, and she was absolutely wonderful).