On November 12, 2021, Tick Tick Boom premiered on Netflix. Tick Tick Boom is a musical that was originally written by Johnathan Larson. The story revolves around Larson’s life as a struggling composer who deals with financial, relationship, and creative issues,  while trying to start and finish his workshop for a musical he wrote called Superbia. Larson was the man behind the famous Broadway musical Rent. He wrote Rent after Superbia. The director of this movie was none other than Lin Manuel Miranda, the man behind Hamilton, another hit Broadway musical. 

This musically genius film starred Andrew Garfield, who is well known for being Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Garfield starred as Johnathan Larson. Garfield truly embraced his character and had an amazing singing voice. Alongside him was Alexandra Shipp, who played Susan Wilson, and Vanessa Hudgens, who played Karessa Johnson. Everyone in the cast was remarkable and it wasn’t hard to see that they connected with their characters through their own musical experiences.

The set of the movie was amazing. Everything ranging from the lighting to the colors was perfect for representing New York in the 90s. The apartment that Garfield’s character resided in looked like a writer/musician’s room. It appeared messy with creative madness. Garfield’s hardships accurately capture the reality of living in New York without a steady and well-paying job. The costumes added a realistic touch as well, as Garfield’s character seemed to wear the same clothes for days. The clothes were nothing too elegant or extreme for a New Yorker’s taste. Some of Garfield’s clothes seemed worn for years, showing how little money he spent on his clothes to put his money into necessities, such as his musical or buying food.

The music and the songs were very well written and produced. They went along with the plot of the story perfectly and were very catchy. The music was a blend of rock and musical theatre. It ended up creating a perfect harmony between the two genres. It was evident that a lot of time, effort, work, and love was put into the songs. They were well performed and the actors successfully captured and presented the emotions the songs were meant to put forward. 

Overall this movie has outstanding actors, perfect depictions of reality in a renowned place, costumes that are ideal representations of the setting and time of the movie, and last but not least, brilliant songs woven throughout the story. A big takeaway from this movie would have to be that it’s ok to be creative and struggling because one day it might pay off.