Rent

Jonathan Larson's hit musical makes a slightly less than fabulous transition from stage to screen in this pedestrian adaptation by director Chris Columbus. Loosely based on La Bohème and set in New York's East Village at the tail end of the 1980s, it has a bunch of young bohemians variously battling Aids, attempting to establish artsy careers and falling in and out of love. The songs are of variable quality but are all energetically performed by a likeable young cast that includes Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson and Taye Diggs. One slight problem is that it's almost impossible to watch some of the routines without thinking of Matt Stone and Trey Parker's ruthless mickey-take Everyone Has Aids in their Team America: World Police. In the end, whether you enjoy this lightweight offering will depend on the level of nostalgia that you're willing to tolerate from the late 1980s.