‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ movie review: The perfect tribute to a musical genius

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ is a musical about a man writing a musical. If you are interested in Broadway, the name Jonathan David Larson would be a familiar ring to your ears. In the movie set in 1990s New York, the dream city for a theater wannabe, Larson–played with kinetic desperation by Andrew Garfield–struggles to craft a successful career out of his passion for musical theater. 

The movie is an adaptation of Larson’s semi-autobiographical piece ‘tick, tick… BOOM!’ (1990) about a young composer determined to make something great out of his youth as the clock tick-tocks to his 30th birthday. It takes us back to the time Larson was working on ‘Superbia’, a dystopian, futuristic sci-fi musical which he thought was his big break. 

As the movie progresses, we find the protagonist juggling between preparing for his first public presentation of ‘Superbia’ in front of NYC’s finest producers, his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) asking if she should accept a job away in the Berkshires, and his best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús) of 22 years being diagnosed with AIDS, a common cause of death at the time. With the world turned into a ticking time bomb, Larson struggles to manage all this emotional and physical bagagge simultaneously in the hope of not ‘blowing up’ his career and relationships. 

Working at a SoHo diner as he nears the age of 30–with an agent (Judith Light) who doesn’t return his calls and a mentor, Stephen Sondheim (played by Bradley Whitford) who believes and supports his talent–Garfield puts up a compassionate performance and displays spectacular musical shows as he full-heartedly morphs into the character of Jon. 

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His is a masterful portrayal of the desperation and dedication of a theatrical writer–incredibly charming and always looking out for creative inspiration but also on the verge of exhaustion in a secluded world. Though the fast-paced movie starts cheerful at the beginning, it gradually reveals Larson’s vainer and more helpless side. The contrast between the merry and melancholic is perfectly captured in the musical number ‘Why’, when Garfield travels back in time. 

Anyone familiar with Jonathan Larson’s life would know this is a heart-wrenching musical. The hero doesn’t get a happy ending. Larson passed away, aged 35, the night before the off-Broadway preview of his rock musical Rent (1996), and never got to experience his own success. Interestingly, when he started writing ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ he was still lamenting the rejection of Superbia, contemplating the passage of time when he had no idea his own life would end in a few years. This is where, in the movie, director Miranda uses his hindsight to open up new pathways, when Jon thought it was a dead end.

‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ isn’t about success and failure but about the peaks and pitfalls that accompany the pursuit of your passion. Packed with energetic and poignant musical pieces that unfold in a solemn yet realistic storyline, the mood in this musical is constantly changing. It is a tribute and a token of gratitude to, as Larson puts it, a diminishing species – writers and composers of musical theaters. It also serves as a reminder that entering your 30s doesn’t necessarily mean you are past your best.    

Tick, Tick... Boom!

Actors: Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesús
Genre: musical, biography, drama 
Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes 
Rating: 4 stars