*TICK, TICK... BOOM!* was a FASCINATING, EMOTIONAL true story!!!! (Movie Reaction/Commentary)

[@ReelTimeYT]

FULL WATCHALONG TO THIS MOVIE: www.patreon.com/posts/tick-tick-boom-116273388 EARLY ACCESS MOVIE REACTIONS: 27 DRESSES: www.patreon.com/posts/27-dresses-2008-116726568 THE HOLDOVERS: www.patreon.com/c/ReelTimeYT

[@liammcfarlane13]

The way he constantly talks about feeling like he was running out of time and he was. The gut punch of him putting everything into a show only for it to not get picked up and then when he finally has something huge he never gets to see it, such a devastating story overall

[@blahblahblahblah729]

I mean, he did get to see the opening night of Rent, and got a standing ovation. He didn't see all the success it was, but at least he got the first praise

[@nbarrio]

@@blahblahblahblah729 And he got his dream of beeing in the New York Times since he was interviewed a few hours before he died. He never saw it, but at least he knew it was going to be published!

[@ChronicGoblinQueen]

​@@blahblahblahblah729 He died the day before the first Broadway show

[@cheyennewilliams1066]

The way they were watching tick tick boom but didn't know they were listening to tick tick boom lmao 😅

[@TheLoonyLovebad1]

Apparently he went to the doctor a few days before he died because he was having chest pains, and the doctor told him it was just stress because his show as about to open and they did nothing about it. Makes me so incredibly upset. The man who Michael’s character is based on is actually still alive, crazy he lived and Jonathan didn’t. He has seen the movie and thought it was very true to Jonathan, as did Jonathan’s sister. Fun fact: this film came out shortly before Stephen Sondheim died. They sent him a rough cut of the film. He didn’t think the voicemail at the end sounded like what he would say, so he asked if he could write a new script for it. They asked if he would just record it himself. So the voicemail at the end is actually Sondheim’s voice. He’s a very famous musical theater writer, some of his shows are Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Company, Merrily We Roll Along, and Sunday in the Park with George. Also, rob is right about the “Sunday” scene. Everyone in that number are famous Broadway actors, and it was killing me that you guys didn’t recognize a single one lmao

[@nbarrio]

He went several times to the hospital the days before 😢

[@reneebush2399]

@@TheLoonyLovebad1 2 hospital trips and not one test that would have diagnosed him. Of course he didn’t have insurance. I wonder why the test weren’t done?

[@marianne5055]

Also Stephen Sondheim was one of the greatest composers of all time. He did Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, West Side Story, Company, Sunday in the Park with George (which Sunday in this movie pays homage to) and plenty others. There was actually a beautiful tribute to him at the Grammys where Rachel Zegler, Cynthia Erivio, Leslie Odom Jr and Ben Platt did a medley of his songs if you wanted to check it out.

[@sushi_donut]

The day Sondheim died, I was playing Sunday in the car and crying quietly to myself. Literally moments later, I pulled up to a stoplight and heard someone else playing Sunday in their car. It was surreal, and I started crying AGAIN 😅😅😭

[@summermetcalfe1628]

i was so shocked that they didn’t know him! he has a whole theatre named after him

[@kathyastrom1315]

In the early 2010s, Chicago had a tribute weekend for Sondheim in Millenium Park where various small groups of performers were scattered all around the park singing songs from his work, capped off with big concerts at the main stage. It was wonderful!

[@legendaccount3247]

The goddamn Shakespeare of musical theatre. Everything that man touched turned to absolute gold

[@tatianaatkova9999]

Andrew’s mom died just couple weeks before shooting began and he dedicated this performance to her You can see he ripped his heart out

[@user-qx6ri2bf4o]

I didn´t know this you got me crying

[@charmedoriginal5923]

Even though Rob has seen "Rent" before we NEED a "RENT" reaction very soon.

[@stephanieb6113]

I second this!

[@Maeve1667]

I agree

[@KrystalAnn0688]

Yes please!

[@SubKween]

This scene had several Broadway stars as patrons in the diner, including some of the original cast from Rent. 16:51

[@sc-wq2tu]

andrew got a bunch of nominations for this performance and it’s so deserving! you can feel he put his heart into it

[@videohistory722]

He should've won. He was robbed that year.

[@hellojilly]

the last song makes me cry every time… breaks my heart Jonathan never got to see his work and the impact he had on musical theatre. Andrew did phenomenal.

[@kamccomb16]

So literally everyone in the Sunday Brunch number is a Broadway legend in some capacity

[@Nella.k]

I came here to say the same thing!!

[@KirkLinnDeGrassi]

41:26 the empty seat was a traditional seat left open for the theatre people who had passed during the HIV pandemic. This empty seat is seen in Rent during the scene in the film the second time they are at the Life Support Meeting. Many Gay Choruses have a seat that is blocked off still to this day

[@MrBlooperton]

She knew he was gonna turn their fight into a song because she could feel him playing piano on her back when they hugged

[@moramorandobianchi7093]

I actually like that they say he died right at the beginning of the movie, because it’s not treated as a shock factor. It’s not that they make you connect with a character and then it happens, because he was a real person and the point of the movie isn’t that he died but how he lived. Still, I already knew it because I’m a Rent fan too, but it broke me all the same. The fact that he had all that survivor’s guilt seeing a lot of his friends die and be sick (like Mark in Rent) and then it turns out he died young too, it goes to show you never know what’s going to happen

[@faithrolfes4443]

There's a song from the original "Tick, Tick... Boom" called "Green Green Dress" between Susan and Jonathan that was filmed for the movie but didn't make the final cut. The deleted scene is available to watch on KZbin, though. I think y'all should watch it. It's a really cute and fun song and definitely one of my favorites in the musical.

[@tori-ding6819]

SUUUUCH an underrated film. Andrew Garfield learned to sing just for this role 🥲

[@nisehenso]

The scene with Michael and jon is crazy because Michael is still alive today and jon only had 5 years left at the time

[@rachelz57]

as someone who's been a fan of jonathan's for over 15 years, i bawled my eyes out during the hiv reveal scene because i knew that jonathan only had five years left, and matt (michael) would go on to carry jon's legacy without his best friend. It's such a heartbreaking scene even without the real world context, but knowing really digs the knife deeper. The format of the movie can be really confusing if you aren't familiar with stage play, but ttb was originally a one man act jonathan put on before rent, but it got turned into a 3 person musical in 2001. I highly recommend listening to the original broadway recording. raúl esparza (jonathan) is an amazing performer!

[@nbarrio]

Yes! Raúl is simply great!

[@daniellebelisle2446]

When Rob said “I’m not familiar” in reference to Stephen Sondheim, I was like omg please get familiar with him my friend!

[@selinafutrell4485]

Love that you all did this movie. The voicemail from Stephen Sondheim is the actual voicemail he left for Jonathan Larson. Lots of easter eggs in this movie.

[@frannymcb_]

It's not the original voicemail, but it is Sondheim :) Lin-Manuel was able to get him to recreate it for the movie

[@AugustaLovely]

It's not the original voicemail. Lin wrote a draft of the message for the movie. He sent it to Sondheim. Sondheim said it didn't sound like something he would say so he recorded a message that he would have left. They used the actual recording instead of having the actor dub it. It ended up being one of Sondheim's last film cameos (the other being Knives Out 2). Sondheim did give Johnathan Larson advice though. Sondheim would often mentor songwriters on Broadway (including Lin).

[@camilaniramx]

andrew was robbed of his oscar

[@nbarrio]

Indeed!

[@celestinebuendia]

Them not knowing that the framing device of the movie Tick Tick Boom was an adaptation of his stage musical Tick Tick Boom was really crazy. “I wonder what show they keep cutting back to?” 😭

[@lonelylittledot]

Actually, the bittersweet irony is that the real-life Michael (Jonathan's friend who inspired Michael's character), despite being HIV-positive, is still alive today. The "sick friend" has outlived Jon by three decades.

[@daytonnicholson4879]

At its core, this is a story about what we sacrifice for the sake of our art. All artists have to make the choice about what's enough for them. It can hurt, and it can be impossible sometimes, but you have to decide how much you want it. That's what Jon struggles with throughout this entire show.

[@TES-541]

I'm not a huge musical dude but this is the best movie in the world. When it came out I watched it over and over.

[@RonHeartsMe]

Aaaaah watch Rent please! It’s my absolute favorite musical and the movie is what got me to fall in love with musicals back in high school.

[@danishangold6076]

What's really cool about this movie is that it sort of does actually tell the story of Rent, by showing the failure that he needed to have to become inspired again to do it. After all of that, to never get to relish and enjoy his success, is heartbreaking.

[@SoCalDogDad]

Sunday was based on the song Sunday from Sunday in the Park with George by Sondheim. Rob was spot on when he said the cast was famous Broadway people. That song with filled with Broadway icons. Too many to name. Including three from the original company of Rent (the three standing outside the diner).

[@dearjoan]

I’ll NEVER get over the injustice of Andrew loosing his Oscar to Will Smith. Will never should have won. I was lucky to see the original RENT on Broadway a couple of times and the cast would dedicate each performance to Jon before they started. The 3 “bums” in the diner scene are from the original RENT cast (among other really famous broadway stars, you were right!) and you can actually hear Jon play the beginning of ONE SONG GLORY on his keyboard in one of the scenes. So you heard the beginning of him starting RENT. And YES, when Susan is wearing that green dress on the rooftop there WAS a song that followed Lin Manuel Miranda cut from the movie, were Jon and Susan are actually dancing too. It’s called GREEN GREEN DRESS and you can find it on KZbin. It’s so good!

[@beckylang91]

@11:55 hurts my soul whenever someone doesn’t know Stephen Sondheim

[@nbarrio]

Also: the song Why was recorded live quite at the beginning in the first weeks in just 2 takes. I think they even used the first take. Crazy!!! He not only learned to sing for the movie, but also to play the piano. What a commitment!!

[@gigi-ij1hk]

Virtually everyone with a speaking role in this movie, plus everyone in the diner scene, is well-known to Broadway fans. This was Lin-Manuel Miranda's first time directing a film and of course people in the business love him so they agreed to do the movie for what I'm sure was very little money.

[@nbarrio]

@@gigi-ij1hk and: it was filmed during the covid lockdown . LLM said, most of the people he asked were just thrilled to have a reason to get put of the house an do someting.

[@nbarrio]

This is one of my favourite movies from the last years and for me Andrew's best performance (although he is ALWAYS top game). Jon's appartment looks exactly the same as the real one. There is a video of his appartment he did for an insurance and they recreated every single detail. They managed to get an original picture which hang there too. LLM put so much love in this!!! He loves Rent very much and always says, there would be not Hamilton, without Rent.

[@terrylewis_]

*LOVE* this movie. Andrew Garfield is so talented. When I saw the "Sunday" song in the diner I bawled like a baby. So many cameos from greats. "Is This Real Life" also gives me goosebumps.

[@tuxedomask4masc]

Can yall do rent next 😭

[@marianne5055]

I want Rocketman!

[@kathyastrom1315]

As a professional singer, Karessa knows how to sight-read music. He gave her enough time before the show started to figure out her performance.

[@theycallmeivy]

zuff never seeing hsm just made my jaw drop

[@justlike1olivia]

i was obsessed with the entire soundtrack for at least an entire year after i saw the movie

[@SubKween]

Stephen Sondheim was the composer that you hadn't heard of played by Bradley Whitford. He did Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and West Side Story.

[@Vertigotheatre1]

Musical theatre people working on a new show often get songs handed to them last minute to put in the show that night. Many many many musical theatre ICONS (many who knew him) are in this film. Stephen Sondhiem is a musical theatre god, he wrote Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and many many many others. He has a Broadway theatre named after him. Larson was every creative person at the time, fighting to be heard whilst trying to understand life. Rent came after Supurbia and Tick Tick Boom.

[@reneebush2399]

Them being surprised by her singing it with such short notice caught me off guard. If you can’t do that in musical theatre you others certainly will.

[@caleyhanse1364]

23:13 she can feel him start to mimic playing the piano 😂 "she just really knows him"

[@videohistory722]

I didn't truly appreciate this movie until the end. Because, mistakenly, I thought this was going to be about the creative process behind making Rent. But not only was I wrong, it turned out to be the story of the thing he had to do first so he COULD make Rent. You get what I'm trying to say?

[@AntoniyaGulston]

Thank you guys so much for reacting to this movie. This was my fav movie the year it came out, he deserved to win Academy for this performance. This movie made me cry and also think about my life as I'm about to turn 30 in January. More Andrew movies please. His acting is incredible .

[@nbarrio]

@@AntoniyaGulston oh yes, please!! He is ALWAYS incredible

[@marianne5055]

FINALLY! I have been eagerly waiting for this reaction ever since you posted about it. I was so obsessed with this soundtrack that Andrew Garfield made my top 5 artists for my Spotify wrapped that year! I hope to see more musical reactions too.

[@marianne5055]

Also if you want more Andrew Garfield - I would consider Silence.

[@nbarrio]

@@marianne5055 he was in mine too that year 🙈

[@nbarrio]

@@marianne5055 Yes!!! On my list it is number 2 of Andrew's performances and such a great movie!

[@b3z3jm3nny]

36:43 no the real life Michael (Matt O'Grady) is still alive!!

[@nbarrio]

YES!! "Michael has to have it all. His luck will never end..." ❤

[@videohistory722]

That moment when you realize all the ticking was never about him making the deadline for his musical, it was about how his life expectancy was coming due sooner than expected. Or, alternatively: how we got to see all his blood, sweat and effort, only to have the timer suddenly go off right when we stopped listening for it.

[@KirkLinnDeGrassi]

Here’s the mindblower Andrew Learned in a year how to sing for this role.

[@maggierappa417]

This movie is sooo fantastic. I think one of my favorite things was my freshmen year theater professor telling us how accurate the actor portraying Stephen Sondheim was. He kept talking about how it felt like Stephen Sondheim was on screen, and then to actually learn it was him on the voicemail. It’s also just heartbreaking to hear immediately at the start that Jonathan dies, but you spend the entire movie with him only to get that punch again at the end

[@sallyscrive]

As a strugglin' writer, this story is a open wound. It's beautiful and true and hurting. Thank you for sharing and reacting ❤

[@hugoomarianne9234]

Andrew Garfield got ROBBED that year at the Oscars. He was phenomenal in that movie.

[@nbarrio]

Yes, he was. Without any doubt. But then: he also was in the past. Hacksaw Ridge was phenomenal! And he didn't even get a nomination for Silence or The Social Network. Both much deserved 😢

[@reneebush2399]

Garfield has become the next “when will he finally win one” nominee.

[@hon3ychalla]

Robs costco guys “boom” at 2:26 lmao

[@onetwothree4665]

they’re singing happy birthday 😃 you just want to lay down and cry 😢

[@MarissaCooperButPoor]

Come to your senses is such a beautiful song, it made me want to watch the movie

[@oliviarose5030]

Yay! There aren’t nearly as many reactions to this as there should be!

[@ddmaul]

Yes, all the customers at the diner for the "Sunday" scene were in fact quite famous stars of the musical theater, some of them outright legends. The entire scene is a gift to fans of musical theater. The song itself is an homage to the song "Sunday," from the Sondheim musical "Sunday in the Park With George." The woman who he walks outside to greet is Bernadette Peters, a Broadway LEGEND, who starred in the original production of "Sunday in the Park With George," AND she's wearing the same hat (which is significant in the musical) that she wore in the original production. Then you realize the scene is one of the most influential Broadway composers of today - Lin Manuel Miranda - paying homage to one of the most influential Broadway composers of the generation that came before him - Jonathan Larson - paying homage to one of the most influential Broadway composers of all time - Stephen Sondheim. Knocked me out the first time I saw it. I had zero idea it was coming. Still gives me chills.

[@pchygrl17]

“Rent” actually is a great Christmas/New Years’ Eve watch, juuust saying 😊

[@anastasiamaharaj8627]

Ahh Andrew just did such an amazing job

[@crossthestars]

Such a good movie! Andrew Garfield is amazing! It’s hard for me not to cry by the time it gets to the last song. Jonathan Larson was brilliant, and I’m so glad he left us with this version of his story to remember him by.

[@oliviarose5030]

As I recall, the person the best friend is modeled after, is actually still alive.

[@nbarrio]

Yes. Matt O'Grady is still alive

[@stephaniel2850]

I've had a massive attachment to Tick, Tick...Boom! since my RENT obsession days back in high school, and it makes me so incredibly happy a. that it meant so much to Lin-Manuel Miranda to and that he did such a brilliant job adapting it into a movie and b. that said movie can now reach such a wider audience 🧡 But yeah, watching this reaction does make me wonder if the context is a little confusing for people who know nothing about Jonathan's story going it 😅It's such a rare case, because Tick, Tick...Boom! was really just a little autobiographical one man show that Jonathan had made about a particular snapshot in time as he'd been trying to get Superbia made, before he ever even made RENT. And I bet it probably would have remained in relative obscurity were it not for the fact that he tragically died before he could see RENT's incredible success, and friends of his wanted to share TTB with the world as well so they reworked the one-man format into a more fleshed-out show for three people. So I can see how, for people coming in just knowing RENT, it would be easy to think it's a "the making of RENT" type deal or something. But it ended up being something even more special. Also almost eerily prescient the way so much of his existential crisis he was writing about in TTB was the feeling of running out of time, when he couldn't have known how short his life would end up being 💔But, even if he didn't survive to see it, there's beauty in the fact that he really did achieve everything he'd set out to! He really did change the face of musical theater, in a way that we're still directly seeing to this day.

[@patiencekillz]

my musical theater heart deflated a tiny bit when they said they didn’t know who sondheim was

[@katiebain9328]

I’m begging you guys to please watch Wicked when it comes out, and to watch Rent! It soooo good

[@oliviarivera3680]

Stephen Sondheim is THE king of Broadway composers. He was a modern Shakespeare. A bunch of his musicals have been filmed on the stage so I recommend checking them out instead of the movie versions to get the original magic. Company, Sweeney Todd, into the woods, Sunday in the park with George.

[@rhiannas.9151]

if you liked whiplash, “sound of metal” is probably another drummer/music based movie i think you guys would really enjoy. a rollercoaster of emotions

[@JackieWarner13]

Omg yay a top fave movie musical of mine! Still annoyed Andrew didn't win Oscar for this. The name Roger is for Roger Bart(who is in the background of a diner scene) they were great friends & Rodger was his backing singer. Rodger has been in Desperate Housewives, Revenge, The Producers(on stage & the movie musical), singing voice for Disneys Hercules, currently on broadway as Doc in Back To The Future, he's in a great SVU ep too just to name a few things he's been in. Also Stephen Sondheim passed around the time this was released & also the voice message was actually from him.

[@manzijoel5224]

MY greatest takeaway rn is that y'all need to WATCH RENT!!!!!

[@pchygrl17]

YES!!!!

[@user-qx6ri2bf4o]

Where can I watch rent?

[@wordywolf3]

ngl, i had a VISCERAL reaction to you guys not knowing who stephen sondheim is, lol

[@reneebush2399]

Always. At least some of those people tend to be familiar with some of his work.

[@breannabug3033]

Yes dude this is my favorite movie of all time, I literally watched in 3 times in one day when it came out😭😭

[@victoriabrito5417]

7:29 totally get you, Zuff!! the moment i heard boho day i knew it'd be my favorite for the rest of the movie (but louder than words is a close second)

[@YenellyT]

The daughter of the woman who did makeup for this movie was one of my aftercare kids haha! When she told me her mom was involved I tried to act cool

[@solarianess]

this is one of my favorites of all time! i'm so happy to see you watch this

[@YenellyT]

Sunday brunch is my favorite in this movie! So many broadway icons in one song. If you watched hamilton and in the heights you would recognize at least 5! So so cool

[@dragonreader3817]

Love this one. I do feel like this is one of the few movies you need to read the synopsis to understand it.

[@crossthestars]

Have y’all seen The Social Network? Andrew Garfield has one of my favorite scenes of all time.

[@nbarrio]

You better lawyer up, asshole!, I guess 😂

[@julialeslie692]

17:06 actually you can see André de Shields who has one an Emmy, Grammy, and Tony. I know him best as the original Hermes in Hadestown 🥰

[@sharonshaw6328]

Holy crap I have been waiting for you to react to this movie!!!!

[@EllieMontage]

You guys should really check out Chicago.

[@nbarrio]

And: you should watch the original videos from Tick, tick, BOOM performed by Jon Larson himself (with Rogert Bart in the background). There you can appreciate even more, what Andrew did, bringing him "back to live"

[@moniqueparker7284]

I would love to see you guys react to Rent! It's honestly one of my favourite musicals

[@stephaniel2850]

I really need there to be more RENT reactions (preferably of the 2008 stage musical pro shot!) - it feels so woefully underrated these days! It truly cannot be overstated just how much it did change the face of musical theater for generations to come, and I wonder if a lot of younger theater fans who didn't grow up on it don't realize that as much. Prior to RENT, it's not that there had not been rock musicals before - there had - but Broadway in the 80s and early 90s was dominated by the big grandiose megamusicals a la Phantom, Cats, Les Mis, etc., and its audience was largely rich, probably mostly white older adults. RENT completely changed that. From the abundance of shows made for and appealing to young people, to the lottery and rush systems still in place to this day that RENT started that allow people to access lower cost tickets... it truly was revolutionary! And something about Jonathan's music just speaks to me on such a deep level - I'll always love it so, so much 🧡

[@Henry_CP]

Everyone in the Sunday scene is a famous musical theatre person and Lin Manuel Miranda is in there as well

[@emilyarmstrong7699]

I’m so glad you guys reacted to this! To get familiar with the genius of Sondheim you guys should watch the filmed stage version of Into the Woods with Bernadette Peters - not the movie version. That is a good intro to Sondheim’s genius 😊

[@emmynovaaaa]

Whoever voted for this one-THANK YOUU!!

[@reneebush2399]

Same!

[@elliegd]

So many Broadway legends in Sunday

[@gigin6534]

Damn, you guys were completely missing every single point made by the story 😂😂

[@pchygrl17]

Bradley Whitford plays Sondheim. He was in Get Out, the tv show The West Wing and many other great projects

[@AudsVids]

Andrew was also amazing in Under The Banner of Heaven. Not the funnest watch because it's based on a real murder but so many strong performances.

[@nbarrio]

Yes. Incredible work!

[@Croissantsss]

I’ve never clicked on a video so fast lol! I thought people had forgotten about this movie

[@pchygrl17]

Please watch Rent!!!! My all-time favorite! 😍😍😍

[@isaiahnichols3597]

Since yall aren’t too aware of Stephen Sondheim, I suggest putting “Into The Woods” on the list!!! Loved this reaction as always.

[@diptanshusingh1813]

My fav musical

[@mrs.wonder1481]

you guys should watch Chicago for your next musical! It's my favorite along with tick tick boom!

[@bura19]

Another Andrew Garfield great is Hacksaw Ridge. His performance was phenomenol and it's based on a true story.

[@YenellyT]

I didn't know he was dead when I wathced the movie, and I guess I didn;t catch the "we lost him" line. I was shocked at the end

[@edgarcastellanos258]

Im so glad that you guys react to Tick tick boom! I saw this fot the first time in November, and I was thinking that it would be a great move that you could react hehehe The hole scene of the Dinner its full of cameos. The song its my least favorite but the scene is one of my favs hahaha If you're planning to react to more musicals, you should watch "Hamilton" or "In the heights". Both were created by Lin Manuel Miranda (the guy who direct Tick tick boom!). Hes just insane...

[@vote4ghosts]

There is an AMAZING Andrew Garfield performance in the movie "Silence" by Martin Scorsese. He deserved an Oscar!

[@filmingwithyazz4185]

this soundtrack is one of the only soundtracks i listen to entirely and love. I think its better than Rent and this mocie makes me cry every time.

[@alexavmtz]

Such a beautiful movieeeee

[@christinam4899]

my favorite reactors watching my favorite movie??? omfg

[@loriinmedicine]

@19:03 now bryce...

[@ulricaandrae4381]

"BOY A" (2007) is Andrew Garfield's debut movie and is really really good! Hope you watch it someday.