Parents' Guide to

In the Heights

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Joyous, touching musical has some innuendo, language.

Movie PG-13 2021 143 minutes
In the Heights Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 10+

Based on 12 parent reviews

Leslie H.
Leslie H. Parent
May 31, 2022
age 12+
malvarez3
malvarez3 Parent of 10 and 10-year-old
January 15, 2022
age 10+
See all 12 parent reviews

What's the Story?

IN THE HEIGHTS is the big-screen version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first Tony Award-winning musical, which tells the story of a group of friends living in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan. It's structured as a flashback, with bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) telling a bunch of kids about the corner where he lived and ran his store. On the hottest day of the summer, he decides to close his bodega and buy the place on the beach where he and his late father spent the "best days of his life" in the Dominican Republic. Then he finds out that someone has bought a $96,000-winning lottery ticket at his store, and everyone starts to wonder about what they'd do with the money. Usnavi's friends and neighbors include Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), whose beauty salon is about to move to the Bronx because of gentrification, and Benny (Corey Hawkins), who works as a car-service dispatcher and eagerly awaits the arrival of his boss's (Jimmy Smits) daughter, Nina (Leslie Grace), who just finished her first year at Stanford. There's also Usnavi's lifelong crush, Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), a stylist at Daniela's who dreams of moving to the West Village and working in the fashion industry, and Cuban American matriarch Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz, reprising her Broadway role), who cooks for and looks after everyone, especially Usnavi and his younger cousin, Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV). Miranda appears as the local piragua seller, who walks around peddling the flavored shaved ice from a cart.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12):
Kids say (52):

Director Jon M. Chu's adaptation of Miranda's first deeply personal Broadway musical is a jubilant, powerful tribute to the robust lives, loves, and dreams of a beloved neighborhood. Hamilton veteran Ramos is brilliantly cast as Usnavi (a role Miranda originated on Broadway), who's torn between fulfilling his father's dreams in the Dominican Republic and continuing to build a life in the United States. The entire ensemble is wonderful, from the young Diaz as Usnavi's clever cousin to the gorgeous, talented Barrera as Vanessa. Hawkins and Grace share a striking chemistry as former couple with lingering feelings Benny and Nina; Grace, in particular, authentically conveys the struggles of first-generation college students who attend elite institutions. Nina's first song, "Breathe," is a touching commentary on the burden of being the "star" who's supposed to make it big. The cast benefits tremendously from the presence of Merediz as Abuela Claudia, a character it's difficult to imagine anyone else playing. And the trio of beauty salon stylists (Rubin-Vega, Brooklyn 99 star Stephanie Beatriz, and Orange Is the New Black's Dascha Polanco) are hilarious as the musical's gossipy chorus.

Hamilfans will happily recognize LMM's signature style in all of the songs: They're boisterous, moving, and crowd-pleasingly catchy. "96,000" is an amusing reverie on the myriad ways the characters would spend the loot, and "Paciencia and Fe" is Abuela Claudia's beautiful personal narrative about her mother's favorite saying ("patience and faith"). Marc Anthony, who has a small but pivotal role as Sonny's father/Usnavi's uncle, lends his voice for the soundtrack's original track, "Home All Summer," which plays over the credits. In the same way that Chu's book-to-screen adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians amplified and elevated the talents of East Asian (and diaspora) characters/actors, In the Heights revolves around New York City's Latino population, albeit with a focus on light-skinned Latinos despite Washington Heights' large Afro-Latino population. Usnavi is Dominican, the Rosarios are Puerto Rican, Abuela Claudia is Cuban, and the rest of the characters represent various Latin American cultures. The "Carnaval del Barrio" number -- which is reminiscent of West Side Story's "America" -- is a triumphant reminder of the neighborhood's working-class immigrants united in a new homeland.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the popularity of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musicals, and why Hamilton and In the Heights seem to strike a chord with large audiences -- even those who often aren't into musicals.

  • Discuss Nina's experiences with prejudice and racism at college. How did those incidents affect her? How can you combat racism when you are confronted with it?

  • Which characters are role models in the musical? Which character strengths do they demonstrate?

  • Talk about how the musical addresses immigration and the idea of the American Dream. In what ways is the musical a tribute to Spanish-speaking immigrants who settle in New York City?

  • In real life, the Washington Heights neighborhood has a large Afro-Latino population. Is that fact reflected in the film?

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