As sweet as sugar spun candy, sets the tone for a modus operandi, with elegant rhymes, delectable chimes but the story's too long and has no key.

A beautiful presentation of the brilliance of people but it just lacks a bit of oomph in the arch.

On a beach, Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) tells a group of youngsters about a place called Washington Heights in the faraway Nueva York. It's the days before the 1999 blackout. Usnavi runs a bodega but dreams of returning to his childhood home of Dominican Republic. He has a crush on the beautiful Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) who dreams of being a fashion designer. Nina returns from Stanford and is unwilling to go back especially if her father Kevin Rosario (Jimmy Smits) has to sell off his business to pay the tuition.

It's a Lin-Manuel Miranda musical directed by Jon M. Chu. I really loved some of this. It is too long and probably has too many story elements. The two main young couples could be combined into a simpler single Romeo and Juliet romance. It would allow the DACA story to have more space to breathe. Despite all the hot young things, the most emotional song is Abuela's powerful life story. I do like the visual of Vanessa running down the empty street with the fabrics flowing down the buildings. I don't know if it's possible but Vanessa may be too beautiful. I would have liked for Nina's college drama to be shown. The emotional climax is really Abuela's song and the DACA protest. The movie drags on a bit long after that although that is a fine ending. The main theme of this movie is dream which does present a minor problem. By itself, it does not give that much kinetic energy to the story. Everybody is just pining for money (from the lotto) to make their dreams come to life. All in all, I love quite a bit of this even if it is long.

I first heard of Lin-Manuel Miranda when his "Hamilton" made a splash. I was surprised to learn that he had written another musical a few years earlier. Well, the movie adaptation of "In the Heights" is here. What a show! Basically, it's a look at the efforts to preserve the spirit of one's neighborhood amid pressure to change both from inside and out. The musical numbers are like nothing that you've ever seen. I'll be eager to see Miranda's next production.

Great one.