In the Heights is set to be the cinematic event of the summer. An upbeat musical from the creator of the runaway Broadway hit Hamilton, the film is a cross between West Side Story and Fame. Expect fabulous ensemble dance scenes, beautiful ballads and a party atmosphere impossible to resist.

It’s safe to say we have all had enough of realism this past year, which is why the magic (often literally) of the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway hit, In the Heights, is wowing critics and audiences alike. 

Directed by Jon M. Chu, who bought us Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, is two hours of virtually non-stop song and dance routines set among the immigrant community of the Washington Heights area of Manhattan. A couple in love walk off a fire escape and dance up and down the walls of a building. The wigs in a beauty salon dance along with the humans. An outdoor public swimming pool provides the backdrop to a spectacular production number. This is an old-school musical with a few modern themes.

Usanavi (Anthony Ramos) runs a bodega corner store and dreams of returning home to the Dominican Republic to open a beach side bar. Across the street, Kevin Rosario (Jimmy Smitts) puts all his dreams into his daughter Nina (Leslie Grace), a student at prestigious Stanford University. Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) works in a beauty salon and dreams of moving downtown to work in the fashion industry. Abuela (grandma) Claudia played by Olga Merediz runs the beauty salon and keeps manners on the neighbourhood.

In between the high energy  routines, we learn that Nina doesn’t want to go back to Stanford. She was humiliated when a roommate misplaced a necklace and her wealthy parents insisted that Nina be searched. The necklace is found in the roommate’s bag but Nina doesn’t receive an apology. She’s also worried that her father is bankrupting himself in order to pay for her tuition. Meanwhile there’s unfinished business with her old boyfriend Benny (Corey Hawkins).

Usanavi is in love with the beautiful Vanessa but they’re heading in different directions.

As the summer temperature soars, a blackout threatens and eventually arrives. (There was a major blackout in the Washington Heights area in 1999). Fridges and air conditioning units are useless, so it’s off to the public swimming pool for another great dance number…

In the Heights was supposed to open last year (no need to explain why it didn’t). The biggest to date is that it is unrealistic. Dancing wigs aside, the plot is relentlessly upbeat with any bad feeling quickly evaporating in the heat of the summer or another ensemble set piece. 

In another time and place, such a criticism might be valid. But this summer, we’re all done with reality. Besides, it’s a musical, not a gritty, kitchen sink drama. Right now we want fun, energy, exuberance, implausibility and above all a space to dream of a better life, along with the residents of Washington Heights.