DEAR EVAN HANSEN Movie Musical - News & Discussion Thread- Page 24

[gregnyc2]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 10:32am

I wish the film well, I’d love for it to be terrific, but the reality is that this is a very very crowded year for the Oscars, and the likelihood of a Best Picture nom for DEH are extremely low (even if it is terrific). It just doesn’t have the scope/grandeur/costumes to make it in against the formidable competition (if you’re following Venice and Telluride and soon TIFF, there is already an onslaught of films garnering great reviews, all of which have that scope/grandeur/costumes thing going on). If by some miracle DEH could have been released in the extended qualifying period for 2020, it’d be a different story, a much different story. Musicals-wise this year, expect West Side Story and to some degree Cyrano. (I don’t think In The Heights will get a single nom; tick tick boom, like DEH, is “small” and unless its reviews are over the top, I see little hope for it either). 
 

For DEH, I anticipate a Best Song nom, somewhat very likely a best supporting actress nom for either Adams or Moore. Unless Ben gets across the board raves of a “a legendary performance of all time” level [on Broadway, it was], he doesn’t have the slightest chance for a nomination. Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch and likely Peter Dinklage are already locks for nominations. You’ve got Denzel on his way, plus the PTA Soggy Bottom film, plus Bradley Cooper, Leo, Joaquin, and Adam Driver for Gucci. It’s an insanely packed year. [edit: I forgot Nicolas Cage for Pig, and he’s right up there for a mom]

Updated On: 9/5/21 at 10:32 AM

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 10:35am

Everything you say is perfectly reasonable. 

[Jshan05]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 10:39am

unclevictor said: "I still can’t get past the bad wig they have him in"

He's said in several interviews that it's not a wig, but actually his own hair that he grew out. Geez there's so much hate for his appearance in this film...folks need to move on and let the performance speak for itself. 

[gregnyc2]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 10:52am

(See, also, by way of example, Entertainment Weekly has an article out a few days ago about possible Oscar nominations-the piece discusses 37 (!) films in detail about chances; DEH isn’t even in a list of 37 films….)

 

 

 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 10:57am

gregnyc2 said: "I wish the film well, I’d love for it to be terrific, but the reality is that this is a very very crowded year for the Oscars, and the likelihood of a Best Picture nom for DEH are extremely low (even if it is terrific). It just doesn’t have the scope/grandeur/costumes to make it in against the formidable competition (if you’re following Venice and Telluride and soon TIFF, there is already an onslaught of films garnering great reviews, all of which have that scope/grandeur/costumes thing going on). If by some miracle DEHcould have been released in the extended qualifying period for 2020, it’d be a different story, a much different story. Musicals-wise this year, expect West Side Story and to some degree Cyrano. (I don’t think In The Heights will get a single nom; tick tick boom, like DEH, is “small” and unless its reviews are over the top, I see little hope for it either).


For DEH, I anticipate a Best Song nom, somewhat very likely a best supporting actress nom for either Adams or Moore. Unless Ben gets across the board raves of a “a legendary performance of all time” level [on Broadway, it was], he doesn’t have the slightest chance for a nomination. Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch and likely Peter Dinklage are already locks for nominations. You’ve got Denzel on his way, plus the PTA Soggy Bottom film, plus Bradley Cooper, Leo, Joaquin, and Adam Driver for Gucci. It’s an insanely packed year."

Lets not forget Andrew Garfield as Jim Bakker. 

 

[gregnyc2]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 11:01am

Lets not forget Andrew Garfield as Jim Bakker.

Agree! Though I think the nom would more likely be for tick tick boom (taking Tammy Faye into account too)

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 12:47pm

Thank you for your thoughts on that RaisedOnMusicals. I hope it's a massive success. 

 

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 12:49pm

Jshan05 said: He's said in several interviews that it's not a wig, but actually his own hair that he grew out. Geez there's so much hate for his appearance in this film...folks need to move on and let the performance speak for itself."

Whether it’s a wig or natural, many people I know have all agreed that it has the opposite effect they were hoping (that it would help him look younger) and instead makes him look exactly what he is, a man pushing 30 attempting to present a youthful appearance and not succeeding. I also found it very odd when he tried to defend his casting by using Grease as an example, considering that the age of most of the cast in that has been joked about for years. 
 

I also always scratch my head when people try to say not to judge something by its trailers. The trailer is literally an advertisement meant to get the audience to make a preliminary judgment to go see the movie. Making a judgment without seeing the whole thing is the whole reason trailers and advertisements exist. Obviously the hope is that it will be a positive judgment, but clearly that’s not always the case. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 1:05pm

Grease was a campy musical where all the “teens” looked equally old. I think it’s a harder suspension of disbelief in this dramatic scenario.

In The Heights had incredible reviews, lots of buzz, and momentum and it tanked. I’ll be curious to see how this fares.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 1:13pm

Like I said, it was a bad example for him to use as a defense, especially when there are some cases where someone was playing younger to a much better level of success, like Rachel McAdams who was 26 at the time of Mean Girls but was so perfect as Regina George that you could ignore that she was well past the 16/17 she was playing through the movie.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 1:15pm

It's his real hair, for anyone still wondering. When I saw him, he had it cropped and it gave him a youthful appearance though. 

Ben Platt is a very talented man, trust fund baby or not. I'm not an anxious person at all, but I felt his anxiety, all the way up to the first row of the mezz. The only time I ever felt that way was with Audra McDonald in Porgy and Bess. I felt her terror of Crown go through me. Not many actors can do that to their audience, but they both it and both won Tonys for it. Incredible talent. 

Ben has a youthful voice and 27 is not old. I think people will quickly get over the hair and focus on the story. He sounds wonderful in these clips. 

[degrassifan]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:03pm

The run time is now 137 minutes, only 6 minutes shorter than In the Heights. I’m guessing the previous 131 minutes was either a mistake or the run time of the movie without credits.

[unclevictor]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:03pm

Oy vey his hair in the trailer!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:08pm

But maybe let's stop promoting nepotism? Irks me. You see it even in in football. So and so is a quarterback because their father was. My father is a mechanical engineer and I can't put **** together. Anyway, not discrediting his talent at all. He's super talented, but so are 400000 other people who just don't have the outlets he has. But I digress. 

I'm not so sure how this movie will be received. When I saw it I was just surprised by the story. Like that's what people are going crazy for? A ****ty person who does a ****ty thing but we forgive him and then the end? Huh? Maybe it'll play better on film. But, regardless, the show is crazy popular and is still playing, so maybe it will fair better than In The Heights. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:10pm

Just a reminder that people ARE allowed to critique/criticize any aspect of the film they want. It’s art. That’s what it exists for. There’s no rule that says anyone has to “accept” or like anything, and them not liking something does not make them jealous, a hater, or unable to make their own opinion because they’re not an actor themselves. I realize people here take this stuff (way too) seriously and the Internet turns everyone into a junior version of Roger Ebert but maybe let’s all just calm down and if you don’t agree with someone’s take on the film - scroll past it.
I promise you’ll survive.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:15pm

The premiere at TIFF is just 4 days away, so we'll probably know how the film does with people who may or may not have heard or seen the original show. But I do agree with the one poster who said that West Side Story and Cyrano (maybe) have better chances at the Oscars than this one does.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:29pm

Bettyboy72 said: "Grease was a campy musical where all the “teens” looked equally old. I think it’s a harder suspension of disbelief in this dramatic scenario.

In The Heights had incredible reviews, lots of buzz, and momentum and it tanked. I’ll be curious to see how this fares."

IMHO, the reason In the Heights "tanked" is because its appeal did not cut across a large demographic. I never understood who the intended audience was. (By the way, I watched it (streaming) and enjoyed it though there were significant sound mixing issues, confirmed by reports of many others.) And the "buzz", I think, was mostly among people who are interested in musical theater.

If not  for COVID, I think DEH would have been a huge box office success, It's hard to predict anything like that now.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 2:55pm

Regarding his hair, Platt has said in recent interviews that it was HIS choice to let his hair grow out and use his natural curls to evoke the character’s social awkward appearance. There were wig tests done and he asked to just use his real hair.

As for GREASE, since it’s inception in Chicago in 1971 prior to Broadway, the musical was intentionally cast with older actors as it was a satire. Never once in its history on Broadway has any of the principals in GREASE been cast with age appropriate actors. It’s intentional. This was carried over into the 1978 film adaptation and it was never ONCE even considered to have it cast with young actors. Olivia Newton-John’s casting (at age 29) allowed Paramount Pictures to even push the age of the actors even older to make her look younger.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 9/5/21 at 5:42pm

^ The hairstyle choice does make a teeny bit sense

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 12:47am

Y’all really making his hair a personality trait…

[unclevictor]

Posted: 9/6/21 at 9:17am

Rumor has it Ben platt is going to be beetlejuice.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/7/21 at 1:30pm

A new video was just posted with fan reactions and new footage from the film. Looks like they're including High School graduation to the ending.

Video Link

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/7/21 at 1:53pm

Jordan Catalano said: "A new video was just posted with fan reactions and new footage from the film. Looks like they're including High School graduation to the ending.

Video Link"

Looks promising, but it seems to be a biased crowd full of stans. The people on that video are about ready to pop. I'm not sure they could be impartial if they wanted. Exactly what you'd want for an audience reaction video. 

Also, I'm pretty sick of this film being touted as some antidote. Yes, any media that raises awareness of mental health issues is great, but honestly, we've never lived during a time with more of that than now. Teens have a wealth of media where they can find content related very specifically to mental health issues. 

We need a film that teaches helicopter parents and people like the Murphy's how to stop running their children into the ground. DEH raises awareness about teens and mental health. This is nothing new. We need to target parents who are relentlessly raising anxious and depressed children by pushing them to the brink with whatever this hideous lifestyle of over commitment many families have evolved into. 

That being said, the film looks more fully realized in the clips but they are using quick edits so you don't a sense of how Platt looks next to his peers. I kept trying to get a sense of how he looks and you'd only see him for a second. 

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/7/21 at 1:58pm

Yeah, I didn't even really pay attention to what they were saying, I was just looking at the new footage. 

[Musical Master]

Posted: 9/7/21 at 2:26pm

The fan reactions seems typical as these things usually are, nothing else to add really. Though the new footage was nice to see, plus we only have 2 days left until the TIFF premiere so we'll hear from audiences and critics soon enough.

Updated On: 9/7/21 at 02:26 PM