DEAR EVAN HANSEN Movie Musical - News & Discussion Thread — Page 38

*Maybe some minor spoilers*

I really liked the stage production of this show and LOVED Ben's performance, which I consider to be one of those iconic perfect fits between writing/actor/show (e.g. Alice Ripley in N2N etc.). I was looking forward to the film adaptation hoping it would capture the spirit of the show and Ben's performance - hoping that we are getting to experience a modern example of 'Funny Girl'. But of course from the moment we started seeing some photos/clips and reviews it started to feel that, like Evan's own quest, everything was starting to unravel and fall apart.

Maybe it helped having low expectations but I’m happy to report that I think the backlash of the film is unwarranted and that I think it’s an excellent adaptation of the musical. 
Does it capture the spirit of the stage show and Ben’s performance? In some ways yes but in many surprising ways, not at all. Structurally all the main ingredients are there and musically it’s a very very strong adaptation (we should not take for granted that it’s nice to have a musical film adaptation where we have strong acting AND singing - plus the arrangements still feel faithful to the original while also being improved/expanded, and I love all the incidental music).

-I really think “For, Forever” - for example - is a very sophisticated example of how far musicals have come. Here we have 3 layers - at face value it feels so nostalgic and captures what it’s like to have a good friendship but the subtext of Evan singing this to please not just Connor’s family but eventually himself as he fantasises what it is like to have a friendship is just soooo genius -

However, the tone is very different from the stage musical - it’s darker, clinical and much more ‘realistic’. Much of the humour and light-hearted edge of the stage production has gone and Evan does not really have many of the endearing qualities of the stage production anymore, so he comes across to me as much more pathetic/weird and a little less sympathetic. It all feels more ‘serious’ and some of the scenes feel much more emotional and dramatic in that kind of tone you can only feel on film. I don’t mind that the film’s main character does not look attractive and does horrible things though - it’s the whole point of it. If people want to actually ‘like’ Evan you might have a hard time with this film.

I like most of the changes in characters for the better…..making Jared a gay person of colour changes the tone of so many of his lines and he doesn’t come across as just an annoying dick anymore. Alana’s character has been greatly expanded, and now I think the flow of the plot suddenly makes much more sense. On stage, it felt like Cynthia Murphy was underwritten and Evan’s mum had all the limelight but here Cynthia feels much more important and Amy Adams gives a devastatingly heartbreaking performance, one that if the film was perhaps better received in another reality could have been nominated for an Oscar. I was a bit shocked to hear that so many of Evan’s mums songs have been cut as the character was so important on stage but surprisingly it actually works and those songs don’t feel like they have the right tone in this film - plus it helped emphasise one of the major points about his character that his mum is more absent. Julianne Moore still gets a few dramatic scenes and has a very intimate performance of “So Big, So Small” to make up for it. "To Break A Glove" which I found annoying and boring on stage is not missed.

Ben Platt’s performance has been brought down for film and because of the change in tone I would not say is quite the same as stage. Nor do I think it seems AS special as what he did on stage. However, his acting performance of “Words Fail” in particular I thought was INCREDIBLE and not something that others might have been able to get right in the way he did. Again if the film was perhaps better received it’s this scene in particular that I could imagine getting a bit more attention in terms of award nomination. I also just think in general the themes that it explores of not fitting in, mental health, the negative & positive aspects of social media, family relationships etc. are universal, important and should resonate with a wide audience.

My only hope for the movie is that it becomes ‘viral’ and overcomes its rocky start.

Updated On: 9/18/21 at 08:03 AM

It's only 6 days until it's in theaters so I'm going to wait until then.

Pay for a movie if you want to see it. Don't be assholes. Thank you.

My method for gauging if this film was good or not was to see it with my mother. She's a brilliant woman, but literally does not have a single brain cell equipped for critical media analysis. She's 100% emotional with this stuff, where I am completely hyper critical, especially with film. I'm the pretentious a-hole that you hate watching movies with.

I was shocked at how surprisingly okay this was. You never get used to how old and creepy Ben Platt looks, even though he's usually very handsome. My mother was bawling at multiple points, most of which during I was laughing at how out of touch the creators of the film and show are with modern teens. The main redeeming factor of it all is that everyone is giving a performance well above their pay grade. There were some moments, especially in the second half, that I believed. Still, the whole thing just sort of felt uncanny. Ben's age, the very odd choices of sound mixing, the social media graphics, the singing not feeling natural in the story. Just weird. While I didn't love most of the choices, I really don't think this show had a chance of hell of being adapted successfully on screen anyway. It barely holds its morale together in the original.



Basically: it's not that bad. Mostly watchable, but I would never go as far as to call it a good movie by any means.

How does Requiem sound in the film? It's probably my favorite song in the whole show. I just love Michael Park's harmonies in the OBC.

theatretenor2 said: "How does Requiem sound in the film? It's probably my favorite song in the whole show. I just love Michael Park's harmonies in the OBC."

The song is well performed. I prefer Jennifer Laura Thompson’s vocal performance to Amy Adams’s (Thompson is the most underrated of the OBC in my opinion). Danny Pino’s Larry is quietly effective throughout the film, and his private moments in Requiem work well (he has a good singing voice too). In general, the music itself should please diehard fans. Arrangements are very similar to the Broadway versions with slight changes, like an expanded string section.