DEAR EVAN HANSEN Movie Musical - News & Discussion Thread- Page 43

[BwayLB]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 10:57am

Gorlois said: "I’m not a fan of Pasek and Paul, I’ve never seen the stage show or listened to the OBC. But I am shocked at the critical response. Can it really be so bad?"

I love Greatest Showman more so than Dear Evan Hansen

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 11:29am

joevitus said: "I was never a big fan of the material, but always admired that it showed a person doing dislikable things without making the character himself a bad guy. I enjoyed that nuance. And it's odd to me how much of the negative reaction to the movie originates inpeople beingsomehow galled that they are supposed to empathize with a character who--admittedly--does somethingunpleasant. It sounds like they are complaining that the work isn't more black and white and diagrammatic--the very refusal to do that beingwhatmakes the story worth telling to begin with."

I agree with this point.

Personally I never saw him as a character who could just be simply reduced to the sociopath he's made out to be.  He's a complex, conflicted, and troubled young man who finds himself caught up in a lie.  It's a lie though that, while providing some perks for him (which I might add you can still see him struggling with throughout), also brings something to Connor's family as well

And that locks him into it.  Especially in the attention he is getting from Zoe.

But he really doesn't stray from feeling conflicted over it for very long.

I just don't think Platt plays the role as some demented figure who is purposely trying to hurt someone and has no remorse for it.  That would make him more pathological.  A sociopath would have no remorse, and would continue to be intentional in his or her behaviors.  Evan becomes a liar, true.  He falls into a self-created trap and continues on with the lie. Out of some internal desperation, but a desperation that he sees is making a positive impact on others.  It's still wrong, no one argues that, but I just don't think he as a character is some demented sociopath with no redeeming qualities. 

Based on some of the critiques I've seen on this board since this musical began though, I wonder if people are continuing to have more problems with the show, the star, and the movie because of the nepotism argument than they have with his performance, or the story itself.  Have some lost sight of the forest for the trees, no pun intended, just because they have a problem with the nepotism piece that is connected to the movie, and the show's star?

A lot of people have benefitted from nepotism.  If a person is talented enough to make it work for them though, whatever.  And it's not like he's a lousy actor or singer.  Many like him, and his style.

As for this musical being reduced to something that only would be accepted and embraced by the "young'n" mentality, I don't agree.  A lot of us "old'uns" were kids once.  And many have struggled with the same inadequacies and insecurities as Evan has.  So many oldsters can relate to this story too.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 12:02pm

People who call Evan a sociopath clearly have no idea what a sociopath is. It's moronic.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 12:21pm

Deadline.com on weekend box office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' weeps

Some pundits had projected ''Dear Evan Hansen'' would open in the $9 million to $11 million range. Deadline.com reports its weekend gross, so far, is on the way to $7.3 million (compared to $6.6 million for ''Cats'' ). Fortunately, for Universal, ''Dear Evan Hansen'' cost a lot less to make than ''Cats.''

https://deadline.com/2021/09/dear-evan-hansen-weekend-box-office-shang-chi-1234843679/

Updated On: 9/25/21 at 12:21 PM

[SomeOtherMe]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 12:58pm

Wayman_Wong said: "Deadline.com on weekendbox office: 'Dear Evan Hansen' weeps

Some pundits had projected ''Dear Evan Hansen'' would open in the $9 million to $11 million range. Deadline.com reports its weekend gross, so far, is on the way to $7.3 million (compared to $6.6 million for ''Cats'' ). Fortunately, for Universal, ''Dear Evan Hansen'' cost a lot less to make than ''Cats.''

https://deadline.com/2021/09/dear-evan-hansen-weekend-box-office-shang-chi-1234843679/"

Uff, that's rough. If the movie had done great at the box office, the reviews wouldn't have really mattered. It looks like this may also flop financially.

Updated On: 9/25/21 at 12:58 PM

[Musical Master]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 1:20pm

Cats cost somewhere between 80-100 million dollars while Dear Evan Hansen only cost 28 million dollars. So chances of the latter to at least break even is much higher for worldwide releases.

[SomeOtherMe]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 1:35pm

Musical Master said: "Cats cost somewhere between 80-100 million dollars while Dear Evan Hansen only cost 28 million dollars. So chances of the latter to at least break even is much higher for worldwide releases."

True, but would this film have much appeal outside of the USA? I have no idea, but genuinely curious.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 1:50pm

Ladies and gentlemen… Ben Platt:

I think the reaction is largely from people who don't understand the context of the piece – the fact that I created the role and workshopped it for three years ... Were I not to do the movie, it probably wouldn't get made. And so, I think, my defensive response is to want to go onto Twitter and be like, "F you, guys. You don't even know that this wouldn't exist without me." Of course, that's not true entirely and not my place to say. All I have to do is let the work speak for itself.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 2:23pm

"Were I not to do the movie, it probably wouldn't get made."

In isolation, he is correct to that extent, although not because of creating and workshopping the role, but because his father was Marc Platt, the rich producer, and not Mark Platt, the Olympic rower from Canada (who did not get any gold ).

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 2:30pm

That was quoted like a month ago. Old news. 

I hope everyone enjoys the film this weekend. However, people who haven't seen the movie? The trailer only gets you so far to the point where you can't really go too deep into "the material". Sorry! 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 4:07pm

to break even this movie needs to make $100 million which is not looking likely, as it is it will be on PVOD in two weeks apparently 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 4:15pm

I think it might be popular when it's available for streaming. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 6:23pm

I was at the cineplex today seeing a screening of The Outsiders. There were two mom looking women with about four teen girls trying to decide on a movie. One girl said, “Dear Evan Hansen.” The moms piped up, “no that’s depressing. We’re not seeing that.” I think that’s another hurdle at the box office. People have enough on their plate emotionally right now. They might not be lining up to see a movie about an anxious depressed kid and suicide.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 6:28pm

^ Even I do have a lot on my plate. I just finished graduated from college a year ago but celebrated it this past summer. Then, I just moved to a new home with my parents. I don’t have a job right now and never been in the workforce. And I don’t have friends around my age. I’ve been out of high school for nine years. I was fearing the movie wouldn’t have the same effect as when I saw the stage version two years ago.

[joevitus]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 6:39pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Ladies and gentlemen… Ben Platt:

I think the reaction is largely from people who don't understand the context of the piece– the fact that I created the role and workshopped it for three years... Were I not to do the movie, it probably wouldn't get made. And so, I think, my defensive response is to want to go onto Twitter and be like, "F you, guys. You don't even know that this wouldn't exist without me." Of course, that's not true entirely and not my place to say. All I have to do is let the work speak for itself."

Amusing.

[joevitus]

Posted: 9/25/21 at 6:42pm

theatreguy12 said: "joevitus said: "I was never a big fan of the material, but always admired that it showed a person doing dislikable things without making the character himself a bad guy. I enjoyed that nuance. And it's odd to me how much of the negative reaction to the movie originates inpeople beingsomehow galled that they are supposed to empathize with a character who--admittedly--does somethingunpleasant. It sounds like they are complaining that the work isn't more black and white and diagrammatic--the very refusal to do that beingwhatmakes the story worth telling to begin with."

I agree with this point.

Personally I never saw him as a character who could just be simply reduced to thesociopath he's made out to be. He's a complex, conflicted, and troubled young man who finds himself caught up in a lie. It's a lie though that, while providingsome perks for him (which I might add you can still see him struggling with throughout), also bringssomething to Connor's family as well

And that locks him into it. Especially in the attention he is getting from Zoe.

But he really doesn't stray from feeling conflicted over it for very long.

I just don't think Platt plays the role as some demented figure who is purposely trying to hurt someone and has no remorse for it. That would make him more pathological. A sociopath would have no remorse, and would continue to be intentional in his or her behaviors. Evan becomes a liar, true. He falls into a self-created trap and continues on with the lie. Out of some internal desperation, but a desperation that he sees is making a positive impact on others. It's still wrong, no one argues that, but I just don't think he as a character is some demented sociopath with no redeeming qualities.

Based on some of the critiques I've seen on this board since this musical began though, I wonder if people are continuing to have more problems withthe show, the star, and the movie because of thenepotism argument than they have withhis performance, or the story itself. Have some lost sight of the forest for the trees, no pun intended, just because they have a problem withthe nepotism piece that is connected to the movie, and the show's star?

A lot of people have benefitted from nepotism. If a person is talented enough to make it work for them though, whatever. And it's not like he's a lousy actor or singer. Many like him, and his style.

As for this musical being reduced to something that only would be accepted and embraced by the "young'n" mentality, I don't agree. A lot of us "old'uns" were kids once. And many have struggled with the same inadequacies and insecurities as Evan has. So many oldsters can relate to this story too."

Nice post. There are people here honing in on the nepotism angle, but I don't think most audiences are aware of it. I suspect it's a certain percent people who feel the show was better (quite a common reaction for all adaptations), a certain percent who think the material is depressing, and a certain percent who think Platt is just too old and it hurts the material. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 12:11am

Oh, look. The conservative National Review has used their Dear Evan Hansen movie review as a cudgel against Broadway "wokeness". The critic even seems to reclaim the term "queer" as a pejorative when describing Evan. It even somehow manages to insult NY1's "On Stage" program!

https://tinyurl.com/35zs4h32

Updated On: 9/26/21 at 12:11 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 12:18am

I hate nepotism and I don't care if this ever makes money for anyone. But I'm willing to put that aside to support Amy Adams. Queen. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 12:58am

Just finished watching this, and I feel indifferent. 

I remember seeing the OBC when the show was still relatively new, in February 2017. Ben Platt immediately struck me as the first post-Hamilton force in the musical theatre world to be reckoned with. Back then, he was able to pass on being a high schooler, and did so with flying colors. Some nine months later, when I was waiting outside an insanely crowded Music Box stage door after his final performance (which I did not see; I was on my way to SpongeBob, but paid a visit first), we weren't just saluting a Tony winner. We were all celebrating an extraordinary individual in a role that was unlikely to be - and thus far, has not been - replicated. When he passed through those doors onto 45th Street for the last time with his parents by his side, it seemed to me that was the end of an era.

With Platt, the Broadway show was a five-handkerchief tearjerker that I believe should not have been translated to the screen. If anything, this deserved to be a filmed proshot. Now at 28 years old, I - among many others - will say that he can no longer convincingly play a high schooler. He simply can't. And he was much more effective on stage. Platt made me shed several tears all those years ago, and I almost never cry when seeing shows. It just isn't realistic anymore to see him play this role at his age.

I wonder how the movie would have been if father and son were not involved. If they had gone the younger route for Evan, maybe this could have been a bit better. 

The supporting cast was okay. I was won over by Stenberg, Pino, and an always-reliable Amy Adams. Dodani was fine but Jared's comic relief onstage is now nowhere to be found. I almost forgot Moore was in this movie before she nailed "So Big / So Small." 

There were a few shining moments. Pasek and Paul's score still shines. I love the way "You Will Be Found" was filmed here, and the two new songs written for the film are effective as well. 

Chbosky blew it big-time. What I saw onstage was the perfect blend of heavy, emotional material and moments of humor (something Next to Normal also did extremely well). The plot, though, was already somewhat flawed, and the movie does not do that much to improve upon it. Steven Levenson can take some of the blame as well. 

I wanted to like this so much, and I started losing hope when the reviews kept getting worse and worse. This isn't absolutely terrible (looking at you, Cats), but I was expecting so much more from a Dear Evan Hansen film adaptation. What effect this will have on the anticipated December 11th Broadway reopening will be determined soon enough. 

 

 

 

Updated On: 9/26/21 at 12:58 AM

[bear88]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 6:28am

We saw it Saturday night along with 3 other people in a large San Francisco Bay Area movie theater.

A few thoughts (with spoilers):

- I have seen the stage musical with the original cast. I enjoyed it well enough, but had problems with the show.

- All in all, it’s a pretty faithful adaptation. There are some changes (more sympathetic Alana, less Heidi, some tweaks at the end, less humor).

- Platt is Platt. He can sing the part and didn’t ruin the movie for me. I didn’t spend my time thinking he was too old for the role. He is, but suspension of disbelief is pretty easy for me.

- The film works for a while, and then we hit ‘You Will Be Found.’ For all of problems with the way the show promotes the song, it actually worked on Broadway - as Evan finds himself caught in a web he created and that is out of his control. Maybe I am misremembering it, but I feel like Platt betrayed some recognition of this at the end of the first act. The movie plays the scene without any sense of irony or dread and the directorial choices are embarrassingly literal and amateurish.

- The changes in Alana are an improvement on the stage show. She’s sympathetic, not annoying, although this makes her decision to release the letter tougher to stomach.

- I will defend Platt up to a point, but ‘Words Fail’ doesn’t work in the film. He’s going full Broadway, and it comes across as overblown and overwrought, especially when followed by Julianne Moore’s naturalistic performance of ‘So Big, So Small.’ I wasn’t expecting Moore to provide the musical highlight of the film. It didn’t entirely feel earned in the movie, because Heidi wasn’t in it much, but it’s official: Moore can do anything on screen.

- Zoe still gets a raw deal. Everything is about her dead brother and Evan’s lies - and she still has to forgive because her family is OK. No improvement there.

- This problem also stems from the source material but can’t be hidden in the film: Evan is better off after all of his increasingly twisted lies. He was a total wreck at the beginning. Despite everything, he’s in a better place by the end. Truthiness has set him free, and his victims are better off in the end. There’s a message in there somewhere, but I am not sure it is what the creators intended.

- The Broadway musical can hide the flaws in the source material with strong performances, shrewd direction, and the energy of a live performance. The film wasn’t the total misfire I feared - but it wasn’t greater than the sum of its parts.

- I know Steven Levenson, the screenwriter, was trying to make Evan suffer a bit and do good deeds to address criticism of the stage musical. But that segment was awful. There is nothing about it that rings true. Connor read Vonnegut, Evan dutifully completes every book on that yearbook list, then he turns into a private detective and discovers a person with an actual connection to Connor (who will apparently only send private stuff to Evan months later), and forwards it to the family so they can finally see and hear the yearning artist inside. Oh, gag me. I think I liked it better when Connor was just a troubled jerk and time passed and some good happened to the Murphys. The new ending turns Evan into the hero he was just pretending to be.

Updated On: 9/26/21 at 06:28 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 7:14am

Also, stage and film is different, when it comes to looks/age. On stage, the fabulous 43 year old Celia Keenan-Bolger can still effectively portray a child convincingly. Not on a Pro-shot or on film, where the camera is inches from her. Platt on stage looked convincing as a teenager. He still looks not much different but now zoomed in, his age does show. On film he’s doing his little youthful nuances he did on stage: the hunched shoulders, the twitches - but on film it’s amplified where on stage it played to the balcony. Those saying DEAR EVAN HANSEN should have been filmed as a Pro-shot would be saying he looks too old on that also. The Broadway production is lit quite dark. All this worked effectively for Platt who evoked youth by his body language. Even if you were first row, that stage lighting was effective and is what helps actors appear younger on stage.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 8:29am

It won’t amount to even a drop in the bucket of pans on this movie to say that we found the film a very worthy version of the stage show and a huge improvement when it comes to the 3rd act.

We absolutely adored “Sincerely Me” onscreen and wish more of the movie had popped into full life like that number: dynamite choreo, funniest 4 minutes of the score, 3 glorious performances, perfect editing. Other improvements we welcomed: seeing Evan’s fantasy of what a relationship with Zoe could look like; laying out multiple views of the tree climbing scene that put it in far clearer relief; most especially the fleshing out of Evan’s penance and the reveal of Connor’s new scene.

Biggest surprise and biggest heresy to state: Ben Platt worked for us. He looked infinitely better than the trailers had suggested. He persuaded, he lived in the part, eventually he moved us. Did he have moments that were way too big for the screen? Sure, but I fault Chbosky for that; it’s the director’s job to guide the actor on scale of performance. “Words Fail” was certainly the low point of the movie for us but the balance of Platt’s performance was lovely to behold.

Movie musicals are just so damn hard. This one’s still getting a 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Glad they made it, glad we saw it. I know this blurb will convince exactly no-one.

Updated On: 9/26/21 at 08:29 AM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 10:44am

I will sidestep artistic issues -- not much new to add -- and just agree: yes, it may be the wrong film for the moment. A nation reeling from 18 months of death, internecine warfare over pandemic protocols, and compassion fatigue may find the story's full immersion in two flavors of tragedy unappealing. The world of 2015-2016 was a somewhat different one, and Evan Hansen was a modest show that didn't oversell its small canvas, at least not in that first year. Its attributes were humbly presented, that baked-in anti-spectacle its calling card. (I've heard it discussed as a musical for those who don't like musicals, rather ironic in light of the film reviews that are put off by the music interrupting the drama; I've read many.) Yet the movie was no longer the little show in the Music Box that pulled Best Musical. It had exploded, and arrived with a fair amount of expectation and fanfare. At least until Toronto.

I'll go out on another limb, one that I won't hit too hard here on a theater board: the public hasn't got much taste for a cascade of lies. The mendacity that fuels this story -- even though tethered to adolescent angst and indirectly, the human pain in managing neurodiversity in youth -- is front and center. And watching any character strategically sidestep moral responsibilities to self-promote strikes dark chords. I felt it strongly when the second act scenes arrived, and Platt's Evan further embellishes and obfuscates. (A scene in the library with Alana made me squirm.) Watching the quickly deceived become a community of willing true believers isn't comfortable in 2021. Yes, it's about the insular world of high school. But lies destroy in this story, and we're not living in a culture with much patience for the toxic results of not telling the truth. Considering that 33% on RT, with 162 reviews in, worth considering.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 12:50pm

Yeah Words Fail did not work on film. At all.

It felt like crocodile tears for his heinous manipulating.

On stage it worked better also cause it was cathartic to see his amazing performance go to that place. It's electric to be in the room with it.

But his crying and veins popping from his neck like ugh. It just felt like pushing as hard as you can to get nominated for an Oscar.

As well as in the moment where he reveals his deceit I care WAY more for Zoe and her family and how they react. I'm far more interested and invested in them. 

Updated On: 9/26/21 at 12:50 PM

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 9/26/21 at 1:51pm

https://deadline.com/2021/09/dear-evan-hansen-weekend-box-office-shang-chi-1234843679/

"Meanwhile, Universal’s Dear Evan Hansen, arguably the most prolific major studio release on the fall schedule since Shang-Chi, is not doing well after a $3.3M Friday, including $800K Thursday previews, for an awful $7.5M in the No. 2 spot at 3,364 theaters; a lowly result which isn’t that far from Universal’s previous big Broadway feature take Cats which died promptly off a $6.6M opening over the Christmas 2019 holiday. Dear Evan Hansen, I hear, is on a 17-day theatrical window, especially with these numbers. Imax repped close to 20% of the musical’s weekend ticket sales."