DEAR EVAN HANSEN Movie Musical - News & Discussion Thread- Page 5

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:25am

Yikes. This looks awful. Ben Platt looks like a frickin' narc. Terrible choice to cast him. The rest of the cast is so great though, I hope they can salvage it.  

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 11:25 AM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:30am

Surprised to see negative reactions to the trailer. I’m not even the biggest fan of DEH and thought the trailer was gorgeous.

[jlindsey865]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:30am

The trailer confirms what I’ve said from the beginning:

A Dear Evan Hansen movie adaptation was a great idea.
Casting Ben Platt as Evan at his current age was a bad idea.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:30am

I’m calling it now: Words Fail is going to be shot all in one take, Les Mis style, and that’s going to be the centerpiece of Ben Platt’s Golden Globe “For Your Consideration” campaign

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:34am

Ben Platt's hair (wig?) aside, this is a great trailer. I'm not a huge DEH fan, but this got me excited. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:35am

Um.....is Platt animated?

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:38am

jlindsey865 said: "The trailer confirms what I’ve said from the beginning:

A Dear Evan Hansen movie adaptation was a great idea.
Casting Ben Platt as Evan at his current age was a bad idea."

Yes and yes.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:38am

It just looks so sappy and self-important. Reminds me of one of those Christian movies. 

For context: I liked the musical Off-Broadway, and I still enjoy aspects of it, but I think it was bastardized a marketing campaign that emphasized the wrong aspects of the story, which has soured me on the show somewhat. Also still a bit salty about its Tony wins. I was prepared to like the movie for what it was, and I'll still try to keep an open mind, but oof my expectations just plummeted. 

For those comparing it to Grease: I've said this in other threads, and about other films, but I'll say it again: audience sensibilities have changed with the times. Our standards for who can pass for a teenager onscreen have raised. Doesn't mean a 27 year old absolutely can't play high-school aged, but they have to look younger than they are, and Ben Platt somehow looks older than he is.

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:40am

Wow. He looks quite old.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:44am

I remember reassurances about Ben Platt's casting as a high schooler seeing how the cast of Glee etc were high schoolers and it's pretty traditional for older people to be playing teenage roles, but whatever they did to his hair here just makes him look even older, and Jared and Zoe look like babies in comparison. It's not great.

Though I do agree that this is a well cut trailer otherwise, especially doing a good job setting up the premise for those that don't know it already. It was pointed out to me a while ago about how movie musical trailers recently seem scared to showcase the fact that they are musicals but I'm glad to see how prominent the music in this trailer is.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:46am

The wig doesn’t do him any favors. Besides that, the trailer made me cry. So there’s that. I’m excited for this movie to come out. Also, LOL at the golden globe comment, too bad they aren’t happening ever again.

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:46am

JBroadway said: "Yikes. This looks awful. Ben Platt looks like a frickin'narc. Terrible choice to cast him. The rest of the cast is so great though, I hope they can salvage it."

Really?  "A frickin' narc"?  Really?

[Plexsis]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:46am

JBroadway said: "It just looks so sappy and self-important. Reminds me of one of those Christian movies.

For context: I liked the musical Off-Broadway, and I still enjoy aspects of it, but I think it was bastardized amarketing campaign that emphasized the wrong aspects of the story, which has soured me on the show somewhat. Also still a bit salty about its Tony wins. I was prepared to like the movie for what it was, and I'll still try to keep an open mind, but oofmy expectations just plummeted.

For those comparing it to Grease: I've said this in other threads, and about other films, but I'll say it again: audience sensibilities have changed with the times. Our standards for who can pass for a teenager onscreen have raised. Doesn't mean a 27 year old absolutely can't play high-school aged, but they have to look younger than they are, and Ben Platt somehow looks older than he is."

I always found the use of “You Will Be Found” in the marketing as the anthem of the show to be so strange.   On one hand, it makes sense as it kind of hits the same notes as “This Is Me” as an “outsiders anthem” of sorts, but in the context of the show (at least when I saw it on tour), i more felt a rising uneasiness as Evan seemed to feel like as the song went on, he was getting more and more in over his head in this situation, so it was more used for rising tension then as a “message song”.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:52am

Me on September 24th:

[Owen22]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:52am

Plexsis said: "I always found the use of “You Will Be Found” in the marketing as the anthem of the show to be so strange. On one hand, it makes sense as it kind of hits the same notes as “This Is Me” as an “outsiders anthem” of sorts, but in the context of the show (at least when I saw it on tour), i more felt a rising uneasiness as Evan seemed to feel like as the song went on, he was getting more and more in over his head in this situation, so it was more used for rising tension then as a “message song”."

Interesting.  Sort of how "Everything's Coming Up Roses" exists as an anthem outside of the show but within the musical's context it's basically a nervous breakdown.

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:54am

Ben's age notwithstanding, is anyone else blown away by the trailer? I think it looks great, and that it will likely improve on the stage show.

[amygbrooks]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:58am

I definitely had major doubts about this movie but I think they did an amazing job with the trailer. I was curious how they would set up the whole story in such a short span but they did a great job. Yes Ben looks older, but his age doesn't ruin the experience for me. Looking forward to the movie!

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 11:59am

Appears Platt didn’t tone down his acting to translate to film. I will give it a chance though.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:01pm

Agree with the others about Platt's terrible wig. The rest of the trailer is okay though.

I really hope this does well - the B'way, London, and touring productions are really counting on this to build up hype for reopening. 

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:01pm

Plexsis said: "I always found the use of “You Will Be Found” in the marketing as the anthem of the show to be so strange. On one hand, it makes sense as it kind of hits the same notes as “This Is Me” as an “outsiders anthem” of sorts, but in the context of the show (at least when I saw it on tour), i more felt a rising uneasiness as Evan seemed to feel like as the song went on, he was getting more and more in over his head in this situation, so it was more used for rising tension then as a “message song”."

 

Couldn't agree more! I found the musical to be a fascinating portrait of destructive grief, desperation, etc. At the time I compared it to Sondheim's Passion - not necessarily in terms of style or quality - but in the way you watch complex, layered interactions unfold between desperate, emotionally fragile people. It made me cry, not because it was inspirational, but because there was so much raw emotion at play

 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:06pm

I see Isaac Cole Powell has been tasked with providing the beefcake.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:09pm

The “narc” issue aside (which made me LOL) it does look great.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:14pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Wow. He looks quite old."

I don’t know why, but this comment TOOK ME OUT! 

The movie looks good, but something is not quite right. I can’t put my finger on what exactly. 

 

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:16pm

degrassifan said: "BCfitasafiddle said: "Wow. He looks quite old."

I don’t know why, but this comment TOOK ME OUT!

The movie looks good, but something is not quite right. I can’t put my finger on what exactly."

 

Bahaha! Happy to provide some humor. I agree. I'm sure performances will be strong, but that didn't make me want to see the movie.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 5/18/21 at 12:19pm

Oy! Why does it feel like this film is 26 years too late? I was like “does anyone care for this?” the entire time I was watching this way too long trailer?