Movie Breakdown: Dear Evan Hansen

Pre-Screening Stance:

Musicals are very hit or miss for me, so I tend to turn to my musical-loving wife to gauge whether or not I should be excited for one. And? Well, she’s been a bit hesitant about this adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, so I am as well.

Post-Screening Ramble:

Dear Evan Hansen certainly has good intentions, but that doesn’t make it a good movie. The story follows Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), a socially awkward teen who finds himself very involved in the fallout of his friend’s suicide. Here’s the kicker though, his buddy Connor (Colton Ryan) wasn’t actually his buddy in even the slightest of ways, and what starts as an innocent lie grows and grows until Evan becomes fully consumed by it. Obviously, there’s plenty packed in here that covers loneliness, varying forms of anxiety, the threat of suicide and more, but this film doesn’t do much with any of it. In fact, I was surprised at how such a compelling set of topics could be presented so flatly. There’s nothing here that pops off the screen and pulls you in, no flow to the story, no standout performer, and the dialogue feels awkwardly dated. In the end, it’s an unfortunately uninspired adaptation that runs way long (and feels brutally long) at two hours and 17-minutes.

While I did like the musical pieces in Dear Evan Hansen, it doesn’t have much else I can recommend. The film will hit theaters this Friday, September 24.

One Last Thought:

Ben Platt looks so, so old here, and it really is a distraction. And I get that he originated the role of Evan Hansen and there’s sound logic behind casting him, but he sticks out like the eldest of thumbs in a sea of very young people. Though, to be fair, he’s also styled to look like the oldest teenager of all time, so that doesn’t help either.