Usually, when it comes to movie musicals, I tend to stay away. Maybe cause musicals just aren’t my thing. But when I saw the trailer for Dear Evan Hansen, I thought, this one actually looks pretty good. And to my pleasant surprise, it was better than I thought it would be.
Having never seen the musical the film is based on, I had no reference to what might be different in this big-screen adaptation. So everything here was new to me. So new, that I didn’t even know Ben Platt could sing. And some of his songs really tugged at the emotions. Then you add to the mix some of the other numbers from the other cast members, like Kaitlyn Dever, and you got yourself one hell of an emotional rollercoaster.
On the other side to all that was good about this film, I did stop and wonder from time to time, is this movie more about teenage suicide & mental health issues or about the lie Ben Platts character, Evan Hansen is telling?
Granted, Evan has his own issues, but I think that gets lost in the story too.
But for all the little flaws the film has, there are more great things about it that make it worth watching. Just make sure you have some tissues handy, cause most likely you’re gonna need them.