Review of Dear Evan Hansen (2021) by Tvjerry — 28 Sep 2021

I hope they stocked plenty of Gatorade on the set of this movie…with the constant stream of tears, this cast surely stayed dehydrated. Ben Platt returns to his Tony-winning role as a high schooler with psychological issues.

His letter to himself gets misconstrued in ways that cause great pain for him and others. You have to get over his age (he’s 28 playing 17), because Platt is still mesmerizing. His singing is packed with emotion and depth, while his performance is complex and compelling.

Almost all of the songs are plaintive, sad tearjerkers. The themes around social media and other teen issues become the dominant story. Director Stephen Chbosky presents the songs in a straightforward manner (sometimes cutaways to supporting events), but no flashy re-imagining.

Even though I saw the musical on stage, my tendency is not to compare them, but the theatre version seemed more fun and dramatic, while this film leans heavily on the teen angst. As a result, this is a too-long tearfest with some strong moments and a lot of message.