Today is going to be an amazing day and here's why: I'm going to tear your movie to shreds.
First off, I've not seen the stage production. I had a chance a few years ago but passed it up because I'd rather not pay $325 for increased anxiety in a crowded venue. I don't have social anxiety disorder (hah, acronyms are fun) but I do have anxiety and depression. I'm huge for controversial material but this one reads so sociopathic and manipulative.
When I first learned about this Tony-winning musical (which confirms that all awards are rigged), my first comparison was to Robin Williams' 2009 black dramedy World's Greatest Dad, as well as the 80s cult classic turned stage musical Heathers. While Heathers is undeniably problematic, it doesn't try to play for sympathy. It's satire and it knows that. When DEH premiered at Toronto in August and the reviews began pouring in, I realized I wasn't reading into it wrong. I was right.
Evan Hansen is an anxiety-ridden teenager (who looks at least 40, even though his actor is 28) whose therapist has assigned him to write daily letters to himself as a confidence booster. He lives with his single mom Heidi and his only friend is "family friend" Jared. One day, after typing out one of his letters in the school library, Evan is approached by Connor Murphy, an equally lonely classmate, who offers to sign the cast on Evan's arm, which he got from falling out of a tree.
However, Connor finds the letter and, upon seeing his sister Zoe's name (on whom Evan harbors a crush), leaves with it. A few days later, Evan is summoned to the principal's office, where he learns from Connor's parents that Connor took his life (method unspecified) and the letter was found in his pocket. Rather than honesty, Evan fabricates a story about how he and Connor were friends.
And thus the web of deceit begins. Join me now on a song by song breakdown (and what's in between):
Makeup really coated Ben Platt, huh?
-Waving Through a Window: The only song I can remember off the top of my head before the movie. HE'S A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL. Now is it just me or is BP hamming up the puberty voice break? I can't with him trying too hard.
Amandla Stenberg is a treasure and I'm so glad she's taking on these roles. And Evan has a gay best friend.
Let's throw a school shooter comment in here, huh? Kaitlyn Dever, bless you. You are fantastic.
Julianne Moore is mom and she's busy mom. She's amazing.
AMY ADAMS.
I know you're awkward but ffs.
Oh hey, we made fun of Connor a few days ago and now we're sad and we'll take selfies in front of his locker.
Maybe it's the grief but there's still something to be said for lying to people who are hurting.
-For Forever: AGAIN WITH THE VOICE BREAK AND I JUST CAN'T. How can you BS this easily in song?
-Sincerely, Me: This reminds me of "The Me Inside of Me" from Heathers but Connor wasn't a bad person, at least not Heather Chandler bad. Mighty upbeat for such manipulation. Colton Ryan is wicked talented. Guess it's really something since Colton was Ben's understudy onstage.
-Requiem: Kaitlyn's got pipes! And she seems to be the only sane person in her family. We all know Amy can sing, and Danny Pino.
So Evan can tell his mom the truth but he can't with Connor's family. Ffs, what. But busy mom is trying.
Alana is a neat character. I like her.
Busy mom is busy. But hey, I guess I'll chill with the mourning.
So part of Evan's issues are disappeared dad.
Evan has snark when he's comfortable with Zoe.
Dude's a stalker.
-If I Could Tell Her: Just when I thought there might be hope for the voice, nope, there it is. The double meaning with this song, it's a mix of manipulative and creepy.
Never mind about only sane woman. She's into Evan. And with busy mom, Evan be like "adopt me, please".
Wow, Alana is doing what the movie's trying to do, cause the movie's doing a terrible job of portraying mental health. And now let's make each other feel better by swapping notes on meds.
-The Anonymous Ones: The first original song, co-written by Amandla, this one is by far the best part. She feels the most relatable.
All of a sudden, the Murphys are Jewish. Just mention bar mitzvah.
So much pouting on Evan's part.
Evan's practically telling his tree climbing story through Connor.
I hate the social media age.
-You Will Be Found: The show's "Defying Gravity", and now they're trying too damn hard to make the audience cry. The song gives a good message, if only it weren't utilized in such a terrible plot. HIS BEST FRIEND DIED... YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HE DID NEXT! Did the movie call on fans to send in their testimonies? This is so messed.
Oh my Gods, stop name dropping product placement. Also, y'know that song Larry has about breaking in a glove? Nope. Gone.
Ooh, now Mom is getting lied to. Or more lies. So Evan has lied to just about everyone. And the only person with the truth is Jared.
Zoe comes over... wants to see Evan's room. Where do we think this is going? Zoe takes off her jacket and sits on his bed. If Evan were to be adopted by the Murphys, he'd be into his sister.
-Only Us: She actually likes Evan for him, not his BS. I guess that puts her back on the sanity wagon. I don't know how many times I've rolled my eyes in the past 85 minutes. Doesn't it now make casting a problem if BP is gay and Evan's into Zoe? Oh, a romantic montage. Evan's putting Zoe first and to hell with everyone else.
Mom's at the Murphys. Someone please bust Evan.
Name-drop Napa. WHERE THE HELL IS THIS MOVIE SET!?!
Let's make poor mom look dumb now.
Connor's scholarship money goes to Evan. And poor mom says no. Good for her! Poor mom is the best.
There was a song here, and Evan needs a serious beating.
The Connor Project needs $25k. Why not just get it from the Murphys.
Evan's gotten cocky, and Alana's calling him out.
Alana has officially joined the bad side but at least she has guilt.
-The Anonymous Ones (Reprise): Still the best. And Alana's posted the letter on Instagram.
So Connor wrote a suicide note to Evan and not his family? Oof. People commenting that the Murphys are horrible and neglectful.
Time to fess up, you jerk. You've destroyed this family.
-Words Fail: Words wouldn't have failed you an hour and a half ago? There's nothing you can say (or sing) to make up for how awful you are. Quit while you're ahead. It's like all that makeup is preventing BP from crying. The Murphys won't come forward to protect Evan, in fear of him doing something stupid. This character is the absolute worst. It's supposed to be emotional but all his emoting is hilarious. And the high notes are so cringe.
Poor mom still best character. The tree was Evan trying to kill himself.
-So Big/So Small: What is it with these tragic and/or horrible protagonists and the moment they face reality, there's a duet with the single parent. But Julianne Moore gets to sing! Finally. YOU SCORED ONE, MOVIE, YOU GOT ME.
Evan uses Instagram Live to confess. If Instagram has a stake in this movie somehow.
-A Little Closer: The other new song; I guess since he basically got away with it onstage, Evan's now trying to get to know Connor through his favorite books and reaching out to people who knew him. From someone Connor was in treatment with, he receives a video of Connor's songwriting, mentioned earlier on. He shares it with the Murphys, Jared and Alana.
The Connor Project reached its goal and they've used the money to reopen an orchid the Murphys frequented. Zoe comes to meet Evan there. They get to talking and SHE FORGIVES HIS TREACHEROUS SELF.
-Finale: Evan vows to be honest, and I DON'T BELIEVE HIM.
Now lay off with the scenic shot and end!
I love musicals and I've made pilgrimages to see 2021's movie musicals in theaters. In the Heights, seven times. Annette, twice. Everybody's Talking About Jamie, twice (once on a Jumbotron). Cinderella, once (due of the distance to the closest cinema). I fully intend to see tick, tick... BOOM!, West Side Story and Cyrano on a big screen with a great sound system. Theatres in my area weren't open when Sia's dangerously offensive travesty Music came out.
The trailer dropped on my birthday and links showered my inbox: "You love musicals, you'll love this!" I managed to avoid it (which wasn't easy given how often I saw In the Heights) until about a month later in front of The Sparks Brothers.
I'm a fan of Ben, all the way back to Pitch Perfect nine years ago (I'm absolutely guilty of writing Benji x Jesse), and he originated this role onstage. That's fine. I don't care about the casting since everyone else seems to think that's the only factor wrong. Maybe he was given a higher chance of being cast as his father, renowned film and theatre producer Marc Platt, was involved. They could've cast some tone deaf newcomer.
Then there's the ensemble, filled with incredible talent. Julianne Moore as Evan's mom, Kaitlyn Dever (24) as Evan's crush, Amy Adams and Danny Pino as Evan's wannabe adopted parents, Nik Dodani (27) and Colton Ryan (26) as Evan's family friend and so-called "best friend", Amandla Stenberg (22) as expanded upon character Alana. Excellent performances across the board but MVP is Moore. So Big/So Small successfully hit me like a truck.
What perhaps saddens me most is the film is directed by Stephen Chbosky, who has previous excellent experience with coming-of-age stories, having adapted his own novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, to celluloid. It seems that the creative decisions weren't on his end, as, with other stage to screen adaptations this year, the film is penned by the show's author, in this case Steven Levenson. It seems that this is Levenson's first released screenplay, with tick, tick... BOOM! Out in November and a new version of Fiddler on the Roof sometime in the future.
Overall, I feel emotionally manipulated but I was given good acting and average songs, but "The Anonymous Ones" is (chef's kiss).
Insincerely, Me.
First off, I've not seen the stage production. I had a chance a few years ago but passed it up because I'd rather not pay $325 for increased anxiety in a crowded venue. I don't have social anxiety disorder (hah, acronyms are fun) but I do have anxiety and depression. I'm huge for controversial material but this one reads so sociopathic and manipulative.
When I first learned about this Tony-winning musical (which confirms that all awards are rigged), my first comparison was to Robin Williams' 2009 black dramedy World's Greatest Dad, as well as the 80s cult classic turned stage musical Heathers. While Heathers is undeniably problematic, it doesn't try to play for sympathy. It's satire and it knows that. When DEH premiered at Toronto in August and the reviews began pouring in, I realized I wasn't reading into it wrong. I was right.
Evan Hansen is an anxiety-ridden teenager (who looks at least 40, even though his actor is 28) whose therapist has assigned him to write daily letters to himself as a confidence booster. He lives with his single mom Heidi and his only friend is "family friend" Jared. One day, after typing out one of his letters in the school library, Evan is approached by Connor Murphy, an equally lonely classmate, who offers to sign the cast on Evan's arm, which he got from falling out of a tree.
However, Connor finds the letter and, upon seeing his sister Zoe's name (on whom Evan harbors a crush), leaves with it. A few days later, Evan is summoned to the principal's office, where he learns from Connor's parents that Connor took his life (method unspecified) and the letter was found in his pocket. Rather than honesty, Evan fabricates a story about how he and Connor were friends.
And thus the web of deceit begins. Join me now on a song by song breakdown (and what's in between):
Makeup really coated Ben Platt, huh?
-Waving Through a Window: The only song I can remember off the top of my head before the movie. HE'S A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL. Now is it just me or is BP hamming up the puberty voice break? I can't with him trying too hard.
Amandla Stenberg is a treasure and I'm so glad she's taking on these roles. And Evan has a gay best friend.
Let's throw a school shooter comment in here, huh? Kaitlyn Dever, bless you. You are fantastic.
Julianne Moore is mom and she's busy mom. She's amazing.
AMY ADAMS.
I know you're awkward but ffs.
Oh hey, we made fun of Connor a few days ago and now we're sad and we'll take selfies in front of his locker.
Maybe it's the grief but there's still something to be said for lying to people who are hurting.
-For Forever: AGAIN WITH THE VOICE BREAK AND I JUST CAN'T. How can you BS this easily in song?
-Sincerely, Me: This reminds me of "The Me Inside of Me" from Heathers but Connor wasn't a bad person, at least not Heather Chandler bad. Mighty upbeat for such manipulation. Colton Ryan is wicked talented. Guess it's really something since Colton was Ben's understudy onstage.
-Requiem: Kaitlyn's got pipes! And she seems to be the only sane person in her family. We all know Amy can sing, and Danny Pino.
So Evan can tell his mom the truth but he can't with Connor's family. Ffs, what. But busy mom is trying.
Alana is a neat character. I like her.
Busy mom is busy. But hey, I guess I'll chill with the mourning.
So part of Evan's issues are disappeared dad.
Evan has snark when he's comfortable with Zoe.
Dude's a stalker.
-If I Could Tell Her: Just when I thought there might be hope for the voice, nope, there it is. The double meaning with this song, it's a mix of manipulative and creepy.
Never mind about only sane woman. She's into Evan. And with busy mom, Evan be like "adopt me, please".
Wow, Alana is doing what the movie's trying to do, cause the movie's doing a terrible job of portraying mental health. And now let's make each other feel better by swapping notes on meds.
-The Anonymous Ones: The first original song, co-written by Amandla, this one is by far the best part. She feels the most relatable.
All of a sudden, the Murphys are Jewish. Just mention bar mitzvah.
So much pouting on Evan's part.
Evan's practically telling his tree climbing story through Connor.
I hate the social media age.
-You Will Be Found: The show's "Defying Gravity", and now they're trying too damn hard to make the audience cry. The song gives a good message, if only it weren't utilized in such a terrible plot. HIS BEST FRIEND DIED... YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HE DID NEXT! Did the movie call on fans to send in their testimonies? This is so messed.
Oh my Gods, stop name dropping product placement. Also, y'know that song Larry has about breaking in a glove? Nope. Gone.
Ooh, now Mom is getting lied to. Or more lies. So Evan has lied to just about everyone. And the only person with the truth is Jared.
Zoe comes over... wants to see Evan's room. Where do we think this is going? Zoe takes off her jacket and sits on his bed. If Evan were to be adopted by the Murphys, he'd be into his sister.
-Only Us: She actually likes Evan for him, not his BS. I guess that puts her back on the sanity wagon. I don't know how many times I've rolled my eyes in the past 85 minutes. Doesn't it now make casting a problem if BP is gay and Evan's into Zoe? Oh, a romantic montage. Evan's putting Zoe first and to hell with everyone else.
Mom's at the Murphys. Someone please bust Evan.
Name-drop Napa. WHERE THE HELL IS THIS MOVIE SET!?!
Let's make poor mom look dumb now.
Connor's scholarship money goes to Evan. And poor mom says no. Good for her! Poor mom is the best.
There was a song here, and Evan needs a serious beating.
The Connor Project needs $25k. Why not just get it from the Murphys.
Evan's gotten cocky, and Alana's calling him out.
Alana has officially joined the bad side but at least she has guilt.
-The Anonymous Ones (Reprise): Still the best. And Alana's posted the letter on Instagram.
So Connor wrote a suicide note to Evan and not his family? Oof. People commenting that the Murphys are horrible and neglectful.
Time to fess up, you jerk. You've destroyed this family.
-Words Fail: Words wouldn't have failed you an hour and a half ago? There's nothing you can say (or sing) to make up for how awful you are. Quit while you're ahead. It's like all that makeup is preventing BP from crying. The Murphys won't come forward to protect Evan, in fear of him doing something stupid. This character is the absolute worst. It's supposed to be emotional but all his emoting is hilarious. And the high notes are so cringe.
Poor mom still best character. The tree was Evan trying to kill himself.
-So Big/So Small: What is it with these tragic and/or horrible protagonists and the moment they face reality, there's a duet with the single parent. But Julianne Moore gets to sing! Finally. YOU SCORED ONE, MOVIE, YOU GOT ME.
Evan uses Instagram Live to confess. If Instagram has a stake in this movie somehow.
-A Little Closer: The other new song; I guess since he basically got away with it onstage, Evan's now trying to get to know Connor through his favorite books and reaching out to people who knew him. From someone Connor was in treatment with, he receives a video of Connor's songwriting, mentioned earlier on. He shares it with the Murphys, Jared and Alana.
The Connor Project reached its goal and they've used the money to reopen an orchid the Murphys frequented. Zoe comes to meet Evan there. They get to talking and SHE FORGIVES HIS TREACHEROUS SELF.
-Finale: Evan vows to be honest, and I DON'T BELIEVE HIM.
Now lay off with the scenic shot and end!
I love musicals and I've made pilgrimages to see 2021's movie musicals in theaters. In the Heights, seven times. Annette, twice. Everybody's Talking About Jamie, twice (once on a Jumbotron). Cinderella, once (due of the distance to the closest cinema). I fully intend to see tick, tick... BOOM!, West Side Story and Cyrano on a big screen with a great sound system. Theatres in my area weren't open when Sia's dangerously offensive travesty Music came out.
The trailer dropped on my birthday and links showered my inbox: "You love musicals, you'll love this!" I managed to avoid it (which wasn't easy given how often I saw In the Heights) until about a month later in front of The Sparks Brothers.
I'm a fan of Ben, all the way back to Pitch Perfect nine years ago (I'm absolutely guilty of writing Benji x Jesse), and he originated this role onstage. That's fine. I don't care about the casting since everyone else seems to think that's the only factor wrong. Maybe he was given a higher chance of being cast as his father, renowned film and theatre producer Marc Platt, was involved. They could've cast some tone deaf newcomer.
Then there's the ensemble, filled with incredible talent. Julianne Moore as Evan's mom, Kaitlyn Dever (24) as Evan's crush, Amy Adams and Danny Pino as Evan's wannabe adopted parents, Nik Dodani (27) and Colton Ryan (26) as Evan's family friend and so-called "best friend", Amandla Stenberg (22) as expanded upon character Alana. Excellent performances across the board but MVP is Moore. So Big/So Small successfully hit me like a truck.
What perhaps saddens me most is the film is directed by Stephen Chbosky, who has previous excellent experience with coming-of-age stories, having adapted his own novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, to celluloid. It seems that the creative decisions weren't on his end, as, with other stage to screen adaptations this year, the film is penned by the show's author, in this case Steven Levenson. It seems that this is Levenson's first released screenplay, with tick, tick... BOOM! Out in November and a new version of Fiddler on the Roof sometime in the future.
Overall, I feel emotionally manipulated but I was given good acting and average songs, but "The Anonymous Ones" is (chef's kiss).
Insincerely, Me.