Here on the internet, we all love discourse, and what produces discourse better than a film adaptation of an infamously controversial stage musical?
Dear Evan Hansen premiered just a few weeks ago, but the memes and critiques have been going strong for months, if not years. Based on the Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, and Steven Levenson musical that took Broadway by storm—and changed the shape of theater kid beef for generations to come—the film is a pretty average teenage drama. Socially anxious and virtually friendless, Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) accidentally inserts himself into the middle of a family tragedy when his therapy exercise is mistaken for the suicide note of his peer, Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan). Spinning a web of lies and fake emails, Evan attempts to offer what he believes to be hope to the grieving family, all while becoming closer and closer to Connor’s sister Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever), his long-time crush. When Evan’s house of cards inevitably begins to collapse, he is forced to ask himself what it means to help others, and what it means to help yourself.
Continue reading “Review: At Least ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Isn’t As Bad As It Could Have Been”