The First Reviews For “Dear Evan Hansen” Are Mixed

September 10, 2021 / Posted by:

The first trailer for the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen had barely hit the internet when people began roasting it like a marshmallow, mostly cracking jokes about how the film’s star, 27-year-old Ben Platt, looked more like he should be playing a grown man stressed out about missing a mortgage payment than a high school student. Ben Platt slapped back, saying that adult actors have been playing teens forever, and people need to get over it. So with that mindset, people should go into a viewing of the film and accept it for what it is based on the story and songs and production. And according to some recent reviews, those parts of the movie aren’t great either. Then again, some people that saw it don’t think it’s that bad.

Dear Evan Hansen opened the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival yesterday, making it the film’s first official premiere. It’s scheduled to be released in theaters in North America on September 24th. But until then, we’ve got reviews which should give you an idea of what you’ll be in for, should you be compelled to venture out in public to your local AMC, and pay $15 to watch an adult man in a blue polo shirt fulfill a promise to his wealthy father by spending 137 minutes pretending to be a teen boy that’s gaslighting a dead kid’s family (look it up, that’s the plot). Slashfilm has compiled a few first impressions, and they’re deeply mixed, from good to bad to wow he really did that. Because I’m nothing if not an eternal optimist driven by the pursuit of joy, let’s start with the good!

I love that the most positive reviews of this film, so far, end with blatant backhanded compliments. That’s what we’re dealing with here, folks. Like biting into a Quiznos sandwich and the only compliment you can muster up is that they’re very generous with the distribution of napkins. Here’s the…less good. And I’ll be honest, these are the reviews that are selling me on this film. I just checked my schedule to see if I was busy on the 24th.

One of the biggest takeaway from these early reviews is that the other film’s star, Kaitlyn Dever, can walk away with her head held high, because she’s able to do the best with what she was given to work with. Also, that the film’s supporting stars, like Julianne Moore and Amy Adams, are fine. Likely because none of them could be overshadowed by Ben’s face, which always looks like he’s about to ask his doctor if Lipitor is right for him. It looks like Ben’s visibly not-teenage face was a major factor in the film’s negative reception.

I bet Ben Platt and his dad saw those early reviews, and decided the only way to save this was to pull a Cats. They’re calling an endless number of visual effects studios to see how quickly they can de-age his face in time for the wide release. And I say, don’t do that! We demand the questionable old face cut! Please, it’s been another terrible year, we deserve this.

Pic: YouTube

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