Dear Evan Hansen
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Ben Platt's father would be that person, to be exact, who's a very influential producer in Hollywood and on Broadway.
The music is catchy so it distracts you from the fact Evan is taking advantage of someone committing suicide. This show should've been controversial, but since the music is so catchy, you overlook the flaws. Without the music, if this show was just shot for the basic plot that's there, you kinda almost have 13 Reasons Why, which, by the time that show finished, it not only had jumped the shark a few times, but was also VERY controversial for what happens in season one of this show, where the male lead someone turns himself into the victim of a suicide.
There's a few main differences and some similarities. The real key differences being that since it was a period piece, the questionable material that, if it had been a modern day film, would never have passed, they were able to get away with, and also, they were adapting PT Barnum's life-story. Granted he was a controversial person as time went on, but at least they were adapting and the awful part's had a reason for existing in that movie.
In Dear Evan Hanson, the music is fairly generic. Pasek & Paul do it on purpose - They give you the bubbly fun music to draw you in and then for no reason, that generic music is applied to a turd of a story. In this case, it's all applied to a fictional story of a kid who decides to pull one over on everyone CONCERNING A SUICIDE and makes himself out to be the victim. DEH is set modern-day too, which just adds to it's why it's so controversial.
Now of course, the main thing the two films/shows have in common is elitism, elitism, and more elitism.
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Woof, I'm glad I'm hearing about this before I saw it.
I found 13 Reasons hard to get through for reasons I don't want to delve into
If it's anything like that, no thanks
- Jul 27, 2015
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To top it off, Evan’s decisions to not come clean immediately is chalked up to his anxiety, as if that’s a justification for poor moral judgment.
And despite how much I hate the story, I was whistling “You Will Be Found” all day long because I couldn’t get it out of my head.
I'm being genuine when I say, I've never heard of this before today
If you're going to use something like suicide as a plot point you better have something important to say
This is a good read:
Dear Evan Hansen, You Are a Creep
The hero of this award-winning musical is a lying creep everybody loves.
They really fast tracked this movie huh, I felt like it wasn’t that long ago that this got announced.
Well, it looks like Catz is all I have left nowThis is a good read:
Dear Evan Hansen, You Are a Creep
The hero of this award-winning musical is a lying creep everybody loves.slate.com
- Apr 18, 2018
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I also never knew about the story until today. It just goes to show that money can buy anything, regardless of taste.
They moved at a much faster pace than they otherwise would have so that Platt could star. The movie was supposed to go into production earlier even (it started in August, but got delayed by COVID). Basically, they wanted to get this done with Platt ASAP because of his age or else they were going to have to recast and the association he has with the role far outweighs recasting as of now as far as branding.
Although, it should be noted that LMM knew when to step back from the lead role of Usnavi as even when the film was supposed to be made in 2013/14, LMM had already said he wouldn't star. And it looks like we're the benefactors of that by all indicators as Anthony Ramos is a perfect choice and he can actually sing!
There was a lot of people who thought it was about a gay kid who was bullied for the longest time. Listening to the music, I can get why some would think that.I also never knew about the story until today. It just goes to show that money can buy anything, regardless of taste.
The trailer certainly didn’t do a good job at showing this. Looks like the same song, same dance mostly from what we can see.
- May 26, 2010
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I admittedly never got into Dear Even Hansen or even listened to the soundtrack, even as a moderate Broadway fan. Reading the synopsis... Woof.
It wouldn't be the first time an outright offensive musical has been lauded and won Tony Awards this millennium (cough Thoroughly Modern Millie cough), though this appears to be a case where the problematic elements are less immediately obvious.
It wouldn't be the first time an outright offensive musical has been lauded and won Tony Awards this millennium (cough Thoroughly Modern Millie cough), though this appears to be a case where the problematic elements are less immediately obvious.
Yeah, you can listen to pretty much the entire soundtrack and have absolutely no idea what the plot is.
- Jul 27, 2015
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You really have to pay attention to it in order to catch what’s going on. “Sincerely Me” is the first big “tell” that something is wrong with the show.
“Be More Chill” deserved the movie adaptation... especially if they had actually gotten Keanu Reeves.
It's the same with The Greatest Showman. With TGSM it's slightly more obvious listening to the soundtrack, but per the Pasek & Paul Style, the songs are far from your typical broadway songs. They're very pop and many could simply stand on their own. They use the catchy music to sell the shows. Last I had heard, Disney wanted to bring TGSM to broadway, so we'll see if that winds up happening.
As far as Be More Chill, Disney (20th Century) has the rights for a film adaptation. Directors had been chosen when the show was still off-broadway, but the project has since gone quiet:
Shawn Levy & Greg Berlanti Chosen To Team On Movie Version Of Broadway-Bound ‘Be More Chill’
Shawn Levy & Greg Berlanti To Team On Movie Version Of Broadway-Bound 'Be More Chill'
deadline.com
- Sep 10, 2017
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Pasek and Paul have a
Pasek and Paul have a way of making the problematic implications of their musical efforts sail over your head.
If they ever do Be More Chill, I really, really hope they lean more towards the Off-Broadway/London production. Those made it clear Jeremy was being an ass, very Little Shop of Horrors-y. I loved the part in Upgrade where Jeremy grumbles over seeing... his crush's boyfriend talk about his own experiences with loneliness and depression. The Broadway production, though, tried to have its cake and eat it with songs like Loser Geek Whatever (probably inspired by the success DEH had with You Will Be Found too) and ended up being a tonal disaster.
EDIT: Btw is the movie at 20th? I thought they were still shopping it around, they just had a deal there. Could be wrong though, both producers are (were) important to that studio.
Pasek and Paul have a way of making the problematic implications of their musical efforts sail over your head.
If they ever do Be More Chill, I really, really hope they lean more towards the Off-Broadway/London production. Those made it clear Jeremy was being an ass, very Little Shop of Horrors-y. I loved the part in Upgrade where Jeremy grumbles over seeing... his crush's boyfriend talk about his own experiences with loneliness and depression. The Broadway production, though, tried to have its cake and eat it with songs like Loser Geek Whatever (probably inspired by the success DEH had with You Will Be Found too) and ended up being a tonal disaster.
EDIT: Btw is the movie at 20th? I thought they were still shopping it around, they just had a deal there. Could be wrong though, both producers are (were) important to that studio.
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- Jul 27, 2015
- 9,804
- 48,779
Well... the adjustments they made to the Broadway version ruined a lot of the small things that made the off-Broadway so fun, especially the SQUIP.As far as Be More Chill, Disney (20th Century) has the rights for a film adaptation. Directors had been chosen when the show was still off-broadway, but the project has since gone quiet:
Shawn Levy & Greg Berlanti Chosen To Team On Movie Version Of Broadway-Bound ‘Be More Chill’
Shawn Levy & Greg Berlanti To Team On Movie Version Of Broadway-Bound 'Be More Chill'
- Sep 10, 2017
- 2,743
- 3,541
