Skip to main content

New top story from Time: Don’t Fall for Dear Evan Hansen

https://ift.tt/2WfJSBO

Dear Evan Hansen, the film adaptation of Steven Levenson’s multiple-award-winning stage musical, is ostensibly a nice little movie about a teen trying to overcome Social Anxiety disorder, about learning that it’s OK to be anxious and depressed and that being medicated for those things, if necessary, is normal and healthy. But it’s really a monster movie, a picture in which a troubled kid gets away with monstrous behavior because he’s anxious—oh, so anxious—and just can’t help himself. Meanwhile, another kid dies by suicide and everyone, including his own mother, grasps at straws to think of anything good to say about him. This is a movie that repeatedly calls out a dead kid just to make its points. If that’s your idea of entertainment—or even just adequate message-based filmmaking—run, don’t walk, to see Dear Evan Hansen.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

It’s entirely possible that Dear Evan Hansen worked better onstage, where it’s easier to accept signs and signals writ large, especially when they arrive in the form of pseudo-revelatory songs belted show-biz-style. I have not seen the stage production, but watching the movie version—directed by Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and starring now-28-year-old Ben Platt, reprising the role he originated on Broadway—I felt a creeping sense of sorrow for anyone who had ever bought a ticket to this ill-advised medicine show. Because the movie goes down like a horse pill.

Dear Evan Hansen
Erika Doss/Universal StudiosBen Platt and Nik Dodani in “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Platt’s Evan is a high-school senior whose life is ruled by anxiety and depression. His father went AWOL long ago, and his hardworking mother, Heidi (Julianne Moore, giving her all in a thankless role), struggles to raise him alone. His therapist has advised him to write helpful letters to himself every day, as a way of bolstering his courage for whatever may lie ahead. On his first day of high school—his arm in a cast following a summer accident—he writes one of those letters, in which he confesses his love for a classmate, Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever), and then accidentally prints it out at school. Connor (Colton Ryan), the school loner—we know this because he wears black clothing and (shudder) dark nail polish—makes it to the printer before Evan does, and reads the letter. Because Zoe is his sister, Connor thinks the letter is some sort of scheme on Evan’s part, a ploy to make him blow his gasket in public, as everyone always expects him to do. He pockets the letter and storms off. The next day, Evan—and everyone else—discovers Connor has died by suicide, a revelation that’s dropped as if he’d failed to come to school because of a hangnail.

Read more reviews by Stephanie Zacharek

The complication is that before Connor discovered the letter, he’d signed Evan’s cast in large, definitive letters, either as a mean joke or an awkward attempt at friendship—the movie itself isn’t sure which. Because Evan has no other friends (save one, Jared, played by Nik Dodani, whose deadpan sarcasm is a relief from the movie’s relentless earnestness), everyone, including Connor’s grief-stricken but weirdly clueless mother (a quivering Amy Adams), comes to believe that he and Connor were friends, and probably lovers. Evan comes to relish this role of make-believe best buddy to the plot’s sacrificial suicide kid, and he plays it to the hilt until finally—an eternity later, really—his lies catch up with him.

Is that even a plot? I’m still not sure. The movie weaves a precarious case of special pleading for its main character while reassuring us that the dead kid really didn’t have much of a personality to begin with—until, miraculously, minutes from the end, we’re graced with the revelation that Connor, too, was a real human being. With feelings! And he even played guitar! Meanwhile, Platt, dressed in an assortment of kindergarten-style stripey T-shirts, looks a little too much like Will Ferrell playing a full-grown man stuck in the mind of a teenager. He hits one sensitive song after another—most of them about being an outsider looking in, and the like—out of the sing-your-heart-out ballpark. Many have already noted that Platt now looks too old to play a teenager, but that’s hardly the movie’s gravest sin. Dear Evan Hansen, so exquisitely engineered to give us all the feels, is really a story about a megalomaniac in training. Don’t fall for it.

If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. In emergencies, call 911 or seek care from a local hospital or mental-health provider.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Breaking News LIVE: Top Headlines This Hour https://ift.tt/30mZeTB

The total number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed 35 million, including more than 1,066,000 fatalities. More than 27,629,990 patients are reported to have recovered. Follow this breaking news blog for live updates on the coronavirus pandemic as it continues to pose a challenge for health workers and scientists who are in a race against time to produce a vaccine/medicine. 

Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett as next justice of Supreme Court https://ift.tt/36gC99f

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday, capping a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that will resonate for a generation and that he hopes will provide a needed boost to his reelection effort.

FOX NEWS: Miniskirt named 'most iconic fashion statement of all time' in British survey

Miniskirt named 'most iconic fashion statement of all time' in British survey It’s official: Nobody remembers your sweet Members Only jacket from 1983. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2yTg1Dn

4th Street Transit Lane Offers Muni a Path Forward

4th Street Transit Lane Offers Muni a Path Forward By Bonnie Jean von Krogh A new transit lane was installed last week   on 4th Street in SoMA as part of the previously approved 4th Street Transit Improvement Project . As the first transit lane put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, this change will help protect Muni passengers as congestion returns to city streets. Transit lanes allow buses to complete trips in less time and turn around back into service more quickly. That means with our limited resources, we can provide more Muni service with the same number of buses, reducing crowding and maintaining better physical distancing onboard. The benefits that transit lanes provide – saving time and avoiding congestion – have become critically important during COVID-19 to protect the health of Muni passengers. Physical distancing requirements mean that Muni’s passenger capacity is cut in a third from pre-COVID levels. When buses ...

FOX NEWS: Woman who had to cancel birthday trip because of coronavirus recreates entire vacation at home in viral video

Woman who had to cancel birthday trip because of coronavirus recreates entire vacation at home in viral video There will be no crying for this birthday. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2Xwfa4W

Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case LIVE Updates: Actor's sister Shweta Singh Kirti hits back at Rhea Chakraborty https://ift.tt/3hEjyXe

Rhea Chakraborty's deleted WhatsApp chat has put the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in action. The team began their investigation on Thursday and reached Goa in search of Gaurav Arya, who was in contact with Sushant Singh Rajput's girlfriend Rhea in connection to buying and selling drugs. The move came after NCB filed an FIR against the actress and two others. On the other hand, Rhea Chakraborty's claims that Sushant's family didn't love him and he hadn't met his father in five years received a sharp reply from Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kirti.

New top story from Time: What to Watch For In Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s First Presidential Debate

https://ift.tt/3kSr0zp Four years ago, Donald Trump prepared to debate his general-election opponent for the first time. Down in the polls to an experienced, traditional pol, he had been reduced to spreading weird rumors and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the vote, even as questions swirled about his personal finances. Now Trump is the incumbent president, and the conditions could not be more different as he prepares for his first debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday: a nation wracked by disease, disorder and disasters; an election neither candidate is treating like a foregone conclusion. And yet the similarities to 2016 are striking, from new questions about Trump’s taxes to another open Supreme Court seat . The main similarity, of course, is Trump—a singular political figure who has intensely polarized the nation. The debate, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, is especially momentous because voters ha...

New top story from Time: Swimmer Killed in Apparent Shark Attack Off Maine Coast

https://ift.tt/30QB2IN HARPSWELL, Maine — A woman was killed in an apparent shark attack off the coast of Maine on Monday, a rare occurrence that has only been recorded once before in the state by an unprovoked shark. Maine Marine Patrol said a witness saw the woman swimming off the shore of Bailey Island when she was injured in what appeared to be a shark attack. Two kayakers helped the person get to shore, and an ambulance provided further assistance, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, Marine Patrol said. The name of the woman was not available on Monday. There has only been one recorded unprovoked shark attack in Maine, New England shark expert James Sulikowski told the Portland Press Herald. Sulikowski, who researches for Arizona State University, said it’s possible the shark mistook the person for food. The state Marine Patrol is urging swimmers and boaters to use caution near Bailey Island and to avoid swimming near schooling fish or seals.

New top story from Time: ‘We’re Nowhere Close to the Deal’. Coronavirus Aid Package Talks Break Down as Trump Rejects Help for Cities

https://ift.tt/3098lHW WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed Democratic demands for aid to cash-strapped cities in a new coronavirus relief package and lashed out at Republican allies as talks stalemated over assistance for millions of Americans. Another lawmaker tested positive for the virus. Republicans, beset by delays and infighting, signaled a willingness to swiftly approve a modest package to revamp a $600 weekly unemployment benefit that’s running out. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., roundly rejected that approach as meager, all but forcing Republicans back to the negotiating table. Without action, the aid expires Friday. “We’re nowhere close to the deal,” said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. He said they’re “miles apart.” Stark differences remain between the $3 trillion proposal from Democrats and $1 trillion counter from Republicans, a standoff that is testing Trump and Congress ahead of the November election and putting...

Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Update

Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Update By Amy Fowler Geary Boulevard is a critical east-west arterial and one of the busiest bus corridors in North America, connecting downtown San Francisco to the Richmond District. The SFMTA has been busy working on the second phase of planned improvements on Geary, called the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project , to improve Muni’s 38 Geary bus service and address traffic safety between 34th Avenue and Stanyan Street.  The project is building on the success of the Geary Rapid Project , which was recently completed on time and on budget and has already shown promising travel time savings on the eastern half of the Geary corridor.    Last fall, we asked neighbors in the Richmond about their priorities for transit, safety and driving issues on Geary via pop-up events on the corridor and a Virtual Open House. Thanks to input from over 600 community members , the SFMTA has used this feedback to draft the detailed, block-by-bloc...