I Kinda Need To Rant Here.

I kinda need to rant here.

I just watched the new Dear Evan Hansen movie and I personally thought it was amazing. So imagine my surprise when I see that so many people hated the movie. Now I don’t expect people to live the movie just because I love it, but I feel like people are giving this movie WAY too much hate. I think one of main reasons people don’t like it is because it’s an adaptation. They go in expecting it to be exactly like the musical, and then throw a hissy fit when it’s not. Both are different experiences. It’s supposed to be different. That doesn’t mean that the movie is bad! There seems to be a common pattern of pointing out a flaw of the movie, but failing to mention that the musical actually had similar problems!

One of the other complaints heard is that the movie makes them uncomfortable. ITS KINDA SUPPOSED TO BE! When talking about serious issues like mental health, it’s going to make people uncomfortable. Also did they not watch the musical. Both have multiple uncomfortable moments. For Pete’s sake I’m pretty sure the Muscial has more moments that make you wish that that person kept that thought in their head.

I also feel like people don’t understand that the musical, in my opinion, never actually addressed the mental health issues directly. It was mainly shown through the mental health stigma surrounding Conner, but most of that stigma wasn’t called out. Any time that it was was really minor and only in a few sentences. When I watched the musical I was the only one out of my siblings to point out all of the issues. The musical represents mental stigma by having all of the characters stigmatize people, without actually addressing that their actions are wrong. Kind of a this is what the world is type of situation. The movie is a lot more direct when addressing that stigma based behaviors of people, calling them out, and showing the different types of ways that people handle their own issues. I LOVED that the movie decided to use Alana’s character to show that even the most seemingly put together people can struggle with the same issues, not just the social outcasts.

Now I have fondness for both the musical and the movie. Both bring different things to the table, and I appreciate that. The Muscial does some things better and I think the movie does other things better. I’m not saying that no one has the right to hate the movie. But I am saying that people need to start looking at things from different angles. You might still not like the movie, but can still appreciate that it’s something that others can find joy out of it.

I’m not sure if I explained my thought process well, but hopefully some people see where I am coming from.