Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 751
RT slug: dear_evan_hansen
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dear_evan_hansen
Release year: 2021
Runtime: 137 mins
Wide release date: 2021-09-24
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: 2021-09-09
Streaming release date: —
Tomatometer final: 28%
Audience score final: —
Genres: Drama, Musical
Directors: Stephen Chbosky
Writers: Steven Levenson
Producers: Adam Siegel, Marc Platt
MPAA rating: PG-13
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-06-14 19:57:21
Updated: 2026-06-14 19:57:21
An anxious high school student becomes entangled in a lie after a classmate's death, bringing him closer to a grieving family while threatening to expose the truth.
—
Canonical reviews: 281
Canonical fresh: 80
Canonical rotten: 201
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 28%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-06-14 19:48:08
Snapshot Tomatometer: 28%
Snapshot review count: 281
Snapshot fresh count: 80
Snapshot rotten count: 201
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #1301 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Universal Pictures | distributor |
| Marc Platt Productions | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Platt | Evan Hansen |
| 2 | Amy Adams | Cynthia Murphy |
| 3 | Julianne Moore | Heidi Hansen |
| 4 | Kaitlyn Dever | Zoe Murphy |
| 5 | Amandla Stenberg | Alana Beck |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 767 | processed | — | 2026-06-14 19:57:21 | Processed successfully into movie_id=751 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1301 | 2026-06-14 14:48:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-14 19:48:08 | 28% | 281 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 281 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=281, fresh=80, rotten=201, tomatometer=28%. Net new reviews added=281, fresh=80, rotten=201. Current canonical totals=281 reviews, 80 fresh, 201 rotten, tomatometer=28% (28.470%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (281). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (28%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 170856 | Geoffrey Macnab | iNews.co.uk | Rotten | 2/5 | 2025-01-16T23:25:27Z | 2025-01-16 23:25:27 | Delving into the issue of young people's mental health is courageous - but this mawkish adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical simply doesn't work. |
| 170857 | Joseph Tomastik | Loud and Clear Reviews | Rotten | 3/5 | 2024-10-03T18:59:49Z | 2024-10-03 18:59:49 | Dear Evan Hansen deals with very complicated scenarios in a way that I have very complicated feelings towards. I see what it’s trying to do, and it succeeds in some ways, but it feels dirty in others. |
| 170858 | Calum Cooper | In Their Own League | Rotten | — | 2024-07-15T13:03:16Z | 2024-07-15 13:03:16 | But the story Evan fabricates, even with context, is so shockingly abhorrent, and the film never recovers from that. |
| 170859 | Zach Pope | Zach Pope Reviews | Rotten | — | 2023-07-26T21:03:04Z | 2023-07-26 21:03:04 | I’m not familiar with the source material but I have no idea how it worked on stage… I could not get behind Hansen as a character making the entire film a giant mixed bag |
| 170860 | Emma-Jane Betts | The Digital Fix | Rotten | 3/5 | 2023-07-25T17:49:48Z | 2023-07-25 17:49:48 | When you are force-fed exactly what to feel and witness important social issues being used as placeholders for plot repeatedly without further investigation, you can’t help but question the sincerity of this musical flick’s messages. |
| 170861 | Nicolas Soto | But Why Tho? | Fresh | 6.5/10 | 2023-01-21T18:10:25Z | 2023-01-21 18:10:25 | Dear Evan Hansen proved to be an adept adaptation of the original stage musical but ultimately disappointing in several areas...Dear Evan Hansen just proved that not all musicals should be adapted, no matter how successful they were... |
| 170862 | Dallas King | Flick Feast | Rotten | 1/5 | 2022-11-12T22:34:15Z | 2022-11-12 22:34:15 | Dear Evan Hansen... I cannot forgive you for inflicting the worst movie musical since Cats upon us. |
| 170863 | Emma Clark-Dow | The Post NZ | Fresh | — | 2022-07-18T18:48:45Z | 2022-07-18 18:48:45 | This film is a beautifully tragic portrayal of mental health – and the importance of each life. |
| 170864 | Sarah Ward | Concrete Playground | Rotten | — | 2022-07-08T08:38:51Z | 2022-07-08 08:38:51 | Lively cinematography and choreography could never overcome Dear Evan Hansen's questionable narrative and wildly misplaced sentiments, or its misfire of a central portrayal, but so many of the picture's choices feel like it's writing hate mail to itself. |
| 170865 | Javier Ocaña | El Pais (Spain) | Fresh | — | 2022-06-22T17:05:43Z | 2022-06-22 17:05:43 | Despite the plainness in Chbosky's direction... fans of the genre can find a genuine product that captures a time of sadness, crisis, and imposture. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 170866 | John Paul King | Washington Blade | Rotten | — | 2022-05-19T23:13:17Z | 2022-05-19 23:13:17 | Just another promising project sunk by Hollywood hubris, a mediocre misfire with a few good moments that never really had the chance at being more than that, but certainly could have been so much less. |
| 170867 | Dan Bayer | Next Best Picture | Rotten | 4/10 | 2022-05-10T04:07:28Z | 2022-05-10 04:07:28 | The film reeks of a group of people so in love with the original piece of work that they couldn't even see the flaws... There may yet be a way to save this material, this simply fine film version can't do it. |
| 170868 | Pete Vonder Haar | Houston Press | Rotten | 2/5 | 2022-04-19T18:58:03Z | 2022-04-19 18:58:03 | The obvious solution (to the age thing) would've been to repurpose this as a iHiding Outi remake, with Platt reprising the Jon Cryer role as an adult masquerading among teenagers. |
| 170869 | David Reddish | Queerty | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2022-03-13T21:02:30Z | 2022-03-13 21:02:30 | Platt has a chance to showcase his soaring vocal range, but has no chemistry with his fellow performers. |
| 170870 | Rubén Rosario | MiamiArtZine | Rotten | — | 2022-03-10T23:25:38Z | 2022-03-10 23:25:38 | What we're left with is a hollow shell, a body snatcher that might resemble the show you probably paid too much to see live but nevertheless lacks its own distinctive personality. |
| 170871 | James Croot | The Post NZ | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2022-03-08T01:01:07Z | 2022-03-08 01:01:07 | Let’s be honest, Evan’s behaviour is less-than-gallant and rather manipulative, which doesn’t help Platt’s cause. |
| 170872 | Victoria Luxford | City AM | Rotten | 1/5 | 2022-03-03T14:56:46Z | 2022-03-03 14:56:46 | With the makeup and vacant stare, Platt looms around the screen like the villain in a slasher movie, staring unblinking as people pour out their grief. A performance that should be sympathic misfires so badly that hes given the air of a lunatic. |
| 170873 | Jennifer Heaton | Alternative Lens | Rotten | 3.5/10 | 2022-02-28T15:29:59Z | 2022-02-28 15:29:59 | Most of the numbers are delivered whilst sitting down or standing still with next to no visual flair. ... Like, if you took away the music and let the characters just say the lyrics as dialogue, not very much would change. Thats a bad sign. |
| 170874 | David Lynch | KENS 5 TV (San Antonio) | Rotten | — | 2022-02-22T01:18:02Z | 2022-02-22 01:18:02 | "Deciphering the film's aims quickly and frustratingly becomes our only investment, and its an investment born of dismay." |
| 170875 | Jeffrey Harris | 411mania | Rotten | 5/10 | 2022-02-14T10:45:55Z | 2022-02-14 10:45:55 | The film lacks the necessary energy, style, and emotional resonance to really push across its themes and ideas. |
| 170876 | Jeff Nelson | DVDTalk.com | Rotten | 1/5 | 2022-02-12T02:56:13Z | 2022-02-12 02:56:13 | Dear Evan Hansen has an outdated perception of anxiety, depression, and suicide. It's shocking that this movie even got the green-light in this day and age. Dear Evan Hansen is manipulative, loathsome, and insulting. |
| 170877 | Carson Timar | Clapper | Rotten | — | 2022-02-12T01:18:11Z | 2022-02-12 01:18:11 | Both for fans of the play and newcomers to the story, the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen is a complete failure. |
| 170878 | Avaryl Halley | Movie Bitches | Rotten | 1/5 | 2022-02-03T18:01:29Z | 2022-02-03 18:01:29 | It's bafflingly shallow |
| 170879 | Andrew Galdi | Movie Bitches | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2022-02-03T18:01:11Z | 2022-02-03 18:01:11 | This should just be called Empty Platt-itudes |
| 170880 | Robert Sims | Lights Camera Austin | Rotten | — | 2022-01-21T23:15:27Z | 2022-01-21 23:15:27 | An incongruous, cringe-inducing anti-musical that lacks any sense of self-awareness. |
| 170881 | Matthew Toomey | ABC Radio Brisbane | Fresh | B+ | 2021-12-19T23:00:09Z | 2021-12-19 23:00:09 | While there's no true substitute for quality live theatre, Chbosky does an admirable job translating the energy from the stage show and bringing it into the movie. |
| 170882 | Peter Gray | The AU Review | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-12-18T00:51:30Z | 2021-12-18 00:51:30 | Dear Evan Hansen may not always get everything right, but it's far from getting everything wrong too |
| 170883 | Jorge Loser | Espinof | Rotten | — | 2021-12-15T18:40:15Z | 2021-12-15 18:40:15 | Its lukewarm message is the least of its problems. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 170884 | Alberto Corona | Cinemanía (Spain) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-12-14T20:50:25Z | 2021-12-14 20:50:25 | Dear Evan Hansen's plot, in it's natural state, has always been astonishingly delusional. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 170885 | Sarah Gopaul | Digital Journal | Rotten | — | 2021-12-12T18:40:14Z | 2021-12-12 18:40:14 | [T]his movie produces a conflicting viewing experience as its core elements are unappealing, but there are many enjoyable performances. |
| 170886 | Paul Byrnes | Sydney Morning Herald | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-12-11T02:50:46Z | 2021-12-11 02:50:46 | Something has been lost in translation from stage to screen because what's there now does not seem strong enough to have won best musical and best score on Broadway. And at 137 minutes, it does go on. |
| 170887 | Shawn Edwards | Fox 4 Kansas City | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-12-11T00:40:49Z | 2021-12-11 00:40:49 | Very well sung as a musical, just didn't work as a movie for me. |
| 170888 | Jim Schembri | jimschembri.com | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2021-12-08T11:40:08Z | 2021-12-08 11:40:08 | The friendship fantasy at the core of the story pokes into some dark corners about the issue of teenage mental illness, allowing the film to deliver several sound punches about the conflict between the importance of honesty and the power of lies. |
| 170889 | Cain Noble-Davies | FILMINK (Australia) | Rotten | 4/20 | 2021-12-02T09:40:11Z | 2021-12-02 09:40:11 | ...a tonal schmaltzpocalypse on par with trying to turn Joker into a frothy rom-com... |
| 170890 | Luis Angel H. Mora | Cine Premiere | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-11-15T17:20:22Z | 2021-11-15 17:20:22 | A somewhat strange amalgam... Despite the work's strangeness, Dear Evan Hansen is an enjoyable and entertaining film. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 170891 | Ella Kemp | WeLoveCinema | Rotten | 3/5 | 2021-11-15T09:40:04Z | 2021-11-15 09:40:04 | It bothers me how Evan Hansen is so clearly unwell, yet finds his future fixed with such ease. |
| 170892 | Gabriela Meza | Fuera de Foco | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2021-11-12T02:50:31Z | 2021-11-12 02:50:31 | The film does not have the responsibility to indoctrinate but to provoke reflection and it succeeds. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 170893 | Cate Young | Thirty, Flirty + Film | Rotten | — | 2021-11-05T22:50:39Z | 2021-11-05 22:50:39 | Overall, the film has its moments, and it's buoyed by the excellent music and Platt's fully embodied performance. But in the end, it cannot surmount the problems of the source material. |
| 170894 | Betty Jo Tucker | ReelTalk Movie Reviews | Fresh | — | 2021-11-01T16:40:29Z | 2021-11-01 16:40:29 | Platt grabs your heart with words and song. An Oscar (R) nod would not be wrong. |
| 170895 | Brandon Judell | CultureCatch | Fresh | — | 2021-10-31T23:20:21Z | 2021-10-31 23:20:21 | But that incomparable voice of Platt! Who'd want to miss out on that? And to be able to see the actor who created a major role on stage recreate it on screen does carry some resonance. Who wouldn't have rather seen Ethel Merman belt out in Gypsy? |
| 170896 | Joel Harley | Starburst | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-29T16:50:43Z | 2021-10-29 16:50:43 | Dear Evan Hansen is the most unsettling movie musical since Cats. |
| 170897 | Rich Cline | Shadows on the Wall | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-10-29T00:20:52Z | 2021-10-29 00:20:52 | An able cast evokes raw emotion, and the intimate songs by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek are lovely. |
| 170898 | Andrea Thompson | A Reel of One's Own | Rotten | D | 2021-10-28T23:50:49Z | 2021-10-28 23:50:49 | It's a tragic waste, especially when director Stephen Chbosky so skillfully directs such everyday settings into the feel of an indie drama with real emotional resonance. |
| 170899 | Chase Hutchinson | The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | Rotten | — | 2021-10-28T22:40:52Z | 2021-10-28 22:40:52 | The most out of its depth movie you will see all year, Dear Evan Hansen proves that some adaptations of musicals should remain where they began: on the stage and as far away from the screen as possible. |
| 170900 | Sarah Marrs | Lainey Gossip | Rotten | — | 2021-10-28T21:00:39Z | 2021-10-28 21:00:39 | This movie made me question the thousands of people who paid to see this show on Broadway. |
| 170901 | Aine O'Connor | Sunday Independent (Ireland) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-25T16:30:13Z | 2021-10-25 16:30:13 | It is an interesting premise for a horror. It is a weird idea for an inspirational story. |
| 170902 | Eddie Harrison | film-authority.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2021-10-25T08:30:05Z | 2021-10-25 08:30:05 | ...this should be a cult movie; with consistently good songs and a unique aesthetic, it's a secret success that may take years to be recognised... |
| 170903 | Matthew Bond | The Mail on Sunday (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-10-24T14:30:10Z | 2021-10-24 14:30:10 | It certainly won't be for everyone but does just about get there in the end. |
| 170905 | Edward Porter | Sunday Times (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-24T14:00:14Z | 2021-10-24 14:00:14 | Tender performances by Julianne Moore and Amy Adams, playing distressed mothers, can't save this film. |
| 170904 | Wendy Ide | Observer (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-24T14:00:14Z | 2021-10-24 14:00:14 | It's the cinema equivalent of rubbing cut onions in the eyes of the audience: film-making that is cynically and artificially engineered to make the audience weep. |
| 170906 | Hanna Flint | The Sun (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-23T08:10:05Z | 2021-10-23 08:10:05 | There is never a moment that 28-year-old Platt doesn't look like a full-grown adult. |
| 170907 | Harry Guerin | RTÉ (Ireland) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2021-10-23T00:10:45Z | 2021-10-23 00:10:45 | Dear Evan Hansen manages to be heartbreaking and uplifting -- sometimes in the same scene -- as it explores who we are in our own heads and in the eyes of others. |
| 170908 | Donald Clarke | Irish Times | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-22T22:40:34Z | 2021-10-22 22:40:34 | The endless emotional frankness of the lyrics - those who seek the ironic distance of Sondheim need look elsewhere - becomes exhausting all too quickly. |
| 170909 | Lynn Venhaus | PopLifeSTL | Fresh | B+ | 2021-10-22T21:50:46Z | 2021-10-22 21:50:46 | Dear Evan Hansen remains a moving experience, a timeless message for today and a hard-fought journey on acceptance and healing. |
| 170910 | John Serba | Decider | Rotten | — | 2021-10-22T19:40:40Z | 2021-10-22 19:40:40 | Dear Evan Hansen is like Eighth Grade if the filmmakers chose to make a musical and wrote a tone-deaf screenplay and generally made all the wrong decisions. |
| 170911 | Dulcie Pearce | The Sun (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-22T17:10:20Z | 2021-10-22 17:10:20 | Dear, oh dear. |
| 170912 | Brian Viner | Daily Mail (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-22T16:50:20Z | 2021-10-22 16:50:20 | Hats off for the idea of trying to address teenage mental health issues through the medium of a musical, but by the end of this overlong film I felt like I'd waded waist-high through treacle. |
| 170913 | Andy Lea | Daily Express (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-22T16:40:15Z | 2021-10-22 16:40:15 | I never bought it. Like a grown man moping around a school locker room, Evan's pursuit of popularity felt a bit too creepy for me. |
| 170914 | Kevin Maher | The Times (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-22T14:20:20Z | 2021-10-22 14:20:20 | The film is aggressively needy. |
| 170915 | Clarisse Loughrey | Independent (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-21T20:40:27Z | 2021-10-21 20:40:27 | The film becomes one giant gamble that's quite disastrously failed to pay off. |
| 170916 | Tim Robey | Daily Telegraph (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-21T14:00:21Z | 2021-10-21 14:00:21 | On all fronts, you wish that Dear Evan Hansen had nothing to do with Evan Hansen. |
| 170917 | Danny Leigh | Financial Times | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-21T14:00:20Z | 2021-10-21 14:00:20 | The problems start the more sincere it all gets - with a deeply dubious message for children and parents alike that the world is a place of infinite forgiveness. As Ben Platt would learn - not quite. |
| 170918 | Gloria Oladipo | Bitch Media | Rotten | — | 2021-10-20T23:10:41Z | 2021-10-20 23:10:41 | In recycling played out tropes, Dear Evan Hansen delivers surface-level and ableist representations of mental health challenges. |
| 170919 | Tim Brayton | Alternate Ending | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-20T21:20:30Z | 2021-10-20 21:20:30 | The film is far from the best execution even of this dubious material. |
| 170920 | Peter Bradshaw | Guardian | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-20T11:40:15Z | 2021-10-20 11:40:15 | In the end, this film suffocates you with ersatz compassion and personal growth. |
| 170921 | Ian Sandwell | Digital Spy | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-18T16:20:44Z | 2021-10-18 16:20:44 | If it's of any comfort, you will likely have sat through worse movies, but the only thing you'll remember once the credits have rolled is the unfortunate memes. |
| 170922 | Brian Lloyd | entertainment.ie | Rotten | 1/5 | 2021-10-18T16:00:35Z | 2021-10-18 16:00:35 | 'Dear Evan Hansen' is exploitative bullsh*t. |
| 170923 | Edwin Arnaudin | Asheville Movies | Rotten | D | 2021-10-15T19:50:49Z | 2021-10-15 19:50:49 | The attempted de-aging of Platt is unsuccessful and downright creepy. Instead of seeing a plausible teen, I kept thinking I was witnessing Fred Armisen onscreen. |
| 170924 | Diane Pershing | Malibu Times | Fresh | — | 2021-10-15T19:10:36Z | 2021-10-15 19:10:36 | The insights, humor and sensitivity evinced in the book and the songs do survive enough to make the movie worth seeing... |
| 170925 | Matthew Monagle | Austin Chronicle | Rotten | 1.5/5 | 2021-10-15T16:40:23Z | 2021-10-15 16:40:23 | Dear Evan Hansen could never work, not really, but any hope the film has of fostering sympathy for Hansen went out with the window with an actor born in the 1990s. |
| 170926 | Jason Shawhan | Nashville Scene | Fresh | — | 2021-10-15T08:50:26Z | 2021-10-15 08:50:26 | Mulholland Drive for theater kids. |
| 170927 | Sara Michelle Fetters | MovieFreak.com | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2021-10-13T20:10:30Z | 2021-10-13 20:10:30 | Conner is a faceless mannequin, even at the end when lessons are supposedly learned and life continues on, and I found that inexcusable. |
| 170928 | Jackie K. Cooper | jackiekcooper.com | Fresh | 7/10 | 2021-10-11T22:50:26Z | 2021-10-11 22:50:26 | A downer of a movie but not all musicals have to be peppy. |
| 170929 | Rene Sanchez | Cine Sin Fronteras | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2021-10-10T20:00:34Z | 2021-10-10 20:00:34 | A musical adaptation that fails to fully translate the power and emotion of its timely themes from stage to screen. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 170930 | Allen Adams | The Maine Edge | Rotten | 1/5 | 2021-10-10T16:40:22Z | 2021-10-10 16:40:22 | I wish that I had not been a part of watching Dear Evan Hansen. I wish I had spent that time doing something else...It will vanish from the consciousness with nary a ripple ... and very few will notice it was ever here in the first place. |
| 170931 | Kaitlyn Booth | Bleeding Cool | Rotten | 4/10 | 2021-10-10T05:10:08Z | 2021-10-10 05:10:08 | Dear Evan Hansen might be beloved to specific segments of the theater-going public, and perhaps they will enjoy this adaptation, but standing on its own, it's an awkward mess that comes out extremely emotionally manipulative. |
| 170932 | Paul Salfen | AMFM Magazine | Rotten | — | 2021-10-09T18:50:21Z | 2021-10-09 18:50:21 | 5.0 Given the lead is the same from the play and the director gave us the book and the film The Perks of Being A Wallflower, this should be a slam dunk, right? Not so fast. Ben Platt (Evan Hansen) is now 28 and really looks out of place in high school. |
| 170933 | Deirdre Crimmins | C-Ville (VA) | Rotten | — | 2021-10-08T22:31:05Z | 2021-10-08 22:31:05 | Fans of the Broadway show may have enough affection for the theatrical experience to buoy them while watching Dear Evan Hansen, but new audiences watching the film will be met with a confounding and unsuccessful adaptation. |
| 170934 | Alissa Wilkinson | Vox | Rotten | — | 2021-10-08T18:50:43Z | 2021-10-08 18:50:43 | Platt's physical presence is all wrong, but his vocal performance is outstanding; you can see how, with the distance between audience and performer that the Broadway stage affords, his performance would land a lot better. |
| 170935 | Alan Jones | Radio Times | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-07T16:10:28Z | 2021-10-07 16:10:28 | The smash-hit West End musical becomes a misfiring damp squib with this feature adaptation. |
| 170936 | tt stern-enzi | Fox19 (Cincinnati, OH) | Rotten | D | 2021-10-06T23:40:28Z | 2021-10-06 23:40:28 | I bought the lead actresses as the parents...that was the only thing I bought, I wanted to like this but yeah, I have a lot of reservations and that's the best I can say. |
| 170937 | Mark Meszoros | The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH) | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2021-10-06T16:20:44Z | 2021-10-06 16:20:44 | Makers of movie musicals have the unenviable task of figuring out how to make it feel natural when their characters break into song, and, much to their credit, some do it quite well. Chbosky struggles greatly. |
| 170938 | Sarah Cook | HeyUGuys | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-06T10:10:07Z | 2021-10-06 10:10:07 | Emotionally shallow, narratively uneven and woefully unfocused, the film has flashes of humanity but for the most part it is a long dark night of the soulless. |
| 170939 | Katey Stoetzel | The Young Folks | Rotten | 6/10 | 2021-10-04T23:10:21Z | 2021-10-04 23:10:21 | There are plenty of areas Dear Evan Hansen gets wrong, and there are parts it gets right, even if it seems like we're focusing on the wrong person. |
| 170940 | Rachel Leishman | The Mary Sue | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-04T19:10:24Z | 2021-10-04 19:10:24 | The show and subsequent movie is supposed to be a beacon for those who feel like outcasts. I guess that's true in some way, and as someone who felt like an outcast growing up, I would have been furious had a white boy at my school decided to do this. |
| 170941 | Matthew Passantino | Big Picture Big Sound | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2021-10-04T18:40:23Z | 2021-10-04 18:40:23 | At the end of the day, if the story of Evan Hansen has helped in any way, no negative review can or should take that away. The movie tries to sway us in favor of Evan, but it's hard to be on his side when he leads a grieving family down a deceptive path. |
| 170942 | Don Aucoin | Boston Globe | Rotten | 2/4 | 2021-10-03T14:20:13Z | 2021-10-03 14:20:13 | We're more conscious of how facile its story is because the musical numbers - the ballad-heavy score is by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul - don't land the way they did onstage, their wistfulness now registering as listless. |
| 170943 | Richard Roeper | Chicago Sun-Times | Rotten | 2/4 | 2021-10-02T00:10:44Z | 2021-10-02 00:10:44 | The truth is, this musical is manipulative, and strange...Upbeat tunes and a heavy storyline about teen suicide make a cringey combo. |
| 170944 | Robert Denerstein | Denerstein Unleashed | Rotten | — | 2021-10-01T21:30:53Z | 2021-10-01 21:30:53 | A much-admired musical sags on screen... |
| 170945 | Stephen Silver | Tilt Magazine | Rotten | 2/5 | 2021-10-01T20:20:40Z | 2021-10-01 20:20:40 | There's one key problem here, and there's no getting around it: Ben Platt, who originated the role on Broadway, is just plain too old for the role |
| 170946 | Rob Thomas | Capital Times (Madison, WI) | Rotten | 2/4 | 2021-10-01T20:20:39Z | 2021-10-01 20:20:39 | This movie seemed almost embarrassed to be a musical. |
| 170947 | Neil Morris | Chatham News + Record (NC) | Rotten | — | 2021-10-01T03:00:30Z | 2021-10-01 03:00:30 | c - For unwitting audiences, "Dear Evan Hansen" reads more like a ransom note. |
| 170948 | Bennett Campbell Ferguson | Willamette Week | Rotten | 2/4 | 2021-10-01T00:00:51Z | 2021-10-01 00:00:51 | An adaptation with the shape of Dear Evan Hansen, but not enough of its sad, strange and beautiful soul. |
| 170949 | Brian Bromberger | Bay Area Reporter | Rotten | — | 2021-09-30T23:30:38Z | 2021-09-30 23:30:38 | In all fairness, Platt sings angelically beautifully and sweetly, yet that sound is counter-productive because both the style and content of the songs are trying to rationalize atrocious behavior. |
| 170950 | J. Don Birnam | Below the Line | Fresh | B | 2021-09-30T23:10:37Z | 2021-09-30 23:10:37 | A faithful adaptation of the musical, catchy songs, difficult message and all |
| 170951 | Jeremy Jahns | JeremyJahns.com | Rotten | — | 2021-09-30T20:10:42Z | 2021-09-30 20:10:42 | [The] pacing to me was the detriment of the entire thing. |
| 170952 | Randy Myers | San Jose Mercury News | Rotten | 2/4 | 2021-09-30T17:00:22Z | 2021-09-30 17:00:22 | "Evan Hansen" is not a disaster, but the pieces don't quite all come together. |
| 170953 | Lisa Johnson Mandell | AtHomeInHollywood.com | Rotten | — | 2021-09-29T18:10:30Z | 2021-09-29 18:10:30 | The hapless high school musical is highlighted by solid performances, but they can't make up for banal ballads and a potato chip plot. |
| 170954 | Adam Feldman | Time Out | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-09-29T17:00:23Z | 2021-09-29 17:00:23 | There's a lot to like about Dear Evan Hansen, which raises timely questions and features tuneful, smartly crafted songs. |
| 170955 | Richard Crouse | Richard Crouse | Fresh | 3/5 | 2021-09-29T14:00:12Z | 2021-09-29 14:00:12 | The effectiveness of Platt's work is undone by work that feels as though it belongs on a stage and not the more intimate medium of film. His embodiment of teenage angst, the hunched over shoulders and doleful eyes, plays to the back of the house. |
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