“Dear Evan Hansen” has debuted on the big screen, and the result is semi-satisfactory. Although the important message has a clear impact, what was obviously supposed to be a movie-musical, should probably stay a musical. 

Ben Platt (“Pitch Perfect”) plays Evan Hansen, a socially anxious high school senior who wears an iconic white cast after falling out of a tree. Trying to follow an assignment from his therapist, Hansen tries to write a letter to himself to uplift his day, as per the title, “Dear Evan Hansen.”

Enter Connor Murphy. Murphy (Colton Ryan, “Uncle Frank”) is a troubled teenager. with no friends, and really no family support. Murphy tries to play nice by signing Hansen’s cast, only to steal the letter from Hansen. After Murphy dies by suicide, Evan is thrown into the arms of the grieving family. What started out as trying to be a support system for some strangers, turns into Hansen basking in his new found popularity after a moving performance. 

Although the overall movie is not horrible, there are still many flaws that show things were not thought out clearly during the transition from musical to film. 

Platt’s performance is iconic for the musical rendition that was done in 2015. Six years ago, Platt could have passed for an 18 year old. Now, it comes off as just a little awkward. He is playing someone 10 years younger than him just so he could perform as Hansen. If they were trying to keep the performances the same, why not bring in the exact same cast? 

The songs in this film are powerful and strong, but the performances just felt too much like  something out of “High School Musical.” A scene shows Hansen singing “For Forever” in front of Murphy’s parents, Cynthia (Amy Adams, “Enchanted”) and Larry (Danny Pino, “Cold Case”), and his sister, Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever, “Booksmart”). The song was supposed to be portrayed as dialogue between the four of them, but it just does not work. The songs in the film take away the meaning behind the story. It works in the musical because, well, that is what you do when you are on stage. 

Hansen has social anxiety, so Platt’s jittery performance throughout the film makes sense at times, but eventually, it becomes overdone. It could be seen as a way to have some comedic relief in what really is a somber storyline, but again, it is just awkward. 

A successful attempt at comedic relief was the performance of “Sincerely Me,” performed by Hansen, Murphy and Jared (Nik Dodani, “Atypical”). The popular song from the musical soundtrack stayed true to its quirky lyrics, and it went exactly as it sounds. 

“Dear Evan Hansen” was supposed to be a film that reaches out to those struggling with mental health challenges. However, this objective is ruined by the use of the character Alanna (Amandla Stenberg), whose similar issues but differing priorities undermine Hansen’s plight. 

“Dear Evan Hansen,” the film version, was a great idea in theory. If the writers and directors were not so focused on the musical value of it, it would have had deeper meaning. It was never meant to be a film. 

Image from Universal Pictures via YouTube