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In part 2 of their Dear Evan Hansen discussion, Melvin & Dan figure out where Dear Evan Hansen went wrong, as well as share conflicting perspectives on the film overall.
Topics:
- Discussing the incomplete, inconsequential ending to Dear Evan Hansen.
- Daniel, “This is the most selfish, self-centered take on Mental Health I have ever seen!”
- Melvin, “…part of contrition is the humbleness to let one’s consequences unfold.”
- Daniel, “Evan Hansen is not the character who should come of age and get redemption. The victim of mental health issues is Connor. That is the character that, if you watch this movie and struggle with mental health issues, that’s the character you should be identifying with. Not Evan Hansen.”
- Feeling bad (or, emotions that one otherwise deems unwanted) is not immoral. Additionally, feeling bad is not indicative of genuine contrition.
- Daniel, “[Dear Evan Hansen is] borderline evil.”
- When someone undergoes the consequences of their sin, those consequences are nobody else’s fault except for the one who incurs them. There may be influences, and there may be systems at play, but the onus of sinful consequences bear upon the sinner.
- Melvin isn’t quite as offended by Dear Evan Hansen as Daniel, but he still thinks the movie is kind of lame even if he liked some stuff about it.
- Melvin also gets some schadenfreude from the idea that Dear Evan Hansen was marketed as a life-changing, encouraging movie only to have it fall flat on his face. He then compares it to Unplanned, the pro-life movie from 2019 that he felt seriously missed the mark.
- As of recording, Melvin had seen 39 movies from 2021. Dear Evan Hansen will likely land as #34 out of his ranked list.
- 5 words from each host: Describe Dear Evan Hansen.
- Dear Evan Hansen accurately represents how a majority of people see mental health: through a poor, uneducated, and overly confident lens from which they have little knowledge or authority.
Recommendations:
- Harold Lindsell – “Lindsell Study Bible: The Living Bible, Paraphrased – Reference Edition“
- The Ezra Klein Show – “The Case Against Loving Your Job“
- Jenny Nicholson – “A Needlessly Thorough Roast of Dear Evan Hansen“
Dear Evan Hansen is Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving suicide, brief strong language and some suggestive references. It features Ben Platt, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Danny Pino, Amandla Stenberg, Colton Ryan, and Nik Dodani. Directed by Stephen Chbosky. Dear Evan Hansen is currently available on VUDU.
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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. He’s written fiction and nonfiction for over a decade with short stories featured on the Creepypasta Wiki and Wattpad. His novelette Ethereal Temptation, a teen drama with a tinge of magical-realism, can be read for free here. His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!
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