Some Broadway shows transfer admirably to the big screen. Others don’t. Ben Platt won plaudits as the titular angst-riddled teenager in this coming-of-age musical, but now he’s twenty-seven and not quite as believable. The story revolves around depressed Evan Hansen (Platt), struggling through the first day of his senior year. At his therapist’s insistence, he writes a reassuring letter to himself that’s stolen by a bullying classmate Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan) and, later, found in Connor’s pocket after he commits suicide.
Naturally, everyone thinks Connor has written it to his only friend Evan. Socially anxious, insecure Evan goes along with the charade, ostensibly to help Connor’s grieving parents (Amy Adams, Danny Pinto) and sister (Kaitlyn Dever), Evan's crush. But then Evan deviously asks Jared (Nik Dodani) to create a fake email correspondence to cruelly cement Evan’s relationship with Connor, referring to a trip to Connor’s favorite orchard where Evan fell from a tree and broke his arm. Plus there's high-achieving Alana (Amandla Stenberg) and ‘karma’ when Evan’s confessional video goes viral. Perhaps the one saving grace is Julianne Moore as Evan’s single mother, working extra nursing shifts so Evan can go to college.
Based Steven Levenson’s book, it’s adapted and streamlined by Stephen Chbosky, who cut several songs while adding new ones. Too bad it’s manipulatively maudlin, citing the Suicide Prevention Hotline only after the end credits. Ben father, Marc Platt, is a producer, yet Ben’s not the only twentysomething to play younger: Tobey Maguire was twenty-seven in Spider-Man, Rachel McAdams was twenty-six in Mean Girls, and Jennifer Grey was twenty-seven in Dirty Dancing. Optional.