YNMS x 4: Dear Evan Hansen, Stillwater, Venom 2, and The Green Knight
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7:32PM 
Ben Platt and Kaitlyn Dever in "Dear Evan Hansen"Besieged by movie trailers we are. Movie studios hopes you'll go back to the movie theater ...sort of. They also hope you'll join their streaming service, whatever it is, and stay at home. Have any of these movies -- Dear Evan Hansen, Stillwater, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, or The Green Knight -- already sold you a ticket?
Let's look at their trailers after the jump...
DEAR EVAN HANSEN - in theaters September 24th
Yes - The musical has wonderful ear-worm songs (it's not just "You Will Be Found" which is the only song played in the trailer) and the cast is top-notch (on paper). Also we love Kaitlyn Dever in everything so excited to see her get a plum role in a movie that *might* be an Oscar player.
No - Ben Platt (the original Evan Hansen) is too old for this role now at 27. Of course it's a standard but oft-ridiculed movie practice to cast late 20-somethings as highschoolers. There are some very morally dubious moments in this musical (though they're believable as people aren't saints and the teenage years are very emotionally and hormonally fraught and confusing). We're not looking forward to the online discourse which can never handle morally icky stuff without defaulting to lecturing and virtue signalling, rather than discussing what the art happens to be saying.
Maybe So -- We're still quite confused that Julianne Moore, who isn't a singer as far as we know, gets the key sad mom role of Heidi. That role has a big juicy 11th hour solo "So Big / So Small" while Amy Adams, totally perfect for musicals, gets the less interesting other sad-mom role, Cynthia. Cynthia doesn't have any solos but sings a few times with others. Unless Julianne Moore has been hiding a powerhouse voice for 60 years, or unless they've significantly rewritten the book, shouldn't they have swapped roles? (The first number in the stage version, "Anybody Have a Map?" is a duet between the two moms, both despairing over feeling disconnected from their children)
2021 is going to be crowded with musicals which is a nice and rare feeling. We're getting Dear Evan Hansen, In the Heights, and West Side Story all in a seven month stretch!
STILLWATER - in theaters June 30th
Yes - Tom McCarthy usually makes good movies: Spotlight, Win Win, The Visitor, The Station Agent. So even though this looks generic (in trailer form) we're curious. Also the screenplay is by Thomas Bidegain whose European screenplays (Rust & Bone, A Prophet, Saint Laurent, Our Children, Dheepan) are generally quite critically well received and gritty.
No - We realize it's probably just a trailer problem -- that very loud "THRILLS!!!DRAMA!!!" scoring and quick hyper cutting but it feels like overcompensation nonetheless. Also the backstory here has both queer and racial elements but the creative team is straight and white which doesn't necessarily bode well for sensitive handling. Or at least it doesn't bode well for reception of the story. McCarthy's films have largely been quite sensitive but it will be an easy target.
Maybe So - Oscar nominees Matt Damon and Abigail Breslin feel like they could go either way, performance wise, don'cha think?
THE GREEN KNIGHT - In theaters July 30th
Yes - It's one of the most visually striking trailers out there and the trailer tells exactly the right amount about the story... i.e. not much at all. We get only a glimpse of a intriguing and quite strange setup and who the central characters will be. It's bewitching in two minute form. How will it be at two hours? Bonus points for Dev Patel in the leading role. He just keeps becoming more of a MOVIE STAR and this looks like the biggest test yet of his charisma and skill.
The exciting costume design is by Malgosia Turzanska whose highest profile project was season 1 of Stranger Things. Will this prove her breakout movie?
No - No "no" on this one. It looks special. Or at the very least something that will be visually ambitious and we're there for those movies, regardless of the final quality.
Maybe So - David Lowery has his fans after Aint Them Bodies Saints, Pete's Dragon, A Ghost Story, and The Old Man and the Gun but we aren't fully onboard yet. There's obvious talent there but maybe this will convert us?
VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE - in theaters September 24th
Yes - So... Woody Harrelson knows the kind of movie he is in. That's a good sign for at least one performance that will be fun to watch. Or so bad that it's good.
No - We skipped the first one and this did not entice us to catch up. Also when you give your ostensible female lead (Michelle Williams) this little time in a trailer that's not a good sign. Carnage vs. Venom will be a battle with no actors present but just gooey CGI tentacles slapping at each other so those are going to be some boring action scenes!
Maybe So - Maybe it will funny instead of merely try-hard funny as the trailer conveys. If you saw the first one, what do you make of this trailer?
Reader Comments (50)
With Dear Evan Hansen, I have to imagine the best original song player will also be an Amy Adams number. It's just hard to imagine casting someone who is as talented as her and not letting her a song to herself. Also, do we know if Julianne Moore can sing?
I'm fine with 27 year old Ben Platt playing this role - he's so good in it that it won't matter. I also don't think he looks that old (maybe 22, but I grew up in the WB era where all the high schoolers were adults so...).
I thought Tom Hardy gave a strange, but fun, performance in the first Venom. Far more of a movie star performance than we ever get from him. I'll definitley watch this one, but I'll admit that, in terms of super hero films, Venom falls in the same place as the Antman films: a film I'll watch when it's on streaming/HBO because it has actors I like collecting their paychecks and (mostly) having fun.
It's ironic that the globes are essentially cancelled the year there will be at least three high profile musicals to fill out that category, maybe even pushing out a bunch of iffy "comedies" that normally squeeze in somehow: WEST SIDE STORY, IN THE HEIGHTS, and DEAR EVAN HANSEN.
I'm a yes on The Green Knight because I love all of David Lowery's films. He's one of the best directors of his generation. I'm glad to see Dev Patel thrive, too.
I didn't know anything about Dear Evan Hansen before watching the trailer, but I found the trailer to be extremely cringeworthy. It's a no for me unless the film is a surprise critical/Oscar darling.
I'm a maybe so/bordering on no for Stillwater. Matt Damon is pretty boring, and he seems rather miscast here, so I'm not sure why he's the lead in this movie. Also, this just seems like a lesbian version of the Amanda Knox story, which is a huge step down from Spotlight. But McCarthy has made some great movies, so again, if it gets unexpectedly good reviews (which, given the talent involved, seems more likely here than in Dear Evan Hansen's case), I'll give it a try.
Julianne Moore sang a bit in that Magnolia "Wise Up" song, but not much. I never saw her in Bel Canto, but I doubt that's actually her voice.
Very here for Green Knight.
Dear Evan Hansen: I'm always a YES on a movie musical plus THAT cast (and those songs). Yes, the plot is oof, but it should still be fine.
Green Knight: I've been waiting for this forever so YES give it to me now.
Venom: The first movie had the most forgettable 1st hour, but an enjoyable 2nd half. I'm hoping they've figured out the tone/character. I can't tell from the trailer yet. I really wanted to see what Michelle Williams is up to damnit.
Dear Evan Hansen: My body is ready. My musical queen heart overflows.
Stillwater: I have hope. Could be good.
The Green Knight: I'll wait for reviews. Dev Patel didn't get enough love for The Personal History of David Copperfield (now on HBO).
I knew nothing about Dear Evan Hansen before watching the trailer and I was in tears so I'm a huge yes...
The Dear Evan Hansen trailer is already hated by twitter. I fear an epic musicals backlash.
Dear Evan Hansen-Uh... no. I can't get into it and yeah, Ben Platt is too old to play a high schooler.
Stillwater-Looks good as I like Tom McCarthy and seeing Matt Damon in a grounded, no-nonsense role.
The Green Knight-OH HELL YEAH!!!!
Venom: Let There Be Carnage-Looks like fun and please... have Michelle Williams reprise her role as She-Venom. She-Venom was fucking hot!
Dear Evan Hansen screams “this had Oscar buzz?!” Lol. He looks 40
Ben Platt actually looks surprisingly young in Evan Hasnon trailer. I was wondering what voodoo they did to make him look so young. Maybe we're still so used to seeing late-twentysomethings as teen that it doesn't seem wrong. Who knows? Interesting how the haters are grabbing on anything they can to bring it down, sight unseen.
Dear Evan Hansen trailer has me underwhelmed even though i'm a fan of the play. Platt is too old, this would have been a great opportunity to find a breakout star. The rest of the cast is solid.
James from Ames- Moore did not do her own singing in Bel Canto but during filming she was singing with the playback so the lip sinking and breathing matched up better. Somewhere there is film of her actually singing but I haven't found a copy of it yet.
Peggy Sue -- but what *doesnt* Twitter hate? It's such a weirdly hateful place. I wish people could find a way to be kinder there. TikTok and Instagram both seem so much nicer
It really shouldn't be that hard to cast an age-appropriate actor as a teenager in a musical. Isn't the Disney Channel basically manufacturing musically inclined teen actors on a conveyer belt these days?
"It's ironic that the globes are essentially cancelled the year there will be at least three high profile musicals to fill out that category, maybe even pushing out a bunch of iffy "comedies" that normally squeeze in somehow: WEST SIDE STORY, IN THE HEIGHTS, and DEAR EVAN HANSEN."
There's also "tick...tick..BOOM", "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" and "Annette". They could have EASILY have had an all-musical category this year.
Do we know that the Globes won't give out awards even if they're not airing anywhere? They still gave out awards during the Writer's Strike after all.
I think Cyrano, directed by Joe Wright, is also a musical and being released before the end of the year.
Ben Platt looks 40. Yikes.
@Ryan T. If the Globes are on FYI, Network or TNT do they make a sound?
No to "Dear Evan Hansen." Platt looks ridiculous in that wig and whatever is happening with his face. He's too old for this role, and it doesn't help matters that his bigshot dad handed him this role no questions asked to the detriment of better casting choices. Nepotism 101.
I'm rooting for Dev Patel! Never gonna watch "The Green Knight," but he surprised me in "David Copperfield." He's come a LONG way since "Slumdog Millionaire," and I say that as a huge fan of that film.
@Peggy Sue. Twitter is not the international filmgoing public. It's mostly a bunch of narcissistic jerks with too much time on their hands.
BP in this trailer is giving me serious Irishman flashbacks--VFX + make-up trickery can't mask a body that just moves like an older person would.
I didn't know the plot of DEH so all I know of the story is this trailer and, I'm sorry, WHAT? This sounds like a truly bizarre set-up. I can only imagine the many different types of backlash...
This Ben Platt is too old!! narrative has really caught fire... I don’t know if I care that much, he was a pretty convincing high schooler in The Politician. Who else do you want to hear sing that part on the big screen?
As for Julianne, apart from a Boston accent she can do anything :). Although I’d hoped Toni Collette would have been cast in that part.
Can'y say any of these trailers thrill me and the scroing for Stillwater's trailer was like an army going to war.
Isn't it funny that Matt Damon was announced for Stillwater in 1999 before it was renamed Almost Famous.
We want Eurovision coverage.
Julianne Moore did her own singing in What Maisie Knew. But I don't see what's wrong in casting actors who can't sing in musicals. Dub them. Deborah Kerr was dubbed in The king and I and the movie is flawless.From West Story to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, dubbing has been part of some of the best musicals ever. Do people really care that Rita Hayworth doesn't actually sing in You Were Never Lovelier? Sometimes it doesn't work (My Fair Lady), but it shouldn't be such a taboo for musical lovers. Movies are not Broadway.
Ben Platt’s gotta go for the EGOT, and it would be fairly impressive if he won all four from playing the same role. (In addition to the Tony, he has a Grammy from the cast recording and a Daytime Emmy for a Today show live performance.)
Is this his best chance to EGOT? A lot of people seem to have strong opinions right now, based on the trailer and his age.
Four NOs from me. Hated all those trailers.
Bring on In the Heights and The Eternals, out of the trailers released... everything else - unless I am forgetting anything - is meh, so far. Mild interest in Luca and Army of the Dead, though
I saw the first Venom movie and actually thought it was pretty fun. It felt closer in spirit to a ‘90s comic book movie than a modern-day one, which I suppose could be either a good or a bad thing depending on your preference. But as someone who is totally indifferent to the current superhero genre, it was almost kind of refreshing just to see a superhero movie that seemed nearly oblivious to where the genre has gone since 2000. Your mileage may vary if you do like the more recent style of comic book film.
It reminds me a little of that line in Almost Famous where Lester Bangs says Jim Morrison was a drunken buffoon pretending to be a poet, whereas The Guess Who had the courage to be drunken buffoons, which made them poetic. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Venom poetic—it’s not THAT good, just a solid action flick that doesn’t take itself seriously but also isn’t meta/self-aware about it—but I think the same basic principle can be applied to explain my feelings about comic book movies like this as opposed to the more ostensibly sophisticated ones we’ve become accustomed to.
That said, I’m not digging the new trailer. Just thought I’d chime in to defend the first one a little bit.
The only Yes here is Dear Evan Hansen.
Ben Platt was amazing in the role, but he is way too old now to play it LMFAO
Again, Amy and Julianne should have swapped their roles, unless they write some new amazing songs for Amy, this would be futile.
Although, will they keep the entire score? I’m afraid they will only let Evan sing and the others won’t, seeing no sneak peek of the others singing and this would actually justify Julianne in the used to be sing-heavy role.
I read somewhere that the Academy actually has a "Best Musical" category. But it has never been awarded because there have to be enough musicals that qualify in a single year and that has never happened.
I watched the trailer for Dear Evan Hansen, but I didn't really like it, so I didn't watch any more trailers. It could still be a good movie. I'll wait and see.
My initial reaction to Stillwater is it looks very culturally incompetent. The salt of the Earth American vs. a foreign justice system. If I didn't see the name Tom McCarthy I'd assume it was directed by Clint Eastwood.
Much more excited about In the Heights than DEH, although the latter could be the better film. I echo the sentiments that Platt is too old for the role now. Is it just me or does he look almost CGI?
Hell yes on The Green Knight. I'm so glad they waited on this release - I MUST see this in the cinema.
I don't think Ben Platt looks too old, especially considering the casting for other movies or tv shows. How old was Stockard Channing in Grease? 33? Maybe cast ole Marsha as a teenager to take some of the heat off.
Wasn't Andrew Barth Feldman about 14 years old when he won his Jimmy Award? He probably still looks like, and may be, a teenager. I'm surprised they didn't give him the role in Dear Evan Hansen considering he's played it on Broadway, but then again, he probably doesn't have a hotshot producer Dad.
I can definitely say that I will NOT be watching The Green Knight in the movie theater. I only understood about half the dialogue in the trailer, so I'll wait till I can watch it via streaming and can turn the subtitles on. Sorry.
They really doubled down on the creepiness of Evan Hansen as a character. Just based on the trailer Ben Platt looks like he's overdoing the sensitiveness and that wig is just plain weird. I also don't get why Amy Adams and Julianne Moore are in the roles they're in. They should have switched. I was not a fan of the musical, but I was looking forward to the movie hoping that they adjusted the ickiness factor of the story. Now I'm not so sure.
"Stillwater" would be a maybe for me if not for Tom McCarthy. He's gained my trust as a filmmaker.
"The Green Knight" is a great trailer. Will the movie live up to it? This definitely looks like one to watch in a theater.
@Dan. I think that next year the Globes will vote their awards no matter what. Maybe there won't be a ceremony and many people won't "accept" the award, but the HFPA will send their tophies to those who want it.
@Ready I don't think there is a Best Musical Oscar categoroy. First of all, because that Category has never been awarded. In the golden years of Hollywood every single year there were DOZENS of musicals. But, let's forget about the golden years. Let's look at 1968:
Funny Girl
Oliver!
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Live a Little Love a Little
Star!
Head
Finian's Rainbow
The One and Only Genuine Family Bank.
Marcos - it was introduced in 2000 according to this article. 1968 was too early.
https://www.nextbestpicture.com/latest/the-oscar-category-you-dont-know-about-best-original-musical
We've waiting all this time for Julianne and Amy NOT to play sisters?!?! With Nicole Kidman as the other sister!?!?! C'MON HOLLYWOOD
Ready and Marcos: Yes, it is in the Academy's official rules each year. But it's never activated, because there aren't enough contenders. Back in the day they had a sort-of Best Musical category: it usually had a tricky title such as Best Original Song Score or its Adaptation, or Best Adaptation Score. It wasn't awarded every year, but it was many years. The last time was in 1984; Prince won it for Purple Rain.
Am I the only one who thinks the globes will be back on tv come next January? The streamers, celebs who criticized and nbc all seemed to have left the door open if the hfpa made changes. They will obviously be incentivized to do so. Studios/celebs who have awards players will then want to forgive and forget once they see a televised opportunity to promote their hopefuls. No one here was making a truly principled stand.
The knives are out for dear Evan Hansen with the “very online” types. Someone was even trying to say it was “ableist” somehow, it’s all so silly. The show has a broad fan base though so I’m not sure it will matter. Crossing my fingers with everyone else that Amy Adams is getting an original song number for the movie. It would be a real shame if they add another Evan centric number instead as the show really doesn’t need it.
Have people seen a 40 year old? Ben Platt does not look 40.
Nathaniel et al: I strongly disagree with your (and others') wholesale rejection of Twitter. You have the choice of designing at least some of your feed, and there are plenty of "positive" folks on Twitter, including positive folks with brains who tweet about movies, as well as tons of queer folks.
I am in strong agreement with everyone who has said the lead guy in Evan Hansen is too old, definitely agree it should have been a breakout role for someone.
Just a warning: from the trailer I have seen for West Side Story, don't expect it to outshine the original. Steven Spielberg has no experience directing a musical.
Dear Evan Hansen is a big yes.
Stillwater is a yes but it looks like Matt Damon is doing too much
The Green Knight is a maybe so, it looks good for sure but there's nothing that makes me wanna see it.
Venom 2 is a big no.
Joe G -- i agree. but he also does not look 17 so...
cal -- i think what's wrong with it is that there really is no need. There wasn't even back in the golden age when they had plentiful stars that could sing and dance. I look at it as a skillset thing. If you're working on a drama you cast actors with amazing dramatic chops who can do really insightful things with character arc and nuance. If you're casting for a comedy you look for folks with witty ways of handling line deliveries or great physical timing. When you're casting a musical why arent you looking for people who can act through dance and song? There are plenty of people trained to do just that.
Since Dear Evan Hansen, West Side Story and In the Heights are all adaptations of stage musicals, none of them would be eligible for the Oscar category of Best Musical unless they added five or more new songs.
@Ready As Working Stiff points out, that category is only for "original" musicals. So if there was a year with several different LA LA LANDS, it could come to life. I'm not holding my breath.
I’m in the camp of Ben Platt looks a little too old for this and was hoping they could have given it to someone else but then realized after doing some research that his father produced this movie and the original play and other things he has been in and thus, his casting was truly unavoidable. Hopefully he is good onscreen at least — I have yet to be convinced of his chops in anything filmed.
If he gets nominated and wins the Oscar, he will be the first ever to EGOT based on just one role.
@EdwardL and @Ready: Thank you for the clarification and the link to the articles. It's quite fascinating. As it stands, I doubt it will ever be activated. Particularly, given the requirement that it be an original musical, and include 5 original songs!