(CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of mental health, suicide; SPOILERS: Dear Evan Hansen [film & stage musical], World's Greatest Dad)


Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of Evan Hansen, a high-schooler with severe social anxiety who struggles with feeling alone and unnoticed. Through a set of absurdly contrived circumstances, everyone thinks Evan was friends with a boy named Connor Murphy who has committed suicide. And instead of simply clearing the record, Evan just goes along with it, eventually fabricating an entire friendship between him and Connor, all the while chilling with the kid’s family and dating his sister, thus finally attaining a sense of belonging.

World’s Greatest Dad tells the story of Lance Clayton, played by Robin Williams, a failed writer and single father, struggling with not feeling respected nor appreciated in his life. After his son Kyle accidentally dies while performing auto-erotic asphyxiation, Lance stages his death as a suicide. After the suicide note that Lance wrote is made public and Kyle becomes a sort of cult martyr, Lance pens a fake journal of Kyle’s which becomes a nationwide phenomenon, giving Lance the adoration he has always desired.

While they of course are not the exact same story, both involve someone taking advantage of the death of another for their own personal gain. Yet while Dear Evan Hansen is a thematic clusterf*ck with a protagonist you run out of patience for by the halfway mark and a confounding central lesson, World’s Greatest Dad is a biting satire, featuring a flawed yet empathetic protagonist that concludes with an inspiring finale.

Every idea, no matter how seemingly ludicrous, can make for a good story; one simply must find out HOW to tell it; it's all in the execution. And thus, in this video I will compare and contrast the two films, demonstrating how each film tackles the same general concept which, depending on the execution, results in a rousing success or a pitiful failure.


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[00:00] - Intro/Shout-outs
[04:04] - Establishing The Protagonist
[06:12] - The Inciting Incident
[09:46] - The First Act Turn
[13:00] - Downplaying Culpability
[16:56] - Severity Of Their Actions
[20:30] - Facing The Consequences
[29:50] - The Central Message
[30:49] - Conclusion
[32:39] - Outro/Patrons


VIDEO:

Performance of "Waving Through A Window" on Seth Meyers:    • Dear Evan Hansen: "Waving Through a W...  

'Dear Evan Hansen' show clips:    • Show Clips: DEAR EVAN HANSEN starring...  

'Dear Evan Hansen' Arena Stage:    • Dear Evan Hansen - Arena Stage  

Performance of "Waving Through A Window" at 71st Tony Awards:    • Video  

'Dear Evan Hansen' wins Best Musical at 71st Tony Awards:    • Dear Evan Hansen wins Best Musical  

'Dear Evan Hansen' cast reveals their favorite songs:    • 'Dear Evan Hansen' actors reveal thei...  

Ben Platt wins Best Leading Actor In A Musical at 71st Tony Awards:    • Ben Platt wins Best Leading Actor in ...  


MUSIC:

"Spanish Flea" by Herb Alpert
"Deja Vu" by Dave Rodgers