The Greatest Showman

20th Century Fox, 2017
Starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, and Zendaya
Directed by Michael Gracey
Music and Lyrics by Benji Pasak and Justin Paul

This was the film that inspired me to create this blog. Several pre-teen and young teen girls I know raved about it, even calling it their favorite movie. I was surprised and delighted to hear people at such a young age giving rave reviews to a musical. When I was their age in the early-mid 90's, you would have gotten made fun of for admitting you liked a live-action movie musical. It got raves from some adults I talked to about it as well, especially for the music and Hugh Jackman's performance. Let's head to New York City in the 1840's to find out if this is really "The Greatest Show," or if it's as much of a fraud as Barnum's illusions...

The Story: PT Barnum (Jackman) starts off as a poor servant to a wealthy family just outside of New York. He falls in love with Charity, the daughter of the family, early. She goes away to finishing school, and he first sells newspapers to make his fortune, then joins the railroad. He returns his Charity (Williams) years later. They wed and raise two girls, Caroline (Austyn Johnson) and Helen (Cameron Seely). They live simply, but Barnum wants more.

After he loses his job as a shipping clerk, he takes out a loan to buy a building in New York and showcase unique waxworks. Business is slow, and Caroline suggests it's because the waxworks don't move. Taking this to heart, Barnum and his family hire "freaks" - unusual or deformed people with rare talents, like the bearded lady Lettie Lutz (Keala Settle), midget Tom Thumb (Sam Humphery), and 7-foot tall Vasily Palvos (Radu Spinghel) - and pull them together for what becomes New York's most popular circus. He even brings on young playwright Philip Caryle (Efron) as his partner.

A trip to England to meet Queen Victoria brings him in contact with Swedish singer Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson). Captivated by her beauty and stunning voice, he convinces her to join the show and becomes her manager. Meanwhile, Philip is having his own romantic misadventures. He wants to woo Anne, the show's trapeze artist (Zendaya), but she's African-American, and his stuffy family doesn't approve of the integrated paring. Charity has also discovered her husband's affair with Lind, and both woman walk out on him...just as protesters destroy the Museum. Barnum thinks he's through, but it takes his family of "freaks" to remind him that the show must go on, and while his illusions may be make believe, true love and friendship are as genuine as they come.

The Song and Dance: No wonder the kids loved this. It's an absolute blast. Jackman's on top of his game from start to finish. Efron, Williams, Zendaya, and Settle (who sings the movie's best-known song, "This Is Me") are also excellent. Special kudos to the wonderful costumes and art direction that ably recreate both the grimy New York of the mid-19th century and the spangle-and-glitter world of Barnum's Circus. There's more energy in this movie than there was in many of last year's bigger sci-fi extravaganzas.

Favorite Number: "This Is Me," Lettie's anthem to the protesters outside the Museum, won the Golden Globe for best song and got an Oscar nod. My favorite numbers are "Come Alive," where Barnum and his family hire their unusual performers, and the hit ballad "Rewrite the Stars" as Philip explains to Anne why their relationship can work...and Anne points out all the reasons it can't. The opening and closing number "The Greatest Show" has some great circus acts and wonderful choreography.

Trivia: A somewhat more historically-accurate musical retelling of PT Barnum's life, Barnum!, opened on Broadway in 1980. Jim Dale played PT; Glenn Close was his Charity. It's probably best-known for the recording of the 1982 West End version with Michael Crawford in the title role.

What I Don't Like: While the music soars, the plot remains flat. Critics took potshots at the historical inaccuracies from the moment this came out. We don't get to see Charity's early death and only two of their four daughters, Barnum's later career in politics, or the ill-fated venture into real estate that's really what ruined him in the 1850's. To this day, no one knows what caused the fire that destroyed Barnum's first museum, but it was likely due more to his pro-Union sympathies during the Civil War than any resentment towards the "freaks."

For all this movie's talk about diversity, it still focuses on the good-looking white guys. The movie falters in the second half when Barnum's rather dull affair with Lind and Philip's only somewhat more interesting relationship with Anne come into the spotlight. The real Barnum's life and career was a lot more interesting than that.

The Big Finale: The fate of this movie was much like that of Barnum's Circus. Critics didn't know what to make of it, but it eventually became a word-of-mouth hit during the 2017-2018 Christmas season. Put me in the latter camp. The problems with the cliched book are mostly overcome by the wonderful performances, delightful music, and the stylish production. If you haven't seen this one yet, do so, especially if you have pre-teens or young teens of your own who loved other recent musicals like Hamilton.

Home Media: As the most recent movie I've reviewed that's available on home media and a fair-sized hit, you can easily find this movie in pretty much any format of your choosing, both streaming and on disc.

DVD
Blu-Ray
4K
Amazon Prime (buy only)