“The Greatest Showman” is the newest movie musical to hit theaters this holiday season and right off the bat I have to say how glad I am that they delivered on the promise that this is a full-blown “musical,” unlike another movie with a similar promise from last year...you’ve probably heard of it. Just a little movie called “La La Land.”
Last year I was so excited for “La La Land” because all the promotional material promised an old-timey Hollywood musical and, in my opinion, they fell flat on the musical aspect. “La La Land” had songs, yes, but the movie seemed to forget it was a musical after the first 45 minutes.
“The Greatest Showman,” tells the partially true story of P.T. Barnum and how he founded the circus. This movie is immediately going to be criticized for the glamorous manner in which it is telling this man’s story which is something I can understand. The REAL P.T. Barnum was a lot crueler than the character Hugh Jackman plays, the movie skips over the abuse he brought upon his circus animals which have been the subject of controversy for years.
It’s kind of hard to write an entertaining musical about animal abuse so I knew going in that they weren’t going to touch that subject. It’s clear that the writers wanted to make a flashy musical about the concept of showmanship and the desire to be on a stage entertaining the masses and simply used the basic elements of P.T. Barnum’s story as a centerpiece.
The movie initially may seem like it’s a true story but many elements were written for the movie to add some drama and additional stakes for the characters. For example, the character that Zac Efron plays, Phillip Carlyle, was written specifically for the movie. I don’t necessarily mind stretching the truth, especially on this subject matter. The movie doesn’t outright say “based on a true story” so it shouldn’t surprise people that some elements were exaggerated for the sake of making a movie.
The relationship between the characters Zac Efron and Zendaya play is completely made up, despite being one of the most interesting plot lines in the movie. Zendaya plays a colored trapeze performer and the two of them struggle with their feelings towards each other due to the stigma of a white man dating a colored woman (as well as a “circus freak” performer.)
What makes this movie great is obviously the music, musicals (both film or on-stage) are really important to me so I get very excited when I see a well-done movie musical. I’ve seen it twice now and can only name one song that is a bit of a slog to get through. Out of the nine songs featured in the movie, there’s only one I’ll skip when listening to the album which is very impressive in my opinion. The songs in this movie hit all the right beats that songs in a musical have to hit, they’re relevant to the story and move the plot along.
They also expand on the personality and relationship between characters in a fun and entertaining way. It’s hard not to name all the songs I like but a few songs that stand out to me are the duet between Efron and Zendaya “Rewrite the Stars,” the ballad sung by The Bearded Lady (Keala Settle) “This Is Me,” and “The Other Side” which has absolutely fantastic choreography between Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron in a bar as they discuss business opportunities. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a version of this musical hit the Broadway stage in a few years because of how interesting the choreography was for most of the songs.
The performances by the cast were amazing, especially Hugh Jackman. It’s so interesting comparing his performance here to his role as Wolverine earlier this year in “Logan.” In one he’s a hardcore killing maniac ripping people to shreds with his claws and in another, he’s smiling widely and dancing about in front of an audience.
All the famous actors: Michelle Williams, Zac Efron and Zendaya do as well as you’d expect but the real spotlight should shine on Keala Settle who plays the Bearded Lady. In addition to her fantastic singing, she also conveys so much emotion in her acting, expressing embarrassment, confidence and determination. She carries the subplot of the “circus freaks” becoming okay with who they were born as so well.
“The Greatest Showman” is paced extremely well and tells a very interesting (albeit water downed) story about one father’s determination to provide for his family. I personally don’t mind the exclusion of the more serious and cruel behavior the real P.T. Barnum exhibited, none of that would have fit with the rest of the movie. You definitely shouldn’t take the events of this movie as fact and instead view it as a musical (like it was intended to) rather than a biopic.
I’ll guarantee at least one of the songs will be relentlessly playing over and over again in your head by the time you walk out of the theater, and I’m predicting it’s going to be “This Is Me.”
