The Greatest Showman (2017 Film) Review
"The Greatest Showman" is directed by Michael Gracey and stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and a slew of other actors and actress in supporting roles.
At this movie's expense, "The Greatest Showman" delivers on its promise of being a great family film to see. There's not a lot of moments that will upset or scare children. It's all family-friendly fun that will be great to see if you choose to see it. With the exception of a small fight, this is void of anything inappropriate. What I would worry about, with taking children to see this movie, is whether or not it is going to entertain the children you take. The movie gets to a great start and kind of meanders throughout until the rest of its runtime. On the matter of taking children to see this, it's not so much of whether it is appropriate for children, it's about whether it will entertain your children. So, if you know that your kid(s) can sit through this type of film, I would take (him/her/them) to see this movie.
Back in 2016, "La La Land's" stunning success reinvigorated the musical genre. Since then, movie studios have now sought out to capitalize on Lionsgate's success. The first to emerge is "The Greatest Showman," a film depicting the life of P. T. Barnum and how he essentially invented the circus as we know it today. However, while this film has arrived a year after "La La Land," "The Greatest Showman" was actually first announced in 2009, almost a decade before the project would be released. Actor Hugh Jackman was attached to the lead role since its announcement and according to the actor, the risk of making an original musical was too great for studios to take, so it caused the film to be stalled for years. Unfortunately, it shows.
"The Greatest Showman" feels like a film that would've been made many years ago. It's a kind of film that promotes diversity and the acceptance of the oddball, but with a filmmaking world where both of those things have been done to the point of exhaustion, the film misses out on telling a better story surrounding P. T Barnum. Not to mention, the movie doesn't make great use of the concepts and it ends up betraying itself by going in an opposite direction at the end.
The scope of this film also makes this feel like a story you'd adapt into a Broadway musical. The film, on multiple occasions, has the scope and acting of one such production. The cinematic format allows for so much to be done with it, that director Michael Gracey seemingly settled for an above-average Broadway musical. If you were to tell me that someone took a video camera into a live musical, recorded it, and restored it to look like a movie, I would almost believe you. "The Greatest Showman" feels that way throughout and even gets a bit lazy in the last third of the film. With some noticeably fake environments, as well as a rushed ending, I was taken out of the film that I had previously been glued to because of the great cast.
The Cast
As a whole, the cast turn in great performances. Some were better than others and certain actors were a bit over-the-top with their performances
I finding myself saying the same thing about a few films recently, but, unfortunately, this movie has too many characters. It's partially apparent when Hugh Jackman is not in the frame, as the film feels like its struggling on who to focus on. Its solution is to randomly cut between characters which makes it feel sloppy. It doesn't help that after the first act, everyone goes off to do their own thing.
Zac Efron and Zendaya seemingly diverge from the company, until regrouping with the others at the end of the movie. Both do decent with their acting and, while I wasn't wanting more of them, their duet was a moving piece of music. The questionable thing about the duo is that, while they are separated from the other characters, they feel like they are in limbo and that is the case for a majority of the film. What we did see of them, outside of their song, I wasn't too crazy about. I found their characters, including the relationship, to be half-baked with hardly any traits that felt fresh or exciting.
Michelle Williams and Rebecca Fergusson don't do deep work in this musical, but the two actresses, were entertaining on screen and their dresses were a product of great craftsmanship. Come to think of it, that was the case with all the costumes in the film. I was disappointed that Fergusson's character, Jenny Lind, didn't actually sing her own ballad though. Instead, Loren Allred provides the vocal chords for Jenny Lind.
Where the cast truly shines, outside of Hugh Jackman, is in P. T. Barnum's crew of oddities. Unfortunately, they are dropped halfway through the film. That let me down, because they always managed to shine, even with Hugh Jackman present. Keala Settle's Lettie Luz was particularly great to watch. She resonated above the rest to me and while I cared for all their problems, she made hers the most compelling. It is a shame that the characters were cut short and did not get their full due.
P. T. Barnum
This portrayal of P. T. Barnum is not at all faithful to the real life Barnum. "The Greatest Showman" has been sorted into the biopic genre of film, but it has so little to do with what the man's life actually was, that I hardly see how any of this is remotely a true story. All the personality traits that Jackman's Barnum exhibits, whether it's his gentlemanly and optimistic attitude or his undying love for his family, is the complete opposite who the real P. T. Barnum was. In reality, he was the complete opposite of Jackman's depiction. The man was a scoundrel that would do anything to make a buck, and I mean anything. I am okay with this portrayal of P. T. Barnum, but since I knew a lot about the real Barnum going in, it kept me from getting too invested into the character much.
That said though, Hugh Jackman gave a brilliant performance. The movie opens right on Jackman and I immediately gravitated towards his character, despite who he was playing. Naturally, he knocks his singing out of the park. He, unlike other members of the cast, did his own singing. As he was an actor on many stages, Jackman seems comfortable with his surroundings and he radiates joy once you first see him in the film. He most definitely did not disappoint with his performance, but even though the actor's been receiving early award attention for his performance, I'm not quite sure he'll get any for it, given that his portrayal of P. T. Barnum is historically inaccurate.
The Soundtrack
Since the songwriters for this film were the same duo that wrote the songs for "La La Land," I had high expectations for this follow-up film project and they delivered.
What we get from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul is a new catalogue of fresh, fun, and fantastic songs. I'm fully serious. The only flaw I have with it, is that the music uses styles suited for the current time period, but since this is set two hundred and some odd years ago, the styles don't connect. It's not a huge flaw, but if I have any negative criticisms about the songs, that'd be my only strike against it.
Before I saw "The Greatest Showman," I would have thought that Disney/Pixar's "Coco" would be the best film to compete in the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards this year. Now, I'm not so sure. While "Coco" does have some great numbers, I think "The Greatest Showman" gives the movie a run for its money with some moving songs evenly spread throughout the film.
"This is Me" is getting some early award nods and it is a great song from the film, but I think that isn't the only good song in the film. "The Greatest Show," "A Million Dreams," and "From Now On" were my favorite numbers from the film and, along with "This is Me," were the songs to get my foot tapping along with the beat of the music. Though she doesn't actually sing it, Jenny Lind has an emotional ballad called "Never Enough" and Michelle Williams surprised me with her singing the song "Tightrope."
The music is composed incredibly well by John Debney and Joseph Trapanese and the actual lyrics for each of the songs hold surprising depth. Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, John Debney, and Joseph Trapanese could not have done a better job with the soundtrack for "The Greatest Showman."
Grade: C
Without definitive slam dunks like Hugh Jackman, Keala Settle, and the soundtrack, the rest of "The Greatest Showman" is just alright. There's nothing too noteworthy about this film, that makes it a must-see in theaters. If you want to see this film really bad, you can go to the cinemas and see it for half the normal price. Otherwise, you can wait till this is available in the ancillary market to watch it from the comfort of your home.
Conclusion
This is my review of "The Greatest Showman." Do you plan on seeing the film in theaters, or are you waiting till it is available on the many home media platforms? If you have already seen the film, what did you think of my assessment of it? Share this article with your friends and/or family as well as what film you want me to review next. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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