The Greatest Showman

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austyn Johnson, Keale Settle
Directed by: Michael Gracey
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Musical
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) is determined to provide a better life for his family and stumbles across a way to bring magic and spectacle into peoples' lives. He faces an uphill battle as he tries to create a new entertainment sensation.

Review:

Tim: I went into The Greatest Showman with some skepticism. America has moved on from the circus- Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey actually closed down in 2017. So you can't quite claim a fictionalized account of P.T. Barnum was a timely thing to do. And yet, despite some of those early misgivings, I actually really enjoyed this movie. It's not good enough to be an awards contender, but it's a solid musical. I liked the movie more than I expected I would.

Michael Gracey was making his feature film directorial debut here. On the one hand, you have to give him great credit for delivering such a good movie out of the gate. That's not easy to do. On the other hand, you have to acknowledge that his relative inexperience behind the camera likely muted the overall impact of this film. The movie is good, but it easily could have been even better.

Gracey is helped by a strong cast. Hugh Jackman does a wonderful job in the lead role. Whenever I see him, I still think of him as Wolverine. It's still a little jarring to see him singing and dancing, but he's so talented. It was fun seeing him in this role. He was well cast and he makes the most out of it. I liked seeing Michelle Williams here, but to be frank, her talent was wasted. She has a few decent moments but she was underutilized. She is a better actress than what she was called upon to deliver here. Zac Efron added a strong supporting performance. He and Jackman have a few great musical numbers together. His subplot with Zendaya isn't as well fleshed out as it needed to be, but Efron still worked well. Rebecca Ferguson added a solid supporting performance and Keala Settle was certainly a standout among the large supporting cast. The overall talent involved in this movie was impressive, but you also have to believe Gracey didn't quite get everything out of them that he could have.

I thought the music was fine. There weren't a ton of really great songs, but "This is Me" was obviously the standout- it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and it's certainly the most worthy song from the film. There are a few other decent ones. The choreographed dance sequences were actually quite well done. I was a much bigger fan of those.

One aspect of the film I really enjoyed was the message of these people coming together and forming a family. The idea of tolerance and looking past initial impressions is a big theme in this movie. That sense of not making snap judgments and getting to know people on the inside is a powerful message and one that resonates in today's environment. I enjoyed that the film was determined to deliver this message instead of just glorifying Barnum. That being said, one of my big criticisms of the film is how much it strayed from anything rooted in reality. This is a heavily fictionalized account of Barnum. It would have been better just to make this a completely fictional story about a fictional character, because it's practically that anyway. That aspect of the movie hurt my estimation of it.

While I didn't love The Greatest Showman, it's still a compelling, entertaining film. It's a bit shallow and forgettable, but it's still enjoyable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Les Miserables, Water for Elephants