The Greatest Showman Is the Greatest Showcase On Disney+
The Greatest Showman is one of those films that had critics saying, “meh” and audiences saying, “yes!” It’s a musical that doesn’t feel like a musical, even though it’s packed with musical scenes. It’s so much more than that. It is one of the most entertaining movies of our time, and it’s streaming on Disney+ now.
I think what makes The Greatest Showman so successful for audiences is that it doesn’t shy away from the harder parts of the story of the making P.T. Barnum, on whose life this film is based. Hugh Jackman stars as the dashing P.T., who we first see as a little boy coming from nothing, entirely dependent on the goodwill of the people on the streets. We watch him rise through the ranks of society as a newspaper barker and then an accountant at a small firm.
Wolverine Is A Song And Dance Man
The early songs in the film tell the story of dreaming, of reaching, and of never giving up hope. P.T. is lucky to have the love of his wife, Charity (Michelle Williams), and his two daughters, who stand by his side no matter what and don’t ask for more than their simple life, but P.T. is driven by the need to achieve status in 1800s America.
He must become the greatest showman. We watch him build a museum no one cares about and then figure out that he can make a spectacle of the “freaks” of society.
The Only Man That Could Make Us Love P.T. Barnum
As he overemphasizes the differences of his actors (making the tall man even taller with stilts, the fat man even fatter with stuffing, and the bearded lady standout with extravagant dressing), he earns his place as the greatest showman. Hugh Jackman, with his musical theater background, was made for this role. I don’t think we could love another actor playing this character who keeps making mistakes that hurt those around him.
The Musical Numbers Tear The House Down
When he’s joined by Rebecca Ferguson as world-famous singer Jenny Lind and Zac Efron as Phillip Carlyle, his financial backer and partner, Jackman, is lifted up to even greater heights. The Greatest Showman really comes alive as these characters engage in song and dance.
Rebecca Ferguson truly brings the house down with her song, “Never Enough,” which echoes through your memory for days after you see it. “The Other Side,” a song featuring a negotiation between Barnum and Carlyle, is one of the best scenes in cinematic history. The actors stomp on bar tops and slide across slick wood floors.
Zac Efron And Zendaya Steal The Show
Because she’s Black, the forbidden romance between Carlyle and one of Barnum’s actors, trapeze artist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya), brings history into the present. These two have such magnetic chemistry (unlike Efron’s chemistry with Nicole Kidman in A Family Affair), and the song they sing together, “Rewrite the Stars,” as they slowly swing toward and away from each other on ropes under a spotlight, is breathtaking.
Streaming On Disney+
REVIEW SCORE
The Greatest Showman is truly the greatest showcase on Disney+. Of course, I understand how critics took exception to the fact that the film takes a ton of artistic license with P.T. Barnum’s story (giving it only 57 percent approval on Rotten tomatoes), but audiences, including me and my kids, clearly don’t care (giving it a much higher 86 percent approval rating).
The writing of both the screenplay and the songs is brilliant, and the direction by first-time director Michael Gracey is spectacular. The Greatest Showman offers hope that musicals can be good for those of us who don’t typically care for them. Or maybe this was just a fluke and a happy one at that.
