I’ve noted before that I love movie musicals. They’re more
rare than ever these days since I don’t consider pop song fueled items in that
genre. Those movies are made to sell records or up the marketability of a
particular pop star. I’m talking about full blown musicals where characters
suddenly burst into song about what’s taking place. Most these days are based
on Broadway shows. But for once a full on movie musical has hit the screen and
now disc that deserves notice. That movie is THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.
The movie is loosely based on the life of entrepreneur P.T.
Barnum, the first person to create what we call showbiz. At times a promoter
and at others a con man at heart, Barnum brought something new to the stage
unseen before. This film cleans up his act a bit, puts a nice coat of white
paint on his reputation and in doing so makes for one outrageously entertaining
film.
As a boy Barnum follows his father, a tailor, around and
helps when he can. He meets a young girl named Charity in the home of one of his
father's customers and even as a child falls helplessly in love with her. They
remain in contact against her father’s wishes and eventually marry with
promises of a world they will create all their own.
But plans don’t follow through. Living in a leaky flat with
two young girls to take care of Barnum (Hugh Jackman) loses his job as an
accountant. Charity (Michelle Williams) tells him not to worry and as the three
celebrate one of the girl’s birthdays he has an idea. The next day using
documents he took from his ex-employer and spinning a yarn of owning ships at
sea (while failing to mention they’ve all sunk) he gets a loan from the bank
and rents a building.
He fills the building with the latest craze, wax figures. He
also brings in oddities not seen in the city like wild animals now stuffed.
When business doesn’t take off his daughter suggest he needs something alive.
Another spark of inspiration. Barnum posts signs everywhere looking for unique
people, what would later be termed “freaks”. He starts off the cast of his show
by approaching a young man he dubs Gen. Tom Thumb who stands 25 inches tall. As
more cast are added to the show it becomes a must see attraction.
Given a bad review by the press it doesn’t matter. People
come from far and wide to see the show. In addition to that Barnum has given
these people something they never had before, a family, people who care for
them in their own circle.
Searching for a way to make his location more reputable he
approaches a wealthy young playwright named playwright Phillip Carlyle (Zach
Efron) to invest in his show. Hesitant at first Carlyle agrees for a percentage
and on his first visit falls in love with trapeze artist Anne Wheeler
(Zendaya). Barnum gets another assist from Carlyle who helps them get an
audience with Queen Victoria, adding a touch of prestige to the show. While
there he meets opera star Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) and makes plans to
produce a tour featuring her across the US.
More happens in the movie but I’ve already said too much. Troubles
at his show, losing track of his original intent, forgetting the people he
brought in who depend on him and losing his path in life all make up for the
content of this movie. It’s uplifting and heartbreaking at different times. The
plight of the stars of his show, being unacceptable to some members of the
public who think they should crawl back in the shadows is the heart and soul of
this film. The film’s strongest song, “This Is Me”, celebrates their strength
in discovering who they are and the power they have to be accepted as real
people. The song was nominated for best song at this year’s Oscars and in my
opinion they were robbed by not winning.
It’s not the only song to stand out here though. Benj Pasek
and Justin Paul who wrote the songs for last year’s LA LA LAND have crafted
some of the most amazing music and lyrics to find their way to film in decades.
Recent musicals like BURLESQUE and CHICAGO don’t compare to this soundtrack in
my opinion. The movie lifts you up and breaks your heart both.
The entire cast stand out as amazing in the film. I’ve
wondered when Efron would act in a film rather than just take off his shirt and
he does great here. Zendaya is underused but does well. Williams as the love of
Barnum’s life is wonderful. But it is Jackman who shines above all others here.
His portrayal, his emotive expressions and his singing all make the character
come alive.
If all of this weren’t enough to convince you the movie is
worth adding to your collection then consider the extras in this sing-a-long
edition. They include THE FAMILY BEHIND THE GREATEST SHOWMAN a featurette on
the making of the film, THE SONGS each song singled out for fans, THE SPECTACLE
offering behind the scenes info on characters and choreography, a gallery of
concept art, a gallery of storyboards used for the film, MUSIC MACHINE offers
direct access to each song in the film with a sing-a-long option, sing-a-long
mode which presents the entire film with subtitles to sing along with each song
and an audio commentary track with Michael Gracey the film’s director.
Of all the movies I saw last year, which was quite a lot, I
felt that this movie would surely garner an Oscar nod for best picture. But the
Academy did what they’ve done for some time now, nominating movies based on
political bent or causes as opposed to what was the best film made. This movie
should have won hands down. I saw it twice in the theater and watched it twice
on disc now and never been bored. To me that’s the sign of a movie worth owning
and repeat viewings. Other’s I know have felt the same. Give it a watch and my
guess is you will too. Soon you’ll hear people walking down the street singing
“Ladies and gents this is the show you’ve been waiting for.”
