Ahhh, I enjoyed this movie so much! After being much dissapointed with the last Star Wars film, and not expecting much from another modern made musical...I went into the movie not hoping for much, and leaving the theater happily surprised at the beautiful cinematic masterpiece I'd just witnessed.
This is a film I could most definitely watch a hundred times. It is refreshing, vibrant, and original.Call me obsessed but I've seen it twice already, and am planning a third viewing before it leaves the theaters for good!
What made this film a beauty, was that it delivered EVERYTHING you could want from a Classic Musical. Good acting. Good Choreography. Good Vocals. Good Story. Good Pace. Good Screenplay. Good Music. Good Visuals. Good Ending. Good Editing. Good Characterizations. Good Vibes.
It is a movie that the world needs right now, because it it is positive. We don't see a lot of positivity coming from the cinemas, or media in general anymore. I hope that this movie wins a load of awards, because frankly, it earned them.
This is one reason I would be surprised if it did win them...Because it is in many cinematic ways a Disney movie, and an safe movie. And Disney movies are never taken seriously.
It touches on some deep issues, and yet it doesn't leave you walking away feeling vexed. It covers the overly covered topics such as Prejudice, Class Differences, Forbidden Love, but it doesn't leave us trampled by them.
I'd say perhaps the only thing I found unsettling thing about this film first time around was the performance by the HIGHLY SKILLED singer Keala Settle, who is playing "The Bearded Woman". The performance I refer to is, "This is Me" where the character is stomping around wearing a bossum busting corset dress while singing to the top of her lungs... The clash of beard, busts, and dance choreography is a bit...MUCH. But, it's not the whole movie, it's ONE song.
However, the song is catchy, just as epic as the rest, and isn't in it's self a raunchy song.
Yet, I think if you listen to the song and watch the scene through the lens of present social issues , you can definitely see the connotation. I don't think it's controversial, but I do think it's dangerous for those who are being taught that "Anything Goes".
Before long we're going to have a social problem, and I frankly think we already have one...If you had physical deformations back in the day, you were considered "A Freak", but it wasn't something that folks could help, they were essentially BORN THAT WAY.
Now a days most of the deformations are physiological, and because people refuse to treat people based as their sexual preferences, or multiple personalities, quirks, they're considered hateful.
Thinking about another character's struggle in the story...I was reminded that people need to realize that there is a difference between hate and disagreement . People should be given grace to have their own opinions, and just because they conflict with your own, or aren't fully formed truth, does NOT mean you should point a finger and call them wrong.
This story reminds us of the simple fact that "We're all trying to get ahead in this Life". But it also reminds us that Family is more important than earthly riches, and that the time we have on this earth is so short, and that true love takes sacrificial acts...The cool thing about the main Character is that he actually grows deeply in the film, yes, believe it or not, there IS character growth in this film...and although the main character battles with temptation, he does NOT give in to it, which is a nice change for us who are sick of seeing cheats being portrayed as innocents on the big screen. At the end of the day Family comes first, and is considered the greatest treasure of all. It's a good message.
So go see this movie if you like musicals. It's not rough, it's not gritty, and even though it is based on Barnum's Life and the creation of the circus, it is only "loosely based" on the facts, and is IN FACT mostly a good fantasy. Perhaps that is why it's put down in some places on the internet...people were expecting this musical to be the biography of P.T. Barnum's Life, and it's not, it's just a show, and a great one at that. People are the ones mistaken, and the ones who had false expectations. It's not a show to satisfy the nit-picking "realism" critics, but it sure is a graceful piece of art.
When I watched the movie in theaters I was transported by the first song that began to play. My favorites? Definitely A Million Dreams, Never Enough, and Rewrite the Stars.
A Million Dreams is the song that reminds us what it was like to be a child, full of imagination and wonder. Barnum, and his wife as kids steal the focus of the audience, as they explore an abandoned mansion. It reminds us of what joy there is in seeing beauty in the neglected and seemingly insignificant. If you can in-vision it, you can make it.
When you're young, anything is possible...but if you hold onto your imagination, creativity, and work hard your dreams can still come true.
I think this song is my top favorite because it's the song of a dreamer and I can personally relate to it.
Never Enough is the most moving...and literally you could have heard a pin drop in the theater after the incredible performance by the stunning Rebecca Ferguson, who nails the emotion of the scene so well. However, the vocal recording is by a lady (Loren Allred) who deserves a tour of her own! It's definitely a scene that will give you chill bumps.
Rewrite the Stars is the love story theme. It gets stuck in your head, and you'll never want to quit singing it...I personally don't think I can stop...I just need the lyrics so I can stop re-singing the same two lines haha. It is beautiful, but the scene it's self is breathtaking because let's face it, the actors (Zac Efron and Zendaya) are captivating physically and their flying around on trapeze! It almost makes you believe that with love anything is possible, such as flying...And this isn't CGI folks! Some of the choreography is so fabulous in the film, that the first time around I found myself wondering if I could trust my eyes, but yes, from what I have researched it's mostly pretty legit.
(P.S. I find I now have a crush on Zac Efron. Yes, that boy from High School Musical...
Except he's all grown up now, and age has been kind to him.)
I don't recommend this movie for those under 13 just due the level of understanding and the sometimes revealing costumes. But it's got a beautiful original soundtrack, and you can tell the actors worked hard to be in this production. The music is far more interesting and memorable than that of La La Land a musical that came out in theaters last year, brought to you by the same lyrical writers. La La Land is the opposite of The Greatest Showman, it is a film that promises much, delivers little. Fake Dancing, Boring Story, and Sad Ending. Not to say that I didn't find it unique, because I did. But heck it was about time that a positive musical hit the big screens again...I guess I didn't know I was starving for a good, old fashioned, musical. *Happy Sigh*
I can't help thinking that film titles should be switched between the latest Star Wars film and this Musical...The Greatest Jedi (in honor of the Luke Skywalker we used to know and love) And The Last Showman, because the Barnum and Bailey Circus is in fact, NO MORE, and because Hugh Jackman is one of the greatest Showman of our time, and because I know not many more Musicals like this will hit the big screen.... Maybe I'm just being eccentric, but after looking at the reviews on rotten tomatoes, I am reminded that not everyone is looking for a positive escape from the mundane. People are putting down the film because they heard someone say
"This film fails because the real Barnum's life was more interesting than this petty musical", please, go smoke your pipe and leave us folks to have a little fun. ( It's because of people like this, that we no longer have the Circus!)
Hardly anyone knows the biography of P.T. Barnum, and I'll tell you right now, it wasn't at least bit as entertaining as The Greatest Showman. But if anything, this movie's release might make you look it up now.
After all critics, real life isn't a musical, and if you think we wanted another Les Mis like the 2012 version or to come away singing "Life killed the dream I dreamed" than you are sadly mistaken. For once some of us would like just to be entertained. I think people take everything so "seriously" these days that they're losing the ability to be entertained by music, trapeze, dancing...those things that people used to pay to see before technology zapped out our attention spans.
Anyhow, I'm just happy that they released this entertaining movie, instead of the biography of P.T. Barnum. Not to say that I wouldn't watch a movie about him if ever there was made a serious drama about him...But I can't promise I'd enjoy it.
Now all I'm looking forward to is owning the soundtrack...and having it on DVD, this way I can watch The Greatest Showman every weekend hehe.
