Movie Review: The Greatest Showman

Movie: The Greatest Showman
Genre: Musical
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zach Efron, Michelle Williams
Rating: two thumbs up


We went to this one over the holidays for our annual family girls night out. It was a perfect choice. Upbeat and fun!

This is the story of P.T Barnum based on a few key moments of his life. (There's a lot left out, there's a lot of time crunching, there's a lot of glossing over, but it's generally how he got started and some difficulties he faced.) And all told with musical numbers.

P.T. Barnum, as you know, started "the greatest show on Earth" aka. the circus as we know it today.

The plot is simple... Mr. Barnum daydreams as a kid, falls in love with a rich guy's daughter, marries her, wants to show her the good life, but has all these fanciful dreams that never really amount to much. And then he has the idea to start a show starring random "misfit" type people he comes across. The little person he names Tom Thumb, the bearded lady, the Siamese twins, the black trapeze artist, and etc. Soon, he adds animals to the mix too. Despite a lot of criticism, his show succeeds and he becomes famous.

He then adds in a famous singer called Jenny Lind, which causes some conflict in that he forgets what he started it all for... to give back to his family.

So, for me, the message to take home was... live your dreams, stay true to yourself, march to your own drum, love your family. All this reflected in the big song numbers of the show.

And it's the songs that make this movie. Big numbers... huge production numbers. Catching tunes that will get stuck in your head. Positive fun upbeat songs. And some great choreography too. One totally takes place on the trapeze. (Way to go Zach Effron and Zendaya!) Another one is between Hugh Jackman and Zach Efron in a bar, and that is pretty amazing too!

If you like musicals, you'll love this. If you need a family movie, you'll love this. If you are into Hugh Jackman, you'll love this. If you enjoy seeing no name's become stars, you'l love this. If music gives you chills, you'll love this.

Here's a trailer, in case you need a better visual:







And of course the soundtrack is awesome... here's the whole soundtrack playlist on Youtube: