Review of The Greatest Showman (2017) by Glenn G — 13 Mar 2018

I was as shocked as everyone else when the slow to catch on, critically excoriated THE GREATEST SHOWMAN turned into a bonafide blockbuster. But then again, big, empty musicals sometimes do well. MAMMA MIA and FLASHDANCE come to mind. Pure escapism often gets people through troubling times, be it the Great Depression, the Reagan years, or the current shit show on display. What's better than a fantasy circus to "trump" the real sideshow on the news every minute of the day?

Screenwriters Bill Condon and Jenny Bicks have teamed up with LA LA LAND/DEAR EVAN HANSEN songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and first time director Michael Gracey to bring us a truly terrible film in so many ways, yet achieves greatness as well. Is it possible to love and loathe a film simultaneously? If we're to fall for this movie's themes, then, like its characters, we will sing/shout from the rooftops, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, DAMMIT!".

Let me be clear. THE GREATEST SHOWMAN finds its inspiration from the life of circus impresario, P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman), but anyone expecting a biopic needs to check their egos at the tent flap. Sketching in his life with the merest hint of an outline, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN celebrates filmmaking kinetics, soaring inspirational anthems, and rhythmic editing...leaving depth, rigor, and layering to the Sondheims, Kanders and Ebbs of the world. Every scene with dialogue feels like the slightest excuse to set up the next singing/dancing showstopper. In fact, I'm convinced Sally Hawkins had more spoken lines in THE SHAPE OF WATER than that of the entire cast of this turkey/masterpiece.

Think of this as 20 great Michael Jackson videos strung together or as my friend Dennis said after a screening, "This movie plays like it's a trailer of itself". Yes, it feels like one big montage with style certainly lording over substance, but what style it displays. There's so much epic sweep to every moment, such aggressive choreography, such pageantry and a self-serious call to arms for the "freaks" and the outcasts of the world, that I had to stop myself and ask, "Do I hear the people sing or not?" [LES MIZ fans get an extra point here]. The answer? YES! I HEAR YOU!

Jackman and company start things off with a bang with "The Greatest Show", an on-the-nose introductory song if there ever was one, rivaling Styx's "Grand Illusion" or Robbie Williams' "Let Me Entertain You" as Overbearing Kings of Captain Obvious Openers. Then things turn really creepy as "A Million Dreams" flashes back to Barnum's childhood when he meets and falls for young Charity, who will grow into his future wife, played by Michelle Williams. It's a pretty song, but I get creeped out whenever children sing. It wasn't a good look in BUGSY MALONE, and ANNIE felt like a bunch of kids pretending to be scrappy while tap dancing on a rolled out board for an audition. Only little Gavroche in LES MISERABLES worked for me, mainly because he was starving and willing to cut a bitch for his place in revolutionary history.

Luckily, the filmmakers have ADD and don't dwell on anything for too long. We move along hastily to finish the number with Jackman and Williams taking over for the kids. I would have preferred they simply cover Jackman in shadows instead of CGI-ing the hell out of his face to look like a man in his 20s, but ain't nothing gonna stop modern movie magic!

Flipping through this section, we see Barnum working out his early ideas for what would become his circus. He gathers the troops, or troupe that is, assembling society's throwaways into his iconic Freak Show. Behold the Bearded Lady (scene stealer Keala Settle), the Fat Man, the Tattooed Man, and more. He also finds a business partner in Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), who falls for the acrobat Anne (Zendaya), a woman who feels at home with this group because of the racism she faces outside of their circle. At one point, to boost his business, Barnum teams up with Swedish opera star Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) to go no tour with her, leaving the circus to Carlyle.

Ferguson's big number, "Never Enough" proves mesmerizing, despite the fact that former VOICE contestant Loren Allred does the singing. Allred may be the Marni Nixon of today, but Ferguson does such a gorgeous lip sync, entirely invested in this song and the implications of its lyrics, that I didn't care. Of course, Barnum and Lind's relationship will complicate things, but trust me, another musical number's right around the corner to wash away those blahs.

THE showstopper of the film, "Rewrite The Stars" puts Efron and Zendaya front and center, and like all of the music here, it's contemporary, anthemic bombast, auto-tuned within an inch of its life, but an unforgettable explosion of pop to hit that sweet spot over and over. I could watch this pair soar and twirl on an endless loop and be happy. Efron croons winningly, but Zendaya comes out the real winner here. A triple threat, she moves wonderfully, sings like an angel (ok, ok, with a lot of studio assistance), but it's her acting which won me over. As she did in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, she exhibits a beautiful raw fragility, especially when out of makeup. If ever there was a ONE TO WATCH, it's her.

Of course the freaks get their rallying cry in "This Is Me" (Oscar nominated), and it's a killer number reminiscent of the "I Got Life" number in HAIR or "La Vie Boheme" from RENT, where the disenfranchised finally have their say. Sure, it's a tad humorless, but I fully expect this song to be sung from floats at LGBT Pride Parades, replacing "I Am What I Am" for at least the next 3 decades. In fact, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN may be the gayest movie ever made without having a shred of gay content. Any film that makes a case for the glory of being different, despite the terrible conditions and abuse the real Barnum put his employees through, deserves a salute.

Even Michelle Williams, who gamely surrenders to this wafer-thin film, sells it in her big number, "Tightrope". The fact that this actor can twirl and float about like everyone else, when she's built a career around heavy, crying characters, speaks volumes as to the magical qualities in this movie.

Between her, Zendaya, and Ferguson, I was reminded of ABBA. They all have sweet, Agnetha/Frida-style voices and every song has a Swedish pop sheen to it. The circus setting harkens back to that group's SUPER TROUPER days and is a better, more appropriate backdrop for this style of musical than MAMMA MIA's dumb Greek setting. When I hear those Euro-style chords, I think of pageantry and committed dancing, not people shuffling badly on an overly-lit dock. THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is more ABBA than ABBA!

Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I put on the "Downtown" number from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, one of the best-realized numbers in musical history, and I feel better. I don't watch the whole film, just the great numbers. I suspect I'll do the same when THE GREATEST SHOWMAN starts streaming. Yes, it's a hot, steaming poo-pile of a movie, but it's catchy, has a good beat, and you can dance to it!

In front of us in the theater sat two elderly women. Throughout the film, they threw their hands up in the air or swayed to the music, pumping their arms back and forth. It brought them so much joy, I tapped them at the end to tell them their love of the film made my evening. Is it so bad it's good, or is it so bad AND so good? I'll go with the latter. Didn't a lot of people say the same thing about XANADU?