Review of The Greatest Showman (2017) by Cindy%20 T — 14 Sep 2018

I loved this movie. The soundtrack is fantastic and felt refreshing with songs that truly make this a 2018 version of a musical (like Moulin Rouge was in the early 2000s except The Greatest Showman had a cast that can ACTUALLY sing).

Some of the songs were reminiscent something you would hear from Fall Out Boy. Yes, there's some Auto-tuning happening but it's a good reflection of our times because seriously, what song is NOT auto-tuned now?? I first heard the soundtrack on Pandora, having never heard of the movie, and realized I had to watch the film.

The plot is pretty well developed for a movie that's under 2 hours. I understood the struggles between race, class, and how the characters were all just aiming to be accepted by society. I think for the film to convey this meaning and still fit that many songs into the film is pretty impressive.

For people just looking for a movie with just talking, no singing, this is the wrong film for you so don't watch it and then criticize it because there's "too much singing." For the naysayers who say the film is not historically accurate, if you look up the history of PT Barnum, the movie pretty much touches on many of the main points of his life.

Obviously this is a musical so there's some artistic license to make changes to the story because, come one people, the true story of PT Barnum did not include him bursting into song every few minutes.

If you want a true biopic, go watch a boring documentary, but don't criticize it because it's actually an interesting movie. Watching this actually made me want to find out more info and learn more about the real Barnum on my own.

Overall, this is a total feel good movie with songs to pull at your heartstrings (This is Me, Never Enough) and others that make you want to get up and dance (The Greatest Show, Come Alive). I feel like the critics completely missed the mark and failed to understand the core purpose of the movie.

Just like how in the movie, the Times writer failed to appreciate that Barnum's circus achieved what it set out to do, which is put smiles on the faces of the audience, the negative critics for the movie are doing the same thing.

When the credits started rolling, I had a silly grin on my face, felt happier than I had been before the movie, and it left me wanting more (perhaps a Broadway version??). Definitely watch it.