Review of The Greatest Showman (2017) by Christopher W — 12 Jun 2018

SPOILER ALERT. An extraordinary film, with several scenes that rival any in previous movie musicals. Zac and Zendaya singing Rewrite the Stars on the trapeze. Barnum, Philip and the Bartender working out the amazingly original choreography in The Other Side. The inspiring A Million Dreams given three different meanings when sung by young Barnum, then as a gorgeous dance sequence with Charity, and then by the daughters amazed by the Wishing Machine. This is Me as an anthem of self-respect sung before three audiences: the upper class theater snobs, the New York street toughs, and the circus audience, meaning something a little different in each case. Or the powerful ballad Never Enough and the hauntingly beautiful Tightrope.

I can't overstate the contempt I feel for the critics who panned this amazing film. Almost everyone who sees this work of art recognizes right away that the critics are not just wrong but absurdly misguided. I do think that having a theater critic as a villain is partly responsible. Or maybe it's the hyperpoliticized group think that sometimes causes critics to signal each other with their apparent virtue instead of paying attention to the film they purport to be reviewing. I don't hate critics in general, and I do wish that at least a few would step up and admit they got this one wrong. But I'm not holding my breath.