LogFAQs > #933924893

Karo - The story of a young P.T. Barnum traveling around collecting interesting people to help create his dream of a fantastical circus. The Bearded Lady! The Siamese Twins! The Dog Boy! The Black People! Wait, what?
Yes, they made up two characters for Barnum's sideshow whose 'freak' attribute is literally 'being African-American.' Yeah, this is not okay.
I understand that they were trying to conflate the plight of blacks with this group of goofy looking misfits, but I'm sorry nobody was ever denied basic human rights for having a beard or too many tattoos.
This awkward message of diversity is constantly thrown in the face of viewers, yet always deflected with coy statements and never really explored other than a generic 'be proud of who you are' moral. Yeah, the thing to do when bigots hate you and want you dead is to just fucking believe in yourself. Awesome.
It seemed the producers were a bit lost in what they wanted their movie to say, and I am equally lost at what I should take away from it other than a few nice songs and the novelty of conjoined twins performing a dance routine.
Much like the circus of its protagonist, it is an overblown and confusing spectacle that entertains well enough, but it could have been a whole lot more.

Score: 65/100

Best Song: 'A Million Dreams'

JONA - I dont think this movie is good, but I found it quite entertaining. I am pretty disappointed that this is the result we get when it comes to a biography about P.T. Barnum. The 2010s pop soundtrack, while I liked a couple of songs, really didnt fit the time period. Its especially jarring when the opera singer sings a 2010s pop number. Her character was also weird. She donated her profits to charities but yet wanted to be in a relationship with Barnum, despite knowing he was married, and she also was petty about being rejected that she made him look bad. Definitely seemed like something made up for the sake of conflict in the movie. Also, its kind of hilarious how the movie wants Woke Points despite doing nothing to earn them. The conflict involving how Barnum treats his circus performers feels so sugar-coated and never feels like a real problem. Zac Efrons character is only here to show off an interracial couple with Zendaya. Their love life doesnt add anything to Barnums story. Zac Efrons character also feels so much better about his work compared to what he did before but we never really see that development. If Zendaya wasnt there, would he really feel that way? Despite all my problems with the film, I did find it engaging for some reason. Hugh Jackman really does put in a good performance.
Favorite Song: Come Alive

KBM - Why I Chose It: With songs by Broadway wunderkinds Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Tony Award winners for their work on Dear Evan Hansen and Oscar winners for their work on La La Land, The Greatest Showman was conceived by the producers of the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, based on the strength of Hugh Jackman's hosting performance. It was a huge hit upon its release in 2017, becoming the fifth-highest grossing live action musical of all time, though it received mixed reviews from critics, who enjoyed the performances and the music, but many of whom criticized the story and historical inaccuracies. The song This Is Me won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and was also nominated at the Oscars, where it lost to Remember Me from Coco. The movie's soundtrack album also won a Grammy Award, and Jackman was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

My Thoughts: Setting aside the big controversy, and acknowledging that Hollywood whitewashes famous people's rather... unfortunate histories all the time, I found myself utterly bored by the story in The Greatest Showman even as I was dazzled by the visuals, the choreography, and (most of) the music. Hugh Jackman is certainly a charismatic actor, and he has a great supporting cast around him, between Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, and Keala Settle all giving it their all, and yet, whenever there's not a musical number going on on screen, it just kind of all feels like cynical, mass-produced feel-good material that ends up super shallow. When you DO take into account the real Barnum's story, for me it starts to feel like they really should have taken some more risks with his characterization, and maybe the movie as a whole would have been more interesting for it. Instead, the screenwriters try to cast as wide and as generic a believe in yourself net as possible, and it just comes across as trying way too hard to be woke while doing as little work as possible. These concerns all fly out the window as soon as a musical number starts up, but there's a reason I prefer to watch this movie in clips of the songs on YouTube rather than in full.

Favorite Song: Never Enough