Ladies and gentlemen, The Greatest Showman is not as grandiose as the name implies, but by no means does it deserve the shameful reviews it received.
One look at the Critic Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes—“tries hard to dazzle the audience with a Barnum-style sense of wonder—but at the expense of its complex subject’s far more intriguing real-life story”—and it is painfully obvious that the negative reviews stem mostly from uppity history snobs.
Sure, the titular characters were likely casted for fan-service with Hugh Jackman as showman P.T. Barnum, Zac Efron as businessman-turned-ringleader Phillip Carlyle, and Zendaya as trapeze extraordinaire Anne Wheeler. However, their onscreen chemistry, their talents, their innate abilities to make the audience fall in love add immensely to the experience of the average moviegoer.
There’s no defending the lack of historical substance in a film which sells itself as the life story of P.T. Barnum and the origins of his circus, but one thing critics need to remember is the the following: this is a musical, made for family-friendly viewing, and for the enjoyment of musical lovers looking to soak in the cliched glamours of performing.
The most reasonable critique seems to be about the pace of the movie. So much happens in so little time, with the film direction jumping from plot point to another, that the viewer is sometimes left feeling like some scenes could’ve been stretched out just a bit more to drive the point home.
Moreover, Hugh Jackman had his nose reconstructed during the filming of the musical, but he sang through the pain to complete the movie. Zac Efron chose to take on this movie, finally returning to the musical movie genre, because he believed in the message of inclusion and unity of the film. There needs to some credit given to the dedication of the actors.
Without a doubt, the story is one filled to the brim of rags-to-riches cliches tainted by drunk-with-fame cliches crafted to make the viewer temporarily despise the main character, and remind them that the musical is really more about the circus performers and the message of hope, as well as respect and kindness to fellow humans.
Arguably, though not really, the soundtrack is the memorable aspect of the entire film. Many viewers took to Twitter to complain about the brevity of the soundtrack, and how the 39-minute soundtrack needs to be at the very least three hours long. With tracks such as the emotionally overwhelming “This Is Me,” and “The Other Side,” which is really The Greatest Showman’s businessworld version of High School Musical 2’s “I Don’t Dance,” it’s no wonder moviegoers, especially the musically enamored want much more than what is logically possible for a two-hour movie.
It’s not perfect. It’s not the movie of the year. It’s not historically accurate.
It is a musical. It is made for families and musical loves. It is the greatest show with an all-star cast, a diverse cast, and a hopeful message of unity, comradery, and acceptance.
