Chuckles Film Review-The Greatest Showman (2017)

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Keala Settle, Sam Humphrey, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

 

Poor orphaned tailor's son Phineas Taylor Barnum marries his childhood sweetheart and decides to prove her father wrong by becoming a success. He opens a museum to great fanfare and little profit then decides to employ all the unwanted oddities struggling to make a living, turning them into the stars of his new circus show.  

 

I did not want to watch this film. In fact I had totally no interest in ever seeing it. I've never had any interest in the circus (I'm scared of clowns) and I assumed that this would have clowns and performing animals and the usual circus acts. I didn't really fancy a musical version of that, however much I like Hugh Jackman, so I ignored the film. So what changed my mind? Well I was ordering a few films cheap on Amazon and needed something to make it up to £20 for the free postage so on a whim I added this one on. I watched it at the weekend...and I LOVED it!

 

PT Barnum sets up a museum with stuffed animals and weird objects but nobody is interested in going to see it. His daughters mention that it needs real things not just objects and he remembers a few encounters he has had with people shunned by general society. Barnum decides to hire these people to be in his show-The Bearded Lady, Wolf Boy, the Irish Giant, Tom Thumb, the Fattest Man, and a black brother and sister trapeze act, to name a few. Instead of being caged and gawped at, they become the singing, dancing and performing stars of his show which soon starts to draw in the crowds. Barnum is obsessed with success, and his head is soon turned by a chance meeting with a European singer who gains him the acceptance of society types, at the expense of his family and acts. 

 

Hugh Jackman was superb in this film and who knew what a wonderful singing voice he had! He glided effortlessly across the sets with boundless enthusiasm and perfect timing, and I was hooked by his story by the time we were fifteen minutes into it. His partnership with the excellent Michelle Williams was perfect for the film. I really enjoyed Jackman and Efron's dance in the bar which had superb timing and was certainly a highlight. Can someone explain why I never noticed how hot Zac Efron is??? (I never experienced the High School Musical hype!) I loved the humour of Tom Thumb when he met Queen Victoria, the interaction between the 'oddities' and the family interactions of the Barnums.

 

And then there is the musical part. I loved the songs! This Is Me is such an amazing song and Keala Settle's voice on this number was amazing. It is such an inspirational song, telling the world who you are and why you aren't ashamed to be who you are. Great stuff. The Greatest Show and From Now On are also barnstorming numbers, and each song has great dance routines and colourful sets to enjoy. This film has humour and entertainment in abundance, and it is certainly one of those feelgood films that a family would enjoy watching together. I'm so very glad that I finally gave this film a try and I've even bought the soundtrack!