The Greatest Showman (2017)

For my other full viewing on a plane lately, I selected another spectacle, this one depending much more on audio, which thankfully was not defective this time. I had heard mixed reviews, but the high praise from some individuals who dis a lot of today's blockbusters got me curious.

The story follows P.T. Barnum, starting in childhood but quickly moving to young adulthood (when he's played by Hugh Jackman). Unsatisfied with a lower-class life, perhaps especially after marrying former rich girl Charity (Michelle Williams) and having two daughters with her, he takes great risks to seek success in the entertainment field. When his wax museum flops, he launches a freak show that becomes apparently the first example of what leaps to mind when we hear "circus" outside depictions of ancient Rome. Its tawdry nature makes it controversial even at the time, so he has to try harder to gain the respect afforded aristocrats.

The social matters are more involved than I had presumed. Charity's love for Barnum, while not ill-founded, wanes when he doesn't know when to stop reaching for the stars and come home. Ostensibly, he's doing this for his family, but he doesn't listen quite enough to what they want. As for his employees, he may attempt to raise their esteem in the public eye (the "freaks" do perform rather than just present themselves like zoo animals), but his insensitive moments let them down. It's hard to know how often he lies through his teeth.

I think part of the beauty of this picture is that you don't have to like or dislike Barnum overall, on screen or in reality. He is what he is, which is nothing if not interesting, particularly for his contrasts with everyone else.

Then there's Phillip (Zac Efron), Barnum's eventual second-in-command, who's good for connections but retains his own doubts about all this. Not bad for an actor I've largely seen fit to ignore until now. He and acrobat Anne (Zendaya), with their own forbidden budding romance, get the most memorable musical sequence.

Which is not to say that it's the only one worth remembering. Ordinarily, I'd harp on a movie for using a period-inappropriate style of music, but at least these are original numbers and sound darn good to my ear. They also have the kind of lyrics that don't rely too heavily on context, so they may be worth singing elsewhere.

I have not researched the accuracy of the story, but the end credits note that numerous key characters are fictitious, so I certainly wouldn't look to it for serious education. That and a perhaps overly brisk pace are probably the main reasons for not all critics liking TGS. Me, I think the filmmakers knew what they were doing: Barnum himself would have played similarly fast and loose, focusing on theatrics first and foremost. He and they assert that the viewers' enjoyment can still be real when nothing else is. There are even instances of obvious CG that I suspect mean to urge us to notice the fakery.

And I for one was hooked, pretty much from the first scene to the last. Call it shallow all you like; I know when I feel a smile tug at my face. TGS may be my favorite musical to come out since before I started this blog more than five years ago.