Movie Review: The Greatest Showman

Movie Review: The Greatest Showman                                                                                                     12-1-18

In this rags-to-riches story, Phineas Barnum (Hugh Jackman) has been a street rat his entire life. He falls in love with the beautiful wealthy woman Charity (Michelle Williams), marries her, and started a family with two daughters. After getting fired from the bank, Phineas and his family get loaned a worn-down museum. When the ticket sales for the museum start to dwindle, Phineas decides to round up a group of misfits to help put on 'the Greatest Shown on Earth'.

Now, what do I think of this film? Well, I think that The Greatest Showman is a surprising delight with a decent story, likable characters, historically accurate sets, well-rehearsed choreography, and toe-tapping music that rivals anything Disney has put out in the last decade.

This film is inspired by the true story of the beginnings of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and people such as bearded women, irregularly tall and short men, and talented acrobats were ridiculed as freaks. This is how society was back then.

The songs in this film also prove that Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the songwriters for this film as well as La La Land, are this generation's Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

In conclusion, while not as good as Coco, which was released a month earlier, The Greatest Showman is an underrated surprise that, in my opinion, outshines Beauty and the Beast (the 2017 film) and Frozen.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.