This Is The Greatest Show!

Source: The Greatest Showman (2017) (imdb.com)

Having been released over Christmas last year, I'm so happy I finally got a chance to see this film; and it feels funny that virtually a year after I saw La La Land, it is the turn of another original movie musical - the other day, I finally got the chance to see The Greatest Showman, which is currently playing in cinemas.
The film is based on the life of PT Barnum, who in effect came up with what we now know as circus, and perhaps, show business itself, and as far as I was concerned, it was a must-watch when I heard the following about it:

• Hugh Jackman. I mean, who doesn't love a bit of Wolverine? And we all know he can sing thanks to Les Mis and his Broadway work, so this role is perfect for him ✔
• The heart-throb Zac Efron, back in a movie musical for the first time since High School Musical 3! And yes, I had my HSM phase, along with a massive crush on Efron's Troy Bolton (and later Link Larkin in Hairspray)... ✔
• An original musical film - an adaptation of Cy Coleman's well-known musical Barnum this is not; although coincidentally a revival of that very show is happening at London's Menier Chocolate Factory ✔
• Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote all the songs. They had an INCREDIBLE year (to put it mildly) last year, winning a Golden Globe and Oscar for La La Land's City of Stars (along with another Oscar nomination for Audition (The Fools Who Dream)), and the "Triple Crown" Tony for Dear Evan Hansen. They're not off to a bad start this year either, with two Grammy nominations for La La Land, plus one more for Dear Evan Hansen, and also a Golden Globe for The Greatest Showman - phew! ✔
• Keala Settle as Lettie Lutz aka The Bearded Lady. "What a find!" people say. While all that's going on, I'm sure there are many stage fans who are thinking "Yeah, we know, have you not heard Waitress?!" This power-house belter has the honour of singing the show's anthem, This Is Me, which already has a Golden Globe win ✔

As I ended that little section with mentioning the award this film has already won, I may as well go into the songs. A little edgier than either La La Land or Dear Evan Hansen, they combine classic MT with pop songs, and in the case of From Now On, a bit of country too. Hugh Jackman himself has said that if Barnum were alive today, he'd want a more modern sound, and they are, on the whole, good songs, though may not flow as well in and out of the story as they did in La La Land (what I mean by that is that they can feel as if they came out of nowhere). Oh and, while I understand the modern sound that they were going for, I felt that they could have transposed Never Enough a little bit higher, as Jenny Lind was a soprano, not a mezzo/alto - I did think that was a little bit odd.

Would I say The Greatest Showman is as good as La La Land - of course not, and in fact, it has garnered some mixed to poor reviews over the weeks.

However, it's bright, colourful, and definitely you'll get a thrill from the ride, in one way or another; I guess, a bit like being thrust on Anne Wheeler's trapeze...? Oh, and most importantly of all, it's very entertaining - and we all need a bit more of that right now. 

So, hopefully, you'll take a trip to the circus. Or at least the cinema.