User:LancedSoul/sandbox/The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Showman is a 2017 American musical biographical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya. Featuring nine original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the film was inspired by the story of P. T. Barnum's creation of Barnum's American Museum and the lives of its star attractions. The film premiered on December 8, 2017, aboard RMS Queen Mary 2. It was released in the United States on December 20, 2017, by 20th Century Fox.

Plot
Growing up in the early 1800s, P.T. Barnum displays a natural talent for publicity and promotion, selling lottery tickets by age 12. After trying his hands at various jobs, P.T. turns to show business to indulge his limitless imagination, rising from nothing to create the Barnum & Bailey circus. Featuring catchy musical numbers, exotic performers and daring acrobatic feats, Barnum's mesmerizing spectacle soon takes the world by storm to become the greatest show on Earth.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Yet another great musical numbers that have great choreography.
 * 2) Amazing acting of Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and others.
 * 3) The songs are super catchy and well-produced, especially "This Is Me" and "A Million Dreams."
 * 4) The production values are marvelous, especially with the circus.
 * 5) The musical score of John Debney and Joseph Trapanese are incredibly amazing.
 * 6) The "Rewrite the Stars" scene was one of the most romantic scene in this movie

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Artistic license is rampant, including but not limited to:
 * 2) * The real P.T. Barnum was a despicable human being. He was notorious for exploiting African-Americans, along with indigenous people or fake ones in his costumes (even bringing in ones with birth defects).
 * 3) ** One of the earliest people he exploited was a woman named Joice Heth, a blind, partially-paralyzed, and aged African-American slave who Barnum claimed was 161-years-old (she was much younger). When Heth died, Barnum held a public autopsy and charged circus-goers to watch. Heth was written out of the movie's narrative.
 * 4) * The movie also doesn't mention the many hoaxes Barnum created, such as the Fiji Mermaid.

Reception
Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, with criticism for its artistic license, with some reviewers calling it "faux-inspiring and shallow", The Greatest Showman was seen mostly favourable reviews from audiences, with a praised for the performances, music, and production values. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 262 reviews, and an average rating of 6.02/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Greatest Showman 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.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and a 70% "definite recommend".

Comments
2010s films]] 20th Century Studios films]] Musical films]] Drama films]] Films Featured in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die]]