Welcome everyone to the newest feature here at Coming Soon. ‘5 Reasons Why’ is dedicated to featuring and defending a controversial topic that is sure to spark a healthy debate among readers. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of this writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Comingsoon.net, Mandatory.com, Crave Online or any of its other subsidiaries.
Taken as a biopic, The Greatest Showman is far from the best. In fact, it might be one of the worst. The real-life PT Barnum — on whom the movie was based — was a scam artist, a thief, and a cheat. He exploited countless people in order to line his pockets. In short, Barnum was a bit of a jerk But The Greatest Showman is one of, if not the best musical ever made. Taken as a mostly fictitious take that is ‘based on a true story,’ is the best way to watch The Greatest Showman. Forget about the ‘real-life’ PT Barnum…just enjoy the show.
5) Every Song Tells a Story
From the power anthem of ‘This is Me,’ to the love songs like ‘Never Enough’ or ‘Rewrite the Stars,’ every single song from The Greatest Showman told its own story. This is possibly why the movie has gotten only minimal acclaim, while the soundtrack has been praised for days. Every song tells a story, and every song takes the listener/viewer on a journey. Plus, and most importantly, each song is catchy as hell.
4) You Care About Every Character
It would have been easy for filmmakers to skirt over the “oddities” that were a part of Barnum’s circus. But, as it turned out, the oddities were the most interesting people in the movie! Zac Efron did a great job in his role and Rebecca Ferguson was beautiful. But give us a prequel about the life of the bearded lady, or of Charles Stratton. Those characters have tremendous stories that they had to convey in a very quick manner, and they did exactly that. While it’s not our favorite song in the movie, there is no doubt that ‘This is Me’ is the most powerful, and that song had nothing to do with the two “stars” of the film. Which brings us to our next point.
3) It Teaches A Good (Albeit Fictitious) Moral
Okay, full disclosure: in real life, PT Barnum probably never ‘learned his lesson’ and the people who made up his “freak show” probably never felt super empowered. But, in the context of the film, that’s exactly what happened. There were a ton of different themes and morality plays at work in The Greatest Showman. Tropes like ‘following your dreams,’ ‘fate vs free will’ and ‘love conquers all’ were surely ones to remember. The biggest theme of The Greatest Showman was not about following your dream. It was about staying true to yourself and loving yourself, even when that seems like an impossibility.
2) Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman is not mortal. He can’t be. There’s no way the guy that made us fear him in Logan is the same guy who made us love him when he gave his daughter a wishing machine. Wolverine isn’t a showman. Except he is. The greatest, in fact.
1) The True Story Behind the Making of the Movie
Allegedly, Hugh Jackman saw Keala Settle (The Bearded Lady) performing in a Broadway Play and almost immediately knew that she needed to be a part of his show. As Keala tells it, Jackman “plucked her from obscurity,” and put her on a grand stage. Settle has struggled with self-image almost her entire life, and when Jackman asked her to play the part of the Bearded Lady in the film, she almost refused. Settle was terrified of public perception, of what theater-goers might think about her. But when she heard the song “This is Me,” she knew it was a part she had to play and a song she had to sing.
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