Cinema Prescription

Synopsis: Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya
Screenplay: Jenny Bicks, Bill Condon
Directed by: Michael Gracey

I was a bit late to see THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, but due to its enthusiastic word-of-mouths from the audiences in my country, I finally found the time to see it in a stil-packed cinema (after 2 weeks of screening). After watching the movie, I understand why this movie manages to enthrall many audiences; a lightweight, fun, and inspiring story with catchy music. But too bad I didn’t feel the same way.

I could not care less about the historical inaccuracies of the real P.T. Barnum, but the real problem is the story is pretty much all over the place. There’s nothing wrong about a predictable, by-the-numbers rags-to-riches story, but if it’s told right. Here, it felt rushed at some points, and it tried so hard to fit many subplots that they ended up like leftovers. It lack many emotional developments from the characters, that made the emotional scenes fell a little short.

The decision to make the music more into Top40 pop tunes territory is pretty understandable for it to reach larger audiences. Just a little odd to see a supposedly opera singer sings a modern-style pop song, though. The musical numbers are not the most groundbreaking ones and don’t have the most inspiring lyrics, but I admit they’re pretty catchy. I swear one of the songs reminded me so much of Despacito, I couldn’t help to hum it along when I heard it.

So in short, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN feels like a hollow spectacle, with mediocre plot, undercooked developments, and all-t0o-common musical numbers. But if you manage to overlook its flaws, this movie is actually quite entertaining, and in one way or another, can be uplifting too. It has been a passion project from Hugh Jackman, and you can clearly see the dedication and hard work he (and the rest of cast and crew) put into this movie radiating on screen. And I guess, that’s good enough. [B/B-]

A copy of my review on Instagram.