The fact is, to complain about the movie’s plot could be a sign you’ve missed The Greatest Showman‘s point altogether. As PT Barnum allegedly said, “The noblest art is that of making others happy.” Judging by the smiles my fellow moviegoers had leaving the cinema, I think the film might have hit the mark.
In an age where everybody’s a critic, often the movies that get praise are the “serious” ones. The ones that are stark social commentaries, or paint bleak pictures of reality, or preaches serious platitudes. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good art film and complex themes. But remember a time when you watched movies because they were fun? When you loved a film just because it made you happy?
That’s exactly the kind of movie The Greatest Showman is. From the beginning, it’s clear that this movie was made to entertain. The scenes are practically visual candy, with bright colors that set the circus scenes apart from the rest of the setting. The songs are catchy radio anthems (penned by La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul). The performance numbers are captivating–special mention has to go for the incredibly choreographed and shot The Other Side scene with Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. The overarching theme of the movie is to follow your dreams, and really who can resist a message as earnest as that?
There’s no need to dissect the philosophy behind The Greatest Showman–it’s there to, quite simply, give us a great show. It’s the perfect way to escape the sometimes depressing reality of post-2017 society. It’s something we can go back to over and over again (by singing along to This Is Me in our cars) to feel, at least momentarily, happy.
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