I do not want to go into another rant as to why I am not a fan of musicals again. However, watching the first trailer, I was enthralled by the production and the movie felt like a happy end to a year full of hard times and divisive topics. I am a fan of Hugh Jackman's performances of recent years, especially his stellar performance in Logan this year. However, a musical about the circus got me skeptical and nervous simultaneously as the genre and the subject don't cross well with me personally for some reason. But, I went in with an open mind and even though there are problems with the narrative, I could not resist most of the musical numbers in the movie that are well done and well choreographed. It felt like there was some magical coming on-screen with the most of the songs, so, I marginally liked it with a dumb grin on my face.
We open with P.T. Barnum as a young boy in the 1800s who was working with his father, who was a tailor. One of the clients has a daughter named Charity, who likes Barnum but her father promptly responds by smacking him and telling him to stay away from her. But, they both go behind her father's back as they enjoy each other's company. They write letters to each other and eventually reunite as adults as Barnum (Hugh Jackman) proposes to Charity (Michelle Williams). After his trading company gets shut down because of bankruptcy, after he brings home a "spinning lamp" for their daughters, Caroline and Helen (Austyn Johnson and Cameron Seely), as the former has a birthday. As they make all their wishes, Barnum hatches an idea.
Barnum gets a $10,000 bank loan and uses his deed to the sunken vessels as collateral to open a museum devoted to oddities, which fails to attracts business. He goes around town to search for unique individuals: Charles Stratton (Sam Humphrey), a dwarf, a bearded woman named Lettie Lutz (Keala Settle), the Lord of Leeds (Daniel Everedge), who is an obese man, a hair-covered man named Dog Boy (Luciano Acuna, Jr.) and an 8-foot man. Barnum and his weird group of circus trope manages to attract a crowd successfully. Barnum renames it as "P.T. Barnum's Circus".
The circus starts to bring in healthy profits as Barnum gets his family a mansion and her daughter, Caroline, manages to get in a ballet school. Barnum later meets a playwright named Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), and tries to persuade him to join his circus for 10% of the profits. While there, Phillip falls for a trapeze artist named Anne Wheeler (Zendaya), who his parents disapprove of because of her race, but it does not matter for Phillip. While, Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), an opera singer Phillip and Barnum met in London, gets successful, she gets attracted to Barnum which causes problems.
This is corny, overproduced and has a couple of under-written storylines however it is held together by a couple of charismatic performances and fantastic musical numbers that would persuade you to get you to sing with them and probably get the soundtrack or listen to the soundtrack on Spotify. I will admit there is a cringeworthy moment that involves the opera singer because the weakest storyline is when they try to add on a love-triangle element in which she starts to fall for Barnum because of fame. I think what they are trying to say even though Barnum is chasing fame, sometimes it can bite them so hard that he forgets that everything that he worked so hard for was staring at him right in the face: his family both in his personal and circus realm.
Hugh Jackman gives yet another charismatic performance like he is celebrating the joy of being somebody in the world by providing both his circus family and his own family by creating a circus that the crowds will enjoy. I will say this is not a biopic about P.T. Barnum because it is a loose interpretation. Like La La Land, it is about chasing your dreams and aspirations but there are lessons to be learned along the way. Zac Efron is back in his musical wheelhouse and is solid, as his storyline with Zendaya is nice but I wanted more substance in it than solely their building romance. Michelle Williams does not have much to do here except cheer for Barnum but their chemistry is also nice.
The main storyline about bringing the circus together is the strongest and is the best part but mostly because of the music. Again, this is a musical about the circus and not a biopic about P.T. Barnum. Another movie, a better movie, can be made about Barnum in the future. But, as a musical, it succeeds but with not much enthusiasm because of two side-plots that felt like that they were not fully developed. If there is a song that should get recognition to be nominated for the Oscars is "This is Me", which is beautifully sung and rhythmic. There are a couple of over-the-top musical numbers that felt too flashy. However, it is another family entertainment that you will enjoy and maybe hum after the movie is over. It is a recommendation but with reservations.
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