The Greatest Showman movie review (2017)

One of the deep pleasures of "The Greatest Showman" is you don't have to grade the singing and dancing on a curve, as was necessary with "La La Land" (or, further back, to "Chicago," where quick cuts hid Richard Gere's lack of tap dancing skills.) Hugh Jackman, with his powerful high baritone, got his start in musicals, performing in productions in Melbourne, and then in a hugely acclaimed revival of Oklahoma! in the West End. He won a Tony Award for his performance as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz and has hosted the Tony Awards three times. He is an old-fashioned triple-threat. Film fans may know him mainly as "Wolverine," and there's nothing wrong with that, but once upon a time a song-and-dance man like Hugh Jackman's could sing and dance his way through mainstream Hollywood. He's unleashed here.

So, too, is Zac Efron, who also got his start because he could sing and dance in the phenom that was "High School Musical." His career has morphed into something rather unique, with titles like "Hairspray," "Neighbors," and a hilarious small part in this year's "The Disaster Artist." He has something that cannot be manufactured, although many try, and that is old-school movie star charisma. Add to that a beautiful voice, plus dancing skills, plus a surprisingly ironic sense of humor, and he's got the full package. It's thrilling to see him in a big splashy musical. He's very much at home. 

Michelle Williams, with anachronistically long blonde hair, has a strong clear voice, and there's something exhilarating about how she tosses herself into thin air, knowing Jackman will catch her. In what could be a thankless "wet blanket wife" part, Williams adds a spunky sense of adventure, showing us the kind of woman who would say "No" to a ladylike society-wife life, and fling herself into the unknown with her man. 

The timing of this release is interesting. On May 21, 2017, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus folded up its tent for good, after 146 years of uninterrupted operation. Rocked by controversy due to criticisms of exploitation and animal abuse, they retired the elephant acts in 2016, but it was too late. Barnum was dogged by criticisms from the beginning. Many of the "acts" were fakes. Barnum actually didn't say the quote most associated with him ("There's a sucker born every minute") but he might as well have said it and his critics despised him for the assumption about popular entertainment and the regular folk who enjoy it. But in the film, Barnum, with a dazzling smile, explains to a skeptical journalist, "People come to my show for the pleasure of being hoodwinked." 

I was hoodwinked by "The Greatest Showman." And it was indeed a pleasure. Ringling Brothers may have closed up shop, but Barnum lives on.