THE GREATEST SHOWMAN : Fan Reactions/Reviews

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Have you ever been to the circus ?

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Inspired conspiracy thinking

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Hope they don't get distracted and forget manning the controls

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After seeing THE workshop --

Vasileios Papadam
7 hours ago
this song is for all the souls who 've suffered and just can't find the way to get back up. Hugh not the greatest showman..... THE GREATEST MAN !!!!!!!!

[jo]

Kids sing the darndest things

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Response to the article on VULTURE re the slow-burn success of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN --

bobby.terrell

9 hours ago

This movie is special. Hugh Jackman’s entire heart is up on the screen. If you have Amazon Music, listen to the exclusive “Side by Side” version of the soundtrack where they give commentary on each song.

[jo]

Because young students from a school in Inverness ( Scotland) adopted the song THIS IS ME --

stv.tv/news/north/1408306-school-praised-by-hugh-jackman-get-free-cinema-trip/

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Stephanie Goodman shares the responses to her question " What's So Great About The Greatest Showman?" --

You Explain What’s Truly Great About ‘The Greatest Showman’

By Stephanie Goodman

Feb. 14, 2018

Critics hate “The Greatest Showman”; moviegoers love it. The split caught professional film journalists like myself by surprise when the musical, which opened in December to tepid business, became a box-office smash and the soundtrack topped the charts in the weeks since. But I didn’t get it: What was so great about “The Greatest Showman”?

I asked, and you responded.

Nearly 1,200 readers took to nytimes.com, Facebook and Twitter to explain what they loved about the movie. Two emailed directly with passionate defenses. A colleague stopped me to share his surprise at truly enjoying it. The film’s star, Hugh Jackman, even tweeted about my question, setting off another round of fans who emphatically told me how they felt.


Hugh Jackman
✔
@realhughjackman
Hey Stephanie I truly appreciate your honesty and your openness to hear why people love Showman. Over to you all ... HJ @greatestshowman @nytimeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/movies/why-do-you-love-the-greatest-showman.html …

2:02 AM - Feb 10, 2018

What’s So Great About ‘The Greatest Showman’?
Critics weren’t impressed by the Hugh Jackman musical, but fans have turned it into an unexpected hit. Now it’s your turn: why do you like the movie?


Sharon
@shazzahazza1
She is wrong! Stephanie you're wrong! It's one of the best films of all time...Hugh is amazing..the songs are amazing! It's so entertaining...Stephanie couldn't be more wrong if she tried!

4:58 AM - Feb 10, 2018



Trying to be less wrong, I decided to go see the movie again, this time keeping in mind your reasons. Strikingly, a sizable number of you have seen “The Greatest Showman” two, three and, in one case, 20 times. Your explanations reflected that devotion, which was effusive and heartfelt, whether speaking about the music, Hugh Jackman’s performance or the experience of watching it with loved ones. A lot of you cited the current political moment but to make different points: Some of you found “Showman” an escape from the news, while others viewed the film’s messages as a response to the headlines.



Here’s a small taste of the answers, edited for clarity and length because you had a lot to say.

It Celebrates Outcasts
At some point everyone feels like an outsider. Being adopted I’ve heard over and over again that I’m “not Latina enough” or “not Jewish enough.” But this is me. This movie emphasizes self love. It has a wonderful message. A tribute to humanity. I saw it three times and I cannot wait until it comes out so I can buy it. REBECCA L. ALEXANDER


This Is Me (from The Greatest Showman Soundtrack) [Official Audio]CreditVideo by Atlantic Records
Every song is singable and every song has a positive message. Add to that the element that many of the characters are outcasts and freaks of their day. This is a film for this moment in time where issues of equality are no longer discussed on the fringes but are being confronted head-on. SCOTT BERG

The characters in the movie were society’s outcasts and were given a place where they belonged and were celebrated. It’s an important message to convey, especially now. BETH JANZEN BEZOOYEN




It’s the message. Dream. Live. Find your tribe. Don’t be afraid to blunder. Rise up. Fall in love. Show the world who you are. How can you not understand why it’s so good? NESSA FERRELL



It Offers an Escape
Seeing this movie was the release I needed to rid my mind of the social and political garbage our country is stewing in. I’ve never been a fan of musicals. However, I patiently sat through the film and it was worth every minute. As for critics, who the hell knows. Like many a movie, they were wrong on this one. RONDA HOOPER

Many people today are waking up each morning wondering, “What the heck is going to happen today?” They are angry, sad, frustrated and feeling helpless when they watch the news. “The Greatest Showman” is 105 minutes of pure heart stopping, toe tapping entertainment. It allows us to escape. BARBARA ISHAM

I am a legal aid attorney. A lot of my cases involve child abuse — it breaks my heart to see these children. A particularly horrible case came my way yesterday. During my commute, I put on “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack. And I felt better. I contemplated going to see the movie again (I have seen in 6.3 times — once I was taking my kids to another movie and kept sneaking into “Greatest Showman”). There is an indelible magical component of “Greatest Showman” that makes you feel like hope is out there, that good people are out there, and that we can have joy and happiness —even when we make mistakes. J. WATERS

I’m a 44-year-old male high school English teacher, and I have seen “The Greatest Showman” eight times with my wife. First, it’s about a circus — and circuses have always offered the masses a much-needed break from reality. There is also a happy ending for everyone. Yes, it’s hokey, but you leave the theater with a light heart and a smile on your face. CHRIS BRYANT



Everyone Can Enjoy the Music
Are you kidding me? The songs are golden. I cannot get enough of the soundtrack. And the movie was touching. The moment on the rooftop with his daughters was beautiful. I think many parents can relate to that feeling of wanting to give your kids a world of opportunities that were maybe unavailable to you in some way. HALEY KASPRZYK

The music is uplifting and joyful in a way that I haven’t heard in such a long time. The choreography, costuming and sets were beautiful to me. And, most important, the story of a man losing his way and coming home was something I needed in these difficult times. ASHLEY C. NICHOLS

Everything. The songs, the lessons ... the fact that my children loved it. I hate paying for the movies and we’ve seen it twice. We sing “This Is Me” as a family when someone is feeling down. It’s an amazing message and movie. STEPHANIE BASTEK

This weekend will be my third time seeing the film. Is the film an accurate biopic about Barnum? No. Was Barnum as great a humanitarian as Hugh Jackman is in the film? Most likely not. But we’re judging him by today’s times instead of the times in which he lived. Instead, they gave us memorable songs to express what the characters were feeling and actors who can say much with little or no dialogue. ANGELA WEAVER


You Experience a Range of Emotions
The emotions between Carlyle [Zac Efron] and Anne [Zendaya] reminded me of how I felt when I first met my husband — I didn’t think you could bottle that but it turns out, through “Rewrite the Stars,” you can. SARAH TAYLOR


I’m a grown woman — but this movie makes you feel like you are 17 again and that you can fly (like Zendaya). You walk out the theater on a cloud feeling victorious. It makes you believe everything could be possible: love, dreams, jobs, businesses, success. Maybe I should look into buying a trapeze. TARA DEMOSS

I tried to beg off seeing “The Greatest Showman,” and I reluctantly went with my husband. The movie hit me hard — I was emotionally hooked by the underdog story, the music, Hugh Jackman, the sheer joy of the performances, the way it made me feel for days afterwards. I kept humming the songs (seriously, humming the songs all day), streaming the music, watching the YouTube videos of the actors’ practices. This was abnormal behavior for me, luckily my husband loved the movie, too. SUSAN MAYFIELD

I have seen this movie 20 times. No joke. I wasn’t expecting anything special when my friend begged me to join her. By the time it ended, I felt a gut punch of emotions — a shot of pure joy straight to my soul in a time that I so desperately needed. ROBERT NOREIGA

The people in the theater actually clapped at the end of this movie. It was almost like a theater experience. Love the music. KATHY SIBLE



A Film for the People
I’m answering your question because I want Hugh Jackman to be able to make more movies like this one. Hugh Jackman is, to me, the most underappreciated entertainer of this generation by Hollywood’s elite and critics. His talent, humanity, charisma and masculine energy light up a stage and screen, and he pours his heart and soul into his performances. THERESA MAHFOOD

The movie is what it’s about. You watch it like you’re at the circus. You don’t care if it’s “fake” or low brow. You let yourself enjoy the music, characters and choreography. And you, Stephanie Goodman, are playing right into it. You’re the critic in the movie who didn’t like the circus, but had to admit that “the people” did. KATY VAN SANT



For the record I’m an editor, not a critic, but the irony of watching a fictional newspaper critic who hated Barnum’s work was not lost on me. In “Showman” he comes to feel a grudging respect for Barnum, and upon a second viewing I too came around — a little. When Jenny Lind takes the stage to sing “Never Enough” as Barnum falls for her, his wife watches and disapproving stares douse the sparks between Zac Efron and Zendaya, I was transported and suddenly got it. This is the romance and escapism you were talking about!

Unfortunately the moment didn’t last for me but I’ll give the fans one more turn. On Facebook, Hillary Vandenberg wrote that she’d seen the movie three times and added, “I can’t wait for it to be on Broadway.”

What do you say, Hugh?

What a disappointing response from Ms.Goodman!

All she did was summarize the responses, without adding her own reflection on the individual issues/reasons brought forward. Even when she said she saw it again, what she said that she got from the film ( which had drawn some sympathy to the film for herself ... although she said that it, too, passed) was not even note-worthy.

And she said nothing about the thinking of some about how well-made a movie musical this film is! And the reasons for saying that.

Sorry, but I thought she would have written an introspective on what the audiences shared with her, with an effort to understand this cultural phenomenon!

One is better off reading all the responses to the original article! Nothing intellectually or culturally was gained by what she wrote as the postscript article!

And is she daring Hugh to prove himself and the movie once again with her last line

Jo

[jo]

I didn't realize till now that Atlantic Records has now been uploading the clip where a particular song is featured -- in this case, NEVER ENOUGH --




A lot of comments not just on the portrayal by Rebecca ( dubbed by Loren) but on the face acting of Hugh!

Aishah Khan
1 week ago
I feel like Hugh Jackman, just with his facial expressions, really moves this entire piece. The song is beautiful and carries it's own meaning but Hugh's reaction. It's pure. It's innocent. It's what I think makes him such an amazing actor.

The changing emotions - of surprise, awe, almost bewilderment, and a rising expectation that he might have found the secret to respectability for his shows -- someone said that Hugh deserved an Oscar if only for how well he can act even without dialog!

[mamaleh]

Agree. The first time I saw the movie, I saw so many emotions cross his face during that song; truly impressive. Awe, relief, incredulity, maybe a bit of infatuation. He'd have made a great silent film actor, too.

Ellen

[israruth]

Yes, absolutely. I saw the film again yesterday and I was struck by how Hugh's excellent acting showed up Zac's minimalist style of acting although he is a good singer and dancer.

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http://instagram.com/p/BfPiY5JDddh

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Here from a wholesale store mall in Manila --

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http://instagram.com/p/BfRTwuhnAq4

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