THE GREATEST SHOWMAN : Fan Reactions/Reviews

[jo]

[jo]

And he probably found something like this -- the lyrics and melody to FROM NOW ON



Found it too, and it is really a great song to sing along with, in the secret of your home


To me, this is the stronger theme song from the movie. It not only captures the essence of PT's journey but it is also part soliloquy as he thought about what he had done right and what he had done wrong...and arriving at how his path should now take (" from now on..."). While This Is Me is recognized as a song of love and acceptance ... and the "oddities" gave Barnum the partners to a successful show... From Now On can apply to all of us, too, when we pause and think about what our life has meant and how we should continue on that journey. It is a reconciliation with himself and with the values he may have forgotten as well as who are important in his present and future!

It is also Hugh's most dramatic song interpretation, preceded by that scene on the bar as he sat toying his drink, where he contemplates on what has gone past, and what meaning this has had on his life journey.

Jo

[jo]

When a movie and its musical score make the real kids ( and the old kids) sing with true abandon, no critic ratings will ever be better!

[jo]

A letter to the LA Times ( which publishes reader letters regularly) --

beta.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-0114-feedback-20180114-story.html

Art of making others happy

Regarding "Movie Review: How's That for a Con Job?" [Dec. 20]: After watching "The Greatest Showman," I was amazed that this film isn't a front-runner for award consideration. It's joyful and uplifting, and never has a movie generated so much discussion around my dinner table. It triggered wonderful conversations with my tween/teen children about accepting, appreciating and celebrating differences. I was shocked that many critics knocked picture it, feeling it glorified and glossed over the faults of the real P.T. Barnum. This is not a bio-pic about Barnum — it's a musical inspired by the life of Barnum. Maybe the filmmaker's only mistake was calling Hugh Jackman's character P.T. Barnum rather than a fictional name so the movie wouldn't have been encumbered by the showman's real-life flaws. "The Greatest Showman" is a breath of fresh air greatly needed in these times.

Don Terbush

Encino

[jo]

How can a movie and its music bring so much delight to kids and the kids-in-us be so trashed by some critics. The average rating at RTomatoes is 55% ( it hovers between 55% and 56% these days) but TOP CRITICS actually rate it even much lower at 37% ??

The proof of the pudding...

[jo]

[jo]

An actor who is in KinkyBootsUK --

Jordan Fox
🦊
@jordanfox88
Jan 10


Me listening to The Greatest Showman sound track but also putting myself in the stage version with full lighting costume and choreo. #TheGreatestShowman #daydreaming

[jo]

Reacting to the FROM NOW ON workshop!



"Surrounded by a thousand angels!"

[jo]

And This is Me --

[jo]

Amazing how fast kids can memorize song lyrics and melody!

[jo]

How cute

[jo]

SPOILER ALERT*******SPOILER ALERT*******SPOILER ALERT*******SPOILER ALERT




Hope the internet police is not looking -- but this scene brings on so much joy! And (joyful) tears



I wish Fox did not limit what they submitted for award consideration to THIS IS ME... FROM NOW ON equally deserves the honor for its message, its joyous execution, and its role as the eleven-o-clock number in the movie!

Love this song and scene


Jo

[jo]

SPOILER ALERT********SPOILER ALERT********SPOILER ALERT********SPOILER ALERT



Another "steal"

The fanbase of this movie is so wide that we can probably expect it to be popularized on the internet by its newly-found fans!





I dare any musical theatre actors to do this number as brilliantly-executed as Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Daniel Cloud Campos ( bartender) did. Simply just spectacular!

Best example from the movie of a song that fully advances the story! Naysayers who are musical theatre purists were jealous enough to dismiss that the movie had any songs that do that - they must have been sleeping while the movie audiences were practically bursting with joy and excitement


In an interview I think with the main choreo ( Ashley Wallen), he mentioned that this number was rehearsed daily for all the months that the project was in rehearsal before actual filming.


Jo

[jo]

Very true!

I think that was partly why some critics said that it was too fast-flowing...NOT!

[jo]

[jo]

Not sure if I should post this video here in this section or elsewhere -- it is created by performer and YouTuber Todrick Hall, covering the songs from the movie with his own quardruple-faced interpretation





Very talented!

[jo]

Of the ballad-types, A MILLION DREAMS is my favorite, too.

Er... I couldn't find the link to that.

However, based on top albums -- THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is sitting on top of the charts in Indonesia on iTunes.


Btw, Hollywood is looking at Indonesia ( with its population of 261 million) as the next big movies market in the world.

[hughmanity]

We've seen a lot of reviews; here's one fromthe perspective of a 10-year-old

www.santafenewmexican.com/life/family/kid-s-take-on-movies-the-greatest-showman/article_2b3a9bfc-0163-5726-94ec-a5760f990b59.html

[jo]

She recommends the movie for "those aged 8-18"

"as well as adults"

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

Ok - where is Scott Mendelson of Forbes.com? He is suggesting that Fox introduce a 2-for-1 offer for both Paddington2 and Greatest Showman because they are directed to the kiddie audience *rolleyes*


www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/01/15/fox-should-offer-a-2-for-1-greatest-showmanferdinand-double-feature/#7dad5cd44656

[jo]

Although, of course, we know that children have become big fans of the movie, too!

[jo]

theperezhilton I would have normally not taken today off, but I'm so glad I did! Took the fam to the Farmer's Market and to go see #TheGreatestShowman. Loved it! It's basically "Moulin Rogue: America"! Super-influenced by Baz Luhrman! The music is SENSATIONAL! Musical theater meets pop! And the direction was superb! The only critique is that Hugh Jackman, while great, was wayyyyy too old to be playing that part. Gonna get lots of sleep tonight and ready to tackle this week and everything else! Swipe through for more! #LaFamiliaHilton

Hope Perez Hilton has been properly schooled!


Hugh is never too old for any part

He can even play similar characters over a span of 2 millennia ( The Fountain)!

Although he did say that his Barnum legs were not as nimble ( didn't show!) as he when he was much younger

[jo]

Re Hugh looking too old for the part --

Hugh was probably undergoing extreme pressure and physical stress at that time --

*The film was not greenlit until until after 7 years! He was the one from the very beginning that was committed to the project in a big way. I wonder if he paid for part or all of the workshops, too -- because the movie was not yet an approved project by the studio all those years?

*In early 2016, at the same time as the final workshop in February, he was also doing pre-production work on LOGAN, another project that was very close to his heart. According to him, he thought of an idea on how his final movie as Wolverine should be,  and recorded it immediately...and obviously sent it to Mangold and his fellow screenwriters for development. It was also a bold move - asking the studio to approve an R-rated movie for a character beloved by the younger-than-13 as well! Two months after the Showman workshop ( he had started to grow the LOGAN beard shown in that session), he started filming LOGAN, far from NYC where pre-production for SHOWMAN was likely taking place. It was a hard and long location shooting! I heard that he would sometimes work on the weekends where he was on location-filming (i.e., screen-testing potential female leads -- yes, casting did not zero in on Michelle and Rebecca immediately)... Do you remember when he tweeted an image of himself with a fish meal which drew alarm from everyone who were concerned that Hugh must be ill or something because of how he looked!

*Then of course, there was his skin cancer problem which crops up every now and then. We all know about his surgical procedures on his nose the day before the workshop... Twelve months later, when he went to the Berlinale for LOGAN, he had another skin cancer surgery and a bandaid/plaster on his nose once again. That has got to be another continuing worrying problem re his health!

*It seems that SHOWMAN filming was not always easy. Hugh must have been an uncredited producer ( he did share that he helped put together the various production teams.) and worked double-time.   Also, we knew there were going to be reshoots. Much later on, after the movie was about to be released -- we learned that James Mangold was asked to help in completing the movie to its best advantage! So, there must have been some problems along the way.

*For the reshoots in August 2017 ( part of which showed him with the Tom Thumb character), maybe he was already preparing for THE FRONT RUNNER, where he seemed to have shed some weight ( based on some photos) probably to look a little more closely to Gary Hart at that point in time in the story.


Hope Hugh continues to amaze audiences with his talent and versatility now that he begins another career turn -- whether playing older- or younger-than-his-age or just-right characters!


Jo