dex14

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AXCTMGYUg9A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1485796

dex14

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jr9QtXwC9vc" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

davidh777

This has songs by Pasek and Paul, who wrote the score for Dear Evan Hansen and the lyrics for La La Land, so I'm in.

Decker

Yeah. It is weird though to have a musical about the life of PT Barnum that isn't, you know, actually Barnum.

davidh777

Dreamgirls wasn't the Supremes either.

Decker

Dreamgirls was a straight adaptation of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls.
There's no musical called The Supremes.

There was a musical of Barnum. It starred Jim Dale and a young Glenn Close. I saw it in London with future Phantom Michael Crawford



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uh1wzJeiYNE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

davidh777

Ah, gotcha. I read your reference to "Barnum" as the name of the person rather than the name of the show--like making a film about a person but the character wasn't actually named that person. So I agree--it'd be like making a musical about Georges Seurat that wasn't Sunday in the Park with George.

I know of Barnum the show but have never seen it, nor am I familiar with the score. So I applaud you for out-nerding me, sir!

dex14

Opens today. Currently 45% on RT: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the...t_showman_2017

Decker

Well there go the (non-song) Oscar hopes for this film.

As an aside, I had to laugh when I saw a TV ad the other day that triumphed the film as "The only movie this year nominated for BEST MOTION PICTURE, BEST ACTOR and BEST SONG!" as if that's the prestige trifecta.

RichC2

It could still rack up some make-up/costume ones as well... not that those hold much weight in the grand scheme of things. Reminds me of Memoirs of a Geisha, which got nominated for everything that wasn't about it being a good movie

fumanstan

I'm disappointed that the reviews aren't that great, my wife and I were really excited about this. We'll probably still watch it though.

dex14

James Mangold Helped Oversee ‘Greatest Showman’ Reshoots, Post-Production
http://variety.com/2017/film/news/ja...ts-1202646576/

RichC2

This wound up with an A cinemascore.

JoeySeven

Same here.Without MP we would wait for video release.

At RT the difference is wide AUDIENCE SCORE 86% and TOMATOMETER is 49%.

GatorDeb

Well I thought it was absolutely fantastic and was downloading the soundtrack on Spotify as soon as the movie was done. It's been years since I thought to myself I must have that soundtrack.

I do tell people that apparently the Barnum IRL was an Ahole so it's not really a true biopic just loosely based, but as a standalone musical it's awesome.

PatD

Absolutely agree. This is an absolutely delightful film and my favorite of the year. Is it formulaic? Oh yes. Is it a fun, colorful, feel-good romp? HELL YES. I was deeply depressed (like people were asking me if I needed to go to the hospital) and it was my mom's birthday and she wanted to see a movie, so I went to see it not even knowing what it was about. Most movies are an endurance trial for me these days. But, my skepticism and cynicism melted away and just gave in to the spectacle. It was a welcome respite for just a few hours from the horribleness I see everyday. I left the theater with a smile on my face and have an inkling to see it again in the theater before it goes. I don't know why it's gotten such a lambasting by the critics. If it were an animated Disney film it would've gotten higher marks. In short, it's worth watching. (And *no* it didn't totally cure my depression, but it gave me a boost for a while and that's worth a lot)

g

I enjoyed this. A good time and great music.

fumanstan

My wife and I saw this last night and both enjoyed it immensely. She also wants to buy the soundtrack. I've heard the criticism about how it portrays Barnum and what he does with the "freaks" but honestly, I wasn't looking for a realistic bio-pic. The way the story unfolds is ridiculous and unrealistic without much actual flow, but damn if the performances and music weren't entertainingly over the top and fun to see.

I'm not surprised critics would be mixed on it but audiences would enjoy it.

PatD

I watched it again this afternoon and I still enjoyed the heck out of it. It flowed well, and I absolutely adored the musical numbers. I've read reviews and they make some fair points about the more unrealistic parts of the story and some of the glaring cliches, but I don't think this film wouldn't have got the tenth of the flack as its gotten if it were an animated feature. As a biopic, it doesn't work. As a family musical that celebrates fellowship and diversity, it works like gangbusters.

Trevor

Thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. Our theater was packed and had quite a few clappers at the end, more than the new Star Wars on opening night.

BrewCrew

Saw this with my wife and kids and everybody enjoyed it and the music was fantastic. I know this wasn't a biopic so I have absolutely no problem presenting Barnum in a positive light but I did not like what they did with Jenny Lind. I hated that she had to fall in love with him and make it romantic, they could have just stayed more to the truth of her not wanting to be exploited and wanting her to remain a highly respected singer and going on her own.

fumanstan

My wife has been addicted to the soundtrack. The CD is sold out on Amazon (was hoping for Amazon's AutoRip to get the mp3's), but we've been streaming it for now.

Inhumans99

I will enjoy seeing this in 4K, and it got quite the bump in box office (even with an increased theater count, the bump was still impressive). EW notes word of mouth is wonderful on this film.

tonyc3742

Saw it on Christmas Day. Really liked it. Even though the 'freaks' were sort of commoditized, it still felt very uplifting and most of the songs were fun.
I agree, the Lind romance was an odd non sequitur, but other than that, quite worth the watch.
I don't know how accurate it is to his real life story, but I also don't really care. (I did think that it would turn out that Efron's character's name was Bailey.)

davidh777

I saw it in week 2 and enjoyed it a lot. The second-week numbers were impressive, meaning that word of mouth has been more positive than critics' reviews, and everyone I know who saw it has liked it. I see the point about the "freaks" not being individualized, and they would've been fine without the Lind romance (but Ferguson was gorgeous), but as others have said, I was good with the story they told.

I see a lot of musicals, so it's funny that one of the things that bugged me was the seemingly awkward transitions into songs, like when Wolverine and Troy Bolton were in the bar. I dunno, it just didn't quite work for me. As I mentioned earlier, I'm a fan of Pasek and Paul, and these songs didn't disappoint. However, it threw me a little when a Swedish opera star early in the 20th century takes the stage and performs a very modern-sounding song. I realize that it wouldn't have worked any other way--I wouldn't have wanted Verdi or whatever--and that Barnum was also performing modern songs, but I didn't expect it somehow.

I was hoping to get the CD with Auto Rip like fumanstan, but just got the MP3 version.