The Greatest Showman (2017) * * *

Directed by:  Michael Gracey

Starring:  Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Paul Sparks

Hugh Jackman may be best known for Wolverine, but he is at his best when he is singing and dancing up a storm in movies like The Greatest Showman, a spirited musical about the early days of PT Barnum, whose vision kickstarted a 146-year reign as "The Greatest Show on Earth".   Just this year, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus gave its final performance, but thanks to The Greatest Showman, we won't forget him anytime soon.

With an enthusiastic glint in his eye, Jackman jumps headlong into his Barnum performance with glee.    His energy permeates the whole movie, even some of the songs which I struggle to remember as I write this.    Songs from musicals can be a hit or miss proposition.    The better ones in The Greatest Showman serve as narration for the action rather than having everything stop for them to be performed.     But, the movie survives the lesser songs with its style and a decent rags-to-riches story with Michelle Williams as its soul to Jackman's showmanship.

We see the genesis of Barnum from poor child wandering the streets to winning his rich childhood sweetheart despite the objections of her father, "She will be back,"  he warns Barnum, who is heedless of such negativity.   His wife, Charity (Williams) is in love with Barnum and believes in him, even as they struggle financially while his dreams are just outside his grasp.    He soon creates an oddities museum which starts to take off once he adds live oddities like The Bearded Lady, The Dog Face Man, Tom Thumb, and acrobats.    Despite his financial success, Barnum yearns for acceptance in high society, which is something he secretly craved when he was a destitute waif.    He takes on well-off playwright Phil Carlyle (Efron) as a partner, mostly because Phil can get him an audience with people like Queen Victoria and Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind (Ferguson), whom Barnum agrees to put on tour.    She has the voice of an angel and is beautiful, which causes troubles in his marriage because he can't take his eyes off her from back stage.  

The story isn't exactly new, even if it supposed to be Barnum's.    But, it is told with verve and the actors buy into it, even as they are singing songs you have to muscle your way through.    They aren't bad necessarily, just mostly forgettable even if they are powerful in the moment.    I could say The Greatest Showman didn't have to be a musical at all, but this story of the man who invented show business is too big a temptation to resist turning into one.    We know the story arc because we've seen it in many other films before this one.    Barnum will rise, his marriage will be on the rocks because he just isn't the guy Charity fell in love with, there will be tribulations which will be overcome, and then the comeback.   I'm not really revealing any spoilers because such a story is predictable by its nature anyway, like if a guy and girl will get together in your standard romantic comedy.

The question is whether the movie works and it does.    It is a flashy spectacle and a good time, even if you aren't exactly humming the tunes when walking out of the theater.    Plus, the singers can actually sing.