Mix of Fact and Fiction in Barnum Musical
Let’s clear matters from the outset. “The Greatest Showman,&#34; a musical biopic about P.T. Barnum, is not an adaptation of the Broadway musical “Barnum” from 1980. It’s an original musical starring Hugh Jackman as the entrepreneur who rose from poverty to become a world-famous purveyor of the odd and unusual, employing people with abnormalities — freaks — as primary box office draw.<br /><br />We see Barnum either fail or become disenchanted with traditional types of work, desiring to be his own boss. A museum he establishes fails to attract customers. Realizing that inanimate objects don’t draw as well as human oddities, he puts out a call for people with physical peculiarities  and soon gathers a troupe consisting of a midget, a giant, a bearded lady, a fat man and others, exhibiting them with a massive publicity drive. His show, now called a circus, is a hit and the money pours in. But Barnum is not content. He longs to attract the carriage trade.<br /><br />This goal is realized when he meets Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron), a playwright-turned-businessman who agrees to partner with Barnum and later becomes transfixed by trapeze artist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). Through Carlyle, he hires Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), the famous operatic soprano known as The Swedish Nightingale, to tour in America.<br /><br />Interwoven in the tale of Barnum’s ups and downs is long-suffering wife Charity (Michelle Williams) and the two daughters he idolizes.<br /><br />When done well, musicals can be exhilarating, transporting the viewer while enhancing the story. Think of “Meet Me in St. Louis” or “Singin’ in the Rain,” or more recently, “La La Land.” In those films, song and dance elevate the material and create a kind of alternate world where people naturally break into melodic expression. In “The Greatest Showman,” director Michael Gracey simply piles on songs — mostly rousing, boisterous anthems — without devoting enough care to the story. Barnum’s life is fascinating enough to draw great material, but the script is content to skim the surface without developing its characters.<br /><br />The freaks, for instance, never emerge as individuals and are usually seen as a group, whether in performance or in backstage moments. Even Col. Tom Thumb (Sam Humphrey), who became Barnum’s biggest attraction, is given only a brief scene in which the showman talks him into entering the world of entertainment. Bearded lady Lettie Lutz (Keala Settle) is a memorable exception, with a powerful song, “This Is Me,” accompanied by a chorus of her fellow freaks.<br /><br />“The Greatest Showman” is a textbook case of opportunities missed. From its sketchy screenplay to its uninspiring score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to its showy but shallow performance by Jackman and its oddball staging of musical numbers (one is actually performed by Efron and Zendaya while they’re twirling on ropes and spinning dizzyingly as in a Cirque du Soleil routine), the film does little to advance the cause of musical motion pictures.<br /><br />I’m a fan of movie musicals. As eagerly as I anticipated this movie, my hopes were quickly dashed by the flatness and dreariness of the production. Watching the film’s many missteps, I thought the story of P.T. Barnum would make a terrific non-musical movie. Without having to shoehorn in musical sequences, the writers could concentrate on offering real insight into a person who had a major role in shaping modern-day entertainment. For a film celebrating someone who knew how to put on a show, “The Greatest Showman,” rated PG, might just be the greatest disappointment.<br /><br />Bonus materials on the 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack include 2 hours of behind-the-scenes footage, sing-along edition, “This Is Me” dance tutorial, audio commentary by director Michael Gracey, and “jukebox” features. A digital copy is enclosed.
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 {"Is Discontinued By Manufacturer": "No", "MPAA rating": "PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)", "Product Dimensions": "0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 Ounces", "Director": "Michael Gracey", "Media Format": "Subtitled", "Release date": "April 10, 2018", "Actors": "Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson", "Subtitles": "Spanish, English, French", "Language": "English (Dolby Surround)", "Studio": "20th Century Studios", "Country of Origin": "USA", "Number of discs": "2"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation..