Initially welcomed with some reservations, critically and commercially, it was old-fashioned word-of-mouth that made this a considerable hit. A rare event for big budget/ mainstream fare these days, when final gross is figured to the ha’penny after opening wknd. And that’s good news. If only the film lived up to the fan enthusiasm. Dashing thru a loose suggestion of the life & times of curio impresario P. T. Barnum, Hugh Jackman sells a little humbug and lots of sincerity giving ShowBiz voice to life’s outliers & freaks. At least to those entertaining to look at. Like Walt Disney building DisneyLand so his girls can enjoy a clean Amusement Park, he upscales sinister SideShows into ‘safe’ Curio Museums. A fascinating parallel largely ignored here. Also ignored, Michelle Williams’ put-upon wife who's luckier than Zac Efron as Jackman's classy business partner, saddled with a frowned upon interracial love affair and all the worst numbers. Barnum fails briefly by going High Hat with opera star Jenny Lind; Efron fails briefly to support his lady love; Williams fails briefly trying to balance family against business. All madly dashed thru to make time for a succession of Pop power ballads from . . . well, from just about everyone. Even coloratura soprano Lind belts away like an American Idol contestant. And so much going on, even brief magical moments like bed sheets swaying with dancing lovers in a rooftop dance get lost among lesser ideas. All very Baz Luhrmann from debuting director Michael Gracey, at sea whenever the music stops. Presumably chosen so Jackman could maintain more control of a show everyone loved out of town, but not so much on B’way.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/DOUBLE-BILL: Fate must have set this up @ 20th/Fox since Jackman & Efron are so much like the characters Tyrone Power & Don Ameche were always playing there, especially in 1938 with IN OLD CHICAGO and ALEXANDER’S RAGTIME BAND.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Of course, there already is a great P. T. Barnum musical, Cy Colman’s One-Ring wonder BARNUM. A big hit on B’way with Jim Dale in 1980; even bigger in the West End for Michael Crawford (with a reasonably adequate video made at the time). Likely too stylized for film (it’s set entirely in that One-Ring Circus), but perfect material for the LIVE TV musical spectaculars currently being done . . . perhaps with Neil Patrick Harris?
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