The Greatest Showman
Also known as: The Greatest Showman, 马戏之王

Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: USA
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Release Date: 1 February, 2018
Related Show:

Cast:

• Hugh Jackman

Synopsis:
“The Circus King” is a legend about PT Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman). As the owner of the circus, he has created the famous three circus model in the circus with great foresight. Since the day of creation, he has brought thrilling performances to countless audiences and inspired countless imaginations. Similar to the story of the movie “How Wonderful Life is”, the film “The Circus King” starts from the bottom life of Barnum and tells the story of how he built a circus world full of magic and wonder.

Take a bona fide Broadway star, put them in a stodgy ahistorical musical, with a credible co-star gamely slumming it in a secondary role, and what do you get? The Sound of Music, Funny Girl, or indeed The Greatest Showman, whose stealth success at the box office since it opened five weeks ago has quietly become the biggest film story of the new year.

The Greatest Showman’s success is not just surprising: it’s bordering on miraculous. The film’s audience has grown week on week, after inauspicious beginnings, to an extent not seen since Titanic or Chicago. This goes against all received wisdom, and runs blithely counter to all current box-office trends. The movie is an original, unfranchisable story with little or no built-in audience, no superheroes, and is a gosh-darn-it musical. Why this not-especially-good film? Why now?

First of all, the way The Greatest Showman has built its audience, gradually, shows that word of mouth has played a key role. What’s interesting, and sort of charming, is that it is likely that Showman is drawing in not only new audiences curious to see what all the fuss is about, but repeat viewers who don’t care about the film’s formal problems and who are – presumably – turning up for the hits and the kitsch factor. The film has both in spades: Never Enough, This Is Me or Rewrite the Stars would all win the Eurovision Song Contest, and the film’s turgid story of self-actualisation dips into schmaltz just about every other minute. That tone is crucial – the film offers entertainment, but in an easygoing, Dirty Dancing kind of way. It’s never too sassy, smart, or even particularly camp, making its pleasures relatable and comforting.