19th-century X-Factor

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2018)

This musical extravaganza on the life of P.T. Barnum is pitched at the X-Factor audience, much as MOULIN ROUGE was a few years ago. Don't expect to hear Hugh Jackman singing 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' (which he has sung on-stage). It's not that kind of show. The songs are loud, with repetitious lyrics, staged like pop videos. P.T. Barnum was a 19th-century showman, but this is a decidedly 21st-century show.
Zac Efron provides eye-candy for teenage viewers, but the movie totally belongs to Jackman, sounding better than he did in LES MIS and dancing like an Olympic athlete. Political correctness has diluted the 'freak show' with which Barnum begins his circus career - there's a bearded lady (with a fine belting voice), Tom Thumb and dancing Siamese twins, even a 'Wolf Boy', but nothing as grotesque as the Elephant Man, who, with other tragically deformed people, provided the 'lure' for punters into Barnum's circus.
;
This is not my idea of what a musical should be, but it's dazzlingly staged and performed with great exuberance and - somewhat against my better judgement - I enjoyed it!