Where do I even start

Rating: 3/10 (26 June 2020)

The only reason I gave this movie as many stars as I did was because the costumes were fantastic and some, not all, but some of the songs were okay.
This movie is a modern day wet dream. It depicts a down and out man who just wants a good life for his wife and children. So he's goes on to create a freak show. By the end of the movie everyone has come together and is a circus. But let's face it, it's still a freak show by those day's standards. Back then freak shows weren't revered, they weren't high brow entertainment, they weren't meant to move people. They were there for the morbidly curious to go and jeer, and gasp, and openly stare at people they would normally do their best to ignore on the street. This movie glorifies what was an awful time, making people think that freak shows were so much more glamorous than how they actually were. Furthermore, they had an 'opera' singer who didn't even sing opera. I won't deny the song was nice, but it wasn't opera. They easily could have just called her a singer, or cast an actual opera singer to at the very least voice over for they actress they chose.
There was so much going on in the movie that it didn't take enough time on any single story to really have meaningful progress. But yet by the end everything was happy and good again. This movie panders to the "freaks" of the modern world, who are not freaks, but normal people. It took me nearly 3 months to actually finish this movie because I had to keep putting it down and returning.
Finally, I love Hugh Jackman. I think he's a fantastic actor and was decent in this movie. However, for the love of god, stop casting him in musicals. His singing is just... not up to par. I thought so in Les Miserables, and I haven't changed my opinion.
Watch it if you want, but this is my sincere thought of the movie. It had good and fun aspects, but overall I'm incredibly grateful I didn't waste my money to watch it in the theatre.