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Note: Up until now, this space has focused its writing on film to what happens on the screen and where that takes the thoughts of the viewer. Now and then, I’ve wanted to go back and talk about a film in a wider context – what it means in the pop culture lexicon, how it was influenced, and likewise what it stands to influence. These posts will be categorized ‘Reflections’ and begin with this piece. Feedback is welcome – Enjoy! (RM)

While many of us weren’t paying attention, a quiet phenomenon staked its claim to a patch of the cultural landscape. Just before the ball dropped on 2018, while most of us were feverishly awaiting (and then feverishly arguing over) THE LAST JEDI, a studio film quietly had a $4.5M opening weekend (Edit: TGS’s domestic opening was in-fact, $8.8M). That’s bad (Edit: even at $8.8, still bad). By any measure, a major production needs to make more money than that to avoid a swift death. Always. Ordinarily. Usually. Just not in this case. Instead of swiftly getting pulled from theatres, the movie was left to compete with the aforementioned Jedi – along with awards contenders of all shapes and sizes.

This is where things get strange: The movie – THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – took on all comers, and kept coming back for more. It has become a bonefide hit, grossing $230M worldwide (Edit: TGM’s worldwide take is now $320M). It has spawned one of 2018’s top albums. It has stayed in the top five at the box office for eight weeks in a row, and has its Oscar-nominated centrepiece song being tapped as the theme song for America’s Winter Olympic coverage.

And still – outlets like The New York Times seem baffled by its success.

So how did we get here? In short – a small but very vocal and devoted audience is having their moment.

 

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The musical genre has had an incredible resurgence this century. Its fans were already deeply devoted – they might not have been ready to challenge Deadheads to a game of Red Rover, but they were legion. These are the kooky and creative girls and boys who whisper names like Sondheim and Webber the same way cinephiles do Hitchcock and Spielberg.

The resurgence, and the rising numbers in the ranks, come thanks to something of a renaissance in the genre at-large. After all, this generation of musical fans were born into a world of “Wicked”. They came of age with “High School Musical” and “Glee”. Their phones are loaded with the soundtrack of “Hamilton”. They wait at the stage door of “Dear Evan Hansen” night after night. Yes – they represent an age bracket, but they likewise inspire the fans that came before them. The old guard are seeing the joy for the medium coming from the vanguard, and they are remembering.

You know that moment when you started pulling great music from your parents’ music collection? It’s like that, but in reverse.

These wonderful weird-o’s are growing in number every day. They are flooding YouTube with cover versions and reactions, and stoking the Spotify playcounts. They’re staging recitals, going to summer camps, attending conventions. They are changing norms, working for inclusion, and letting their freak flags fly.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is their film, and is the sound of their movement and their moment put to screen, put to wax, put to paper, put to melody…or simply put.

 

Every moment requires a champion, and for this THE GREATEST SHOWMAN has tapped Pasek & Paul.

Never heard of them? You should. They’re a very big deal.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are award-winning musicians and lyricists. They’ve already worked on television shows like “Smash”, “The Flash”, and others that don’t end in a-s-h. They are the reigning top dogs on Broadway, having written the music for the Tony Award winning “Dear Evan Hansen”. Just twelve months ago, they walked the Oscar stage to collect trophies for their work on LA LA LAND…and they now stand poised to do it again. If they do, that will make them the first musicians to collect back to back Oscars since Alan Menken.

With Grammys, an Oscar, and Tonys on their mantles, they stand a very real shot at becoming the youngest EGOT recipients in history at ages 32 and 33 respectively. Pasek & Paul have five years to do it, so barring catastrophe, just call it a fait accompli.

Again – they’re a very big deal.

Oddly enough though, it’s the music of this film that’s been called into question. It’s been considered over-produced. It’s been tapped as lyrically simple – even lyrically silly.

To that, I say that the very best songs are more than sums of their parts. They are more than the phrases or the phrasing. The best music allows for inspiration and interpretation. Hell, some of the very best music is simple. Don’t believe me? Let’s consider a classic musical film like SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. Sing its iconic theme song to yourself. Keep singing it. Please note the lack of complexity – also note the fact that you don’t care.

Pasek & Paul seem to understand this. They know that when it matters, they can go on some un-catchy, lyrically complicated, deeply moving tangents. They also know that when they want to, they want to, they can keep things simple and it will work splendidly. In short, they understand the power of music.

The best music – especially within the musical theatre and film genre – conveys emotion. Those emotions could be hope, despair, defiance, or jubilation. The best musicians know that in reality nobody spontaneously bursts into song to convey what they’re feeling, so they aren’t bound by trying to keep any of it “authentic”. They only need to get in the ballpark…and it’s a very big ballpark.

As far as those outfield walls can seem though, Pasek & Paul have become pretty darned good at hitting the ball clear out of the ballpark, and their fans love seeing them hit the longball.

 

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Is that all it takes? A generation primed to fawn over key modulation, and two gifted artists with a pocket full of keys? Well, no – it’s still a movie, not an album.

Take, for example, the huge success of “This is Me”. The song is about being unashamed, uncompromising, bold, counting ones scars as war wounds not weakness. It’s an anthem that can be sung by any group or individual that feels like taking ownership of their lot and their lives. However, there’s an added context to the song that the film brings, that the soundtrack does not.

The inciting incident of “This is Me” does not come from the upper class that looks down on Barnum’s circus as grotesque, not does it come from the gathered protestors declaring them immoral. What gets the artists, acrobats, and oddities raising their flag and declaring they are who they’re meant to be…is Barnum himself.

It’s an ill-thought moment of impulse, it comes out all wrong, and while it seems like it’s meant to facilitate something greater, it’s nevertheless painful.

Story moments like this are important, because they illustrate how sometimes people on the same side can still screw-up. Politics can align, but opinions on action do not. This happens over and over in a world that is increasingly less “left and right”. A fictional version of who we were helps us understand who we are; further, who we want to be if only we could stop hurting people on our own side.

 

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Such ideas are modern – modern ideas in a modern musical for modern times. Which is another reason why this film succeeds; there haven’t been many modern musicals made. Much of what had lit up movie screens in this century have either been new adaptations of established works (CHICAGO, DREAMGIRLS, LES MISERABLES) or films that use established music (MOULIN ROUGE!, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, MAMMA MIA!). Beyond a few selections like LA LA LAND, no new musical creations have lit up movie screens.

This means that whole swaths of musical fans – fans who are miles and miles from the theatres of Broadway – have had nothing new to feed their hunger. These are the people, after all, who tune in to live television productions of “Hairspray”, “Grease”, and “The Sound of Music” because it provides a fix. For a few hours, they see and hear the notes in new ways, and gain the context that a cast recording doesn’t provide.

So, if those fans are offered something never staged, and not adapted, but new in every way, why wouldn’t they support it and raise its profile?

 

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When all of these elements come together, the alchemy is there for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN to become a long-burning, unexpected success. It draws from a deep well of talent, and rewards its audiences with well-executed sequences, uplifting music, and a positive message. It’s the sort of film that rewards repeat viewing, which is a luxury not usually feasible with original works.

Experiencing theatre is costly, and sometimes flat-out inaccessible. It’s an art form that fans spend large amounts of money on, and plan entire weeks around. Take a similar experience and drop it into multiplexes around the world? Perhaps the question shouldn’t be “how did we get here?”, but instead “why has it taken so long?”

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is an example of what’s possible – top talent coming together to hit their marks and create an inspiring experience. If there is space on the cinematic landscape for films about bands of car thieves, young wizards, superheroes, and a trillion and one remakes…then there is room for original musical works like THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

Not only is there room for it, but there’s a hungry audience for it…and they’re hungry for more.

3 Replies to “THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

  1. Hi! I enjoyed reading your piece. If you don’t mind, I’d like to point out some factual mistakes you made. The Greatest Showman grossed $8.8 M in its opening weekend according to box office mojo – not $4.5 M. $8.8 M is still bad, but that’s the correct number. Also, its current World Wide box office total is not $230 M. It is $320 M. That’s such a significant difference that I felt the need to point it out. Domestically, it’s set to pass La La Land’s box office total today to become the 4th highest live action musical since 1976. Based on projections, it could even pass Chicago in a couple of weeks and when it passes La La Land, I believe it will be the highest grossing original movie musical domestically since Grease.

    I don’t necessarily agree on your reasoning for why this movie has become a hit and why the music is so liked. I don’t think your writing seems well researched and I do think you miss the mark on what resonated with such a wide audience. All of my family and friends loved this movie passionately and for different reasons from what you stated. I also think it’s a little odd to have a write up like this and not mention Hugh Jackman at all. This was his movie. He chose the director. He believed in Pasek and Paul when they were still unknowns, and he took a chance on them. He funded the project partly with his own money. He helped select the cast and Pasek and Paul literally created songs by working with him and trying to tailor the style to his singing voice. And if you listen to all the cast and crew talk about their experiences, it is Hugh Jackman they tearfully give the most credit to – for believing in them and never giving up on this film, even after all the major set backs for the 7.5 years it was in production. Keala Settle even created T-Shirts that the cast and crew wear that read “It’s all your fault, Hugh Jackman.” She says this affectionately all the time, saying it’s his fault she’s singing at the Oscars. Think about that. It’s not the song writers she’s mentioning in that way. It’s Hugh Jackman. That’s not to say Pasek and Paul don’t deserve immense credit. They do. But it was Hugh who even pushed them to believe in themselves and his energy is the drumbeat for the film.

    I think if you watch the video on YouTube where Hugh Jackman rips his skin cancer stitches out singing From Now On to try to get the movie green lit, and if you watch its accompanying video where Keala Settle, who was a back up singer and didn’t believe in herself, sings This Is Me to get the movie green lit with tears in her eyes as a tearful Hugh Jackman holds her hand, then you’ll get a true sense of why this film has touched the hearts of so many (and not just those who feel like “freaks”): the film deeply touches on what it means to be human beneath our surface level personalities and characteristics, and it uplifts us and draws us into a beautiful fantasy where hard work and vast imagination can get us to the top in life, and where all people love each other for who they really are despite any differences of background and physicality or any personality flaws. We are all human and the film aims to make lift everyone’s spirits and put a smile on everyone’s face and that’s universal. 🙂 You’d be surprised to see just how many audience reviewers, and even my own friends and family actually dislike musicals or Hollywood in general but went to see this movie due to positive word of mouth and fell in love with it. This film has a unique audience and has found a special place in so many of our hearts.

  2. PS- I do agree with some of the things you said regarding the message and certain plot points in the movie. I do want to make that clear. 🙂 I just don’t think those things alone were enough. It’s the heart and passion put into the film that magically infects the audience while watching. Take care!

    1. Made edits regarding the incorrect box office numbers. Thanks for that.

      Glad to read that you loved the film and was quite interested to read about what Jackman brought to the project…even if I differ with you on how that affects the final product and how its been received.

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