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The Greatest Showman Reviews

hork Profile Photo
hork
#125Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/4/18 at 10:49pm

Wayman_Wong said: "The Jenny Lind sequence is one of the more laughable and ludicrous sections of ''The Greatest Showman.'' Rebecca Ferguson plays the renowned ''Swedish Nightingale'' with a British accent. (Strange, since she's actually Swedish in real life.)

You know that's her actual speaking voice, right? And that Swedish people generally speak English with a British accent?

hork Profile Photo
hork
#126Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/4/18 at 11:07pm

PalJoey said: "

"Enslaved"?

"ENSLAVED"?!?

Using that phase is an INSULTto every man, woman, and child who was ever enslaved during the course of HUMAN history.

It shows you have absolutely NO UNDERSTANDING WHATSOEVER as to what the word "slavery" means.

EDUCATE YOURSELF.


Oh, JFC. It's a word. It means "subjugate." It doesn't just apply to humans. I hope you never run into an entomologist talking about slave ants, that'd be really embarrassing.

 

broadwayboy223
#127Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/4/18 at 11:26pm

Saw this dreck today. Came away with a headache. All the songs blurred together as one giant pop anthem. Did not enjoy it at all. 

hork Profile Photo
hork
#128Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 12:05am

I saw it today too and I agree. People actually clapped at the end. I assume they were clapping because it was over.

broadwayboy223
#129Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 12:10am

The plot was non existent and dis jointed if you know what I mean. I feel like the film would have been better if it focused on the oddities backgrounds and developed the interracial romance more. It was all rushed and all the "emotional" scenes were so forced. None of them were earned.

Liza's Headband
#130Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 12:28pm

hork said: "I saw it today too and I agree. People actually clapped at the end. I assume they were clapping because it was over."

 

The box office numbers (not originally anticipated to do well) and the soundtrack sales (astronomical!) would suggest otherwise. 

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JudyDenmark
#131Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 1:19pm

I think people are perfectly entitled to love this or hate this - films are subjective, and it makes sense that this one would be polarizing. Movie musicals usually are. But I can't help but laugh a little that people are using ticket sales and album downloads as a measure of quality. I mean, sales of Fifty Shades of Grey were through the roof - that hardly means it's actually a good book. 

broadwayboy223
#132Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 1:31pm

JudyDenmark said: "I think people are perfectly entitled to love this or hate this - films are subjective, and it makes sense that this one would be polarizing. Movie musicals usually are.But I can't help but laugh a little that people are using ticketsales and album downloads as a measure of quality. I mean, sales of FiftyShades of Grey were through the roof - that hardly means it's actually a good book."

This^^^ exactly. Twilight was a huge blockbuster of a series but they weren't good movies. And even though I hated the movie I can't say I'm surprised it's successful. When you have Zac Efron and Zendaya ALLL of the tweeny boppers were bound to eat it up. 

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CT2NYC
#133Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 2:17pm

Beyond the box office and album sales, I think it’s important to look at the audience scores for this movie. Even though critics’ reviews were less than stellar, it currently holds a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 8.0 out of 10 on IMDb. Sure, 50 SHADES OF GREY and TWILIGHT made a ton of money, mainly because they were based on incredibly popular novels, but their audience scores on both those sites are pretty bad. I haven't seen it yet, so I'm not commenting on its quality, but, to me, it looks like a lot of people really love this movie. I'm not saying they're right, but I think it's worth noting.

jo
#134Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/5/18 at 6:28pm

CT2NYC said: "Beyond the box office and album sales, I think it’s important to look at the audience scores for this movie. Even though critics’ reviews were less than stellar, it currently holds a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 8.0 out of 10 on IMDb. Sure, 50 SHADES OF GREY and TWILIGHT made a ton of money, mainly because they were based on incredibly popular novels, but their audience scores on both those sites are pretty bad. I haven't seen it yet, so I'm not commenting on its quality, but, to me, it looks like a lot of people really love this movie. I'm not saying they're right, but I think it's worth noting."

There were about 27,000 voters who participated in the IMDB user rating averaging at 8.0 of 10.0.

If one looks at the voting profile from the IMDB raters, based on the number of votes which can be identified as to age, it is worth noting that the bulk of the votes came from the desired demographics of 18-44 yrs age range.  To the extent that gender voting preferences can be obtained from user info, while the female vote was higher in terms of average rating, the male vote ( which comprised the higher number of voters) was still at levels indicative of very strong satisfaction with the movie.  Also, only a very small  % of votes came from the below 18 age range, much smaller than the oldest end of the voting profile ( 45 yrs and above).

Also, from the votes than can be identified as to origin, it seems that the USA and the international voters voted almost at the same rating level.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1485796/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt

 

Updated On: 1/5/18 at 06:28 PM

Theatre Fan3
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amoni
#136Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/7/18 at 11:42pm

' But I can't help but laugh a little that people are using ticketsales and album downloads as a measure of quality. I mean, sales of FiftyShades of Grey were through the roof - that hardly means it's actually a good book."

You're right, some here would consider " Merrily We Roll Along" an artistic success where the public deemed the whopping sixteen performance flop a colossal piece of crap dismissing it and the millions it never made.

 

Dancingthrulife2 Profile Photo
Dancingthrulife2
#137Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 2:27am

Saw it tonight. Absolutely hated it. Generic, anachronistic pop songs with the most hackneyed lyrics I've heard in a while. And if you actually bother to google P.T. Barnum, you'll find the plot is nothing but an unfunny joke.

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Dancingthrulife2
#138Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 3:05am

It boggles my mind that some people think "historical accuracy" is synonymous with "documentary," which I guess they mean snoozefest. Just unbelievable.

Liza's Headband
#139Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 5:28pm

Dancingthrulife2 said: "Saw it tonight. Absolutely hated it. Generic, anachronistic pop songs with the most hackneyed lyrics I've heard in a while. And if you actually bother to googleP.T. Barnum, you'll find the plot is nothing but an unfunny joke."

 

Generic songs that propelled the soundtrack, over Ed Sheerhan and Taylor Swift, to #1 in multiple countries. 

hork Profile Photo
hork
#140Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 5:44pm

Liza's Headband said: "Dancingthrulife2 said: "Saw it tonight. Absolutely hated it. Generic, anachronistic pop songs with the most hackneyed lyrics I've heard in a while. And if you actually bother to googleP.T. Barnum, you'll find the plot is nothing but an unfunny joke."



Generic songs that propelled the soundtrack, over Ed Sheerhan and Taylor Swift, to #1 in multiple countries.
"

Yeah, and? That's what people like. Crap generic pop songs. We live in a culture of awfulness.

jo
#141Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 10:07pm

How will the movie be received in two huge movie musicals market in Asia where it opens  next month  --

China - movie opens on February 1, 2018

Japan - movie opens on February 16, 2018

 

Liza's Headband -- would you know if the soundtrack album has been released in both countries?

Jo

Liza's Headband
#142Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 10:51pm

Yes, it has been released internationally (i.e. everywhere) 

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HenryTDobson
#143Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 10:59pm

Liza's Headband said: "Dancingthrulife2 said: "Saw it tonight. Absolutely hated it. Generic, anachronistic pop songs with the most hackneyed lyrics I've heard in a while. And if you actually bother to googleP.T. Barnum, you'll find the plot is nothing but an unfunny joke."



Generic songs that propelled the soundtrack, over Ed Sheerhan and Taylor Swift, to #1 in multiple countries.
"

Why are you obsessed with rubbing it in peoples' faces that this movie is commercially doing well? Considering the cast and the family-like topic, it's not surprising how well it's doing, regardless of its poor quality. People can state their distaste for the material without you having to constantly remind everyone how well it's selling. Commercial appeal doesn't necessarily equate strong quality, something we've seen time and again for years.

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Scarywarhol
#144Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/8/18 at 11:07pm

^I'll say!, these are some of the most generic songs written for any kind of dramatic musical narrative I have ever heard in my entire life. But as with Evan Hansen, I believe Pasek and Paul find commerical success by wilfully ignoring everything specific or troubling about their subject matter, e.g. ignoring their jobs as musical dramatists. They know how to do blandly accessible.

Updated On: 1/8/18 at 11:07 PM

broadwayboy223
#145Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/10/18 at 1:21pm

So in many article it stated the score was written by several composers rather then entirely by Pasek and Paul. People like Bonnie McKee. Are they just uncredited or were they dropped from the project?

Liza's Headband
#146Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/10/18 at 2:38pm

broadwayboy223 said: "So in many article it stated the score was written by several composers rather then entirely by Pasek and Paul. People like Bonnie McKee. Are they just uncredited or were they dropped from the project?"

 

Might help if you point to a recent article stating this, since that isn't correct.  The original plan was to feature a score comprised of songs written by numerous artists (like SPONGEBOB, for example), however that was quickly abandoned after Pasek & Paul came on-board. 

jo
#147Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/11/18 at 12:31am

It's also interesting to know that Pasek and Paul's "audition" song was A MILLION DREAMS. This has been mentioned in 1 or 2 interviews.

http://www.playbill.com/article/the-pasek-paul-song-that-got-them-hired-for-greatest-showman

Updated On: 1/11/18 at 12:31 AM

Jarethan
#148Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/11/18 at 1:48am

Somewhere in this topic, I indicated that I didn't expect to see it, based on the reviews and early feedback.  Well, I changed my mind when I read an article saying how great word-of-mouth is, and that the grosses were going against every rule that exists.  I saw it at a 4:30pm performance on this past rainy Tuesday, and the theatre was filled.

I absolutely cannot figure out why.  I cannot ever remember seeing a movie that was as strange as this one.  The book was probably written by an computer program; I thought the score stank, although I admit that my wife liked the songs.  To me, every single one sounded just like all the others...let me change that: all the slow songs sounded the same; all the fast ones sounded the same.  I was also disappointed with Hugh Jackman.  The charisma that I saw in The Boy From Oz was totally missing here, and the nasally tone in his voice seemed more prominent than previously.  What did I like?  two things.

   -- The movie looked pretty; it didn't look real, but it did look pretty (of course even the scenes where he was dirt poor looked pretty).

   -- I liked Michelle Williams.  I can't say exactly why...I think she reminded me of a glamorous movie star from the 1940s or 1950s; I also probably enjoyed seeing her slumming, in a role that is about as different from anything else she has done.

I am happy that the movie is a hit, because this may incent additional investment in movie musicals.  Great as long as they do not follow this model.  I will probably even watch it again when it is on HBO or Netflix, just to see if it is as bad as i remember.

Interestingly enough, I can't say that I was bored...just amazed by the complete mediocrity in evidence.

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RippedMan
#149Greatest Showman
Posted: 1/11/18 at 2:01am

“This is Me” is realy awful. Very bland. But so is most of DEH, so, makes sense.


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