The Greatest Showman (2017)

P.T. Barnum got rich putting people on display, and The Greatest Showman turns him into a misunderstood dreamer with excellent hair. That’s a big rewrite, and the movie never once looks at it. The performers he hires get one anthem and a lot of standing in the back while Hugh Jackman sorts out his marriage. Then the songs start, and it’s hard to stay mad. Keala Settle sings This Is Me like she’s daring the room to look away. Zac Efron and Zendaya’s trapeze duet is the most romantic thing in the movie, all ropes and near misses. The bar number where Jackman and Efron slide glasses down the counter is choreography as a sales pitch. Michelle Williams is wasted as the patient wife. Critics landed at 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it an A CinemaScore and $472.1 million worldwide. A 5.6 because the songs soar and the story reads like a press release. $421 says you slide a glass down the kitchen counter this week like it’s the bar scene, and it does not go well.

What works: Catchy, wall-to-wall songs, Keala Settle’s This Is Me, and a trapeze duet that actually feels romantic.

What doesn’t: It turns a real showman who profited from putting people on display into a flawless dreamer, and the performers get sidelined in their own story.

Who it’s for: Families and musical fans who want big songs and big feelings, with the history lesson saved for afterward.