Similar to La La Land, The Greatest Showman was also released at the tail end of its year of release, but found its footing and fame in the new year. Aside from these broad connections and the fact that they are both musicals, you might be speculating how these two films are alike.
So, as you may or may not recall, the Oscar for best original song in 2017 went to “City of Stars,” written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, beating out another song they wrote for La La Land, “Audition.” That’s right. They had two songs from the same film nominated against each other and ended up beating out their other competition (and themselves), winning for one of them.
Now the duo is back, arguably reshaping the Hollywood musical, with smash hits for The Greatest Showman that is lighting up every theater and film geek’s life right now (I can say that because I am one). It’s true. They get us. Their music gets us. It’s quite difficult to listen to their songs and not get hype, not sing every lyric terribly off-key, or skip it when it comes on shuffle. Their songs are so catchy and well-written that La La Land and The Greatest Showman lovers even sing the beats and the instrumentation, so it’s no wonder the film’s album is currently the #1 selling album on iTunes.
After watching it, there are a few things we can all agree upon:
- Zac Efron is undeniably made for musicals
- Zendaya is a badass and was way better than I was expecting
- Hugh Jackman: He really is a jack of all trades (pun intended). From Wolverine to Jean Valjean and now P.T. Barnum, he excels as each stylistically and makes us swoon with his musical talent.
Then I went and saw it again. (Yes, it was even better the second time. Excuse me while I impatiently wait for it to come out on DVD.)
Thumbnail photo courtesy of pixabay.com and gif courtesy of giphy.com