Now that’s music. I can only imagine hearing that on a theater scale sound system. Although my home sound bar certainly tried it’s best…

Anyways, I know I’m behind the times. Better late than never?

Overall, it’s a solid movie that tries to make some big points about everyone having value / sticking it to the people that hate you because you’re different and… mostly hitting the mark? It gets even more complicated when you read up on Barnum’s actual history. Very much a serial ‘get rich quick’er with some questionable ethics, but there’s good parts there as well.

Jenny Lind: When you’re careless with other people, Mr. Barnum… you bring ruin upon yourself.

P. T. Barnum: I have risked everything.

Jenny Lind: Well, so did I. And it seems we both lost.

And he/it does make for quite the story.

James Gordon Bennett: Tell me, Mr. Barnum, does it bother you that everything you’re selling is fake?

P.T. Barnum: Do these smiles seem fake? It doesn’t matter where they come from. The joy is real.

James Gordon Bennett: So you are a philanthropist?

P.T. Barnum: Well, hyperbole isn’t the worst crime. Men suffer more from imagining too little than too much.

James Gordon Bennett: The creed of a true fraud.

P.T. Barnum: Mr Bennett, when was the last time you smiled? Or had a good laugh? A real laugh. A theater critic who can’t find joy in the theater. Now who is the fraud?

One random thought, it’s interesting how Zendaya/Anne Wheeler and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II/W.D. Wheeler’s biggest crime and reason to be in Barnum’s act was… the color of their skin. On one hand, it was … more subtle than I feel it should have been throughout the movie. On the other hand, the idea that that this is still a problem… Oy.

Random ‘fun’ fact:

In January 2017, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that their doors were closing forever, due to decreasing attendance and growing public opposition to the circus’s mistreatment of animals. Their last shows were in May 2017.

Oh the timing…

Ranked: 2021 Movie Reviews

Show: [current] [all]

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Avengers: Infinity War
4. The Matrix Resurrections
5. Captain America: Civil War
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home
8. Thor: Ragnarok
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Spider-Man: Homecoming
11. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
12. The Suicide Squad
13. Moana
14. Black Panther
15. Iron Man
16. Guardians of the Galaxy
17. Finding Nemo
18. Ant-Man
19. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
20. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
21. The Greatest Showman
22. Captain Marvel
23. Ant-Man and the Wasp
24. Doctor Strange
25. Black Widow
26. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
27. One Hundred and One Dalmatians
28. Luca
29. Palm Springs
30. Knives Out
31. Shazam!
32. Tenet
33. The Rescuers Down Under
34. Iron Man 3
35. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
36. A Clockwork Orange
37. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
38. Godzilla vs Kong
39. Stargate: Continuum
40. Iron Man 2
41. Thor
42. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
43. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
44. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
45. Avengers: Age of Ultron
46. The Incredible Hulk
47. Thor: The Dark World
48. Stargate: The Ark of Truth
49. Nutcracker
50. Space Jam: A New Legacy
51. Mortal Kombat
52. Bambi

Now that’s music. I can only imagine hearing that on a theater scale sound system. Although my home sound bar certainly tried it’s best…

Anyways, I know I’m behind the times. Better late than never?

Overall, it’s a solid movie that tries to make some big points about everyone having value / sticking it to the people that hate you because you’re different and… mostly hitting the mark? It gets even more complicated when you read up on Barnum’s actual history. Very much a serial ‘get rich quick’er with some questionable ethics, but there’s good parts there as well.

Jenny Lind: When you’re careless with other people, Mr. Barnum… you bring ruin upon yourself.

P. T. Barnum: I have risked everything.

Jenny Lind: Well, so did I. And it seems we both lost.

And he/it does make for quite the story.

James Gordon Bennett: Tell me, Mr. Barnum, does it bother you that everything you’re selling is fake?

P.T. Barnum: Do these smiles seem fake? It doesn’t matter where they come from. The joy is real.

James Gordon Bennett: So you are a philanthropist?

P.T. Barnum: Well, hyperbole isn’t the worst crime. Men suffer more from imagining too little than too much.

James Gordon Bennett: The creed of a true fraud.

P.T. Barnum: Mr Bennett, when was the last time you smiled? Or had a good laugh? A real laugh. A theater critic who can’t find joy in the theater. Now who is the fraud?

One random thought, it’s interesting how Zendaya/Anne Wheeler and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II/W.D. Wheeler’s biggest crime and reason to be in Barnum’s act was… the color of their skin. On one hand, it was … more subtle than I feel it should have been throughout the movie. On the other hand, the idea that that this is still a problem… Oy.

Random ‘fun’ fact:

In January 2017, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that their doors were closing forever, due to decreasing attendance and growing public opposition to the circus’s mistreatment of animals. Their last shows were in May 2017.

Oh the timing…