Bearded lady adds to The Greatest Showman

Come on a musical adventure and witness a man rise up from nothing to become “the greatest showman”.

Hugh Jackman stars as P.T. Barnum, who struggles against adversity to bring together a show made up of extraordinary people, such as a bearded lady (Keala Settle) with a spectacular singing voice and the dwarf performer General Tom Thumb (Sam Humphrey).

Hugh Jackman is absolutely charming in his role, this film allowing his singing and dancing talents to shine alongside his acting skills. Admittedly, his character does make bad decisions that cause you to think “Really, dude? You really just did that?”

This is also mainly a story about Barnum, focusing on his rise to fame and his relationship with his wife, Charity (Michelle Williams), and their two daughters.

While moving, the problem with this is that as a result a lot of the film’s other characters don’t receive much spotlight.

We do get a good romance between former Disney Channel stars Zac Efron and Zendaya, in their respective roles as playwright Phillip Carlyle and trapeze artist Anne Wheeler. The bearded lady character, Lettie Lutz, also gets a small arc.

We see her grow from being shy and ashamed and into a more confident and proud character: an arc that is superbly summed up in the song “This Is Me”.

Speaking of music, the film’s musical numbers were very energetic, but also managed to convey the emotions of gloomier scenes.

This was a fun film with several good messages to it. It encourages being true to yourself and chasing your dreams while also warning against letting your ego cloud your judgement.

Now there are some liberties taken, but I wasn’t expecting historical accuracy from a musical. Overall, definitely