Let's Talk a Bit About that Movie

Over the weekend I went to see The Greatest Showman... again... twice. 

The first time I saw it was the weekend it opened. I'd been looking forward to the movie for about six months. I follow Hugh Jackman on Instagram (one of three celebrities I follow - the others are Carrie Underwood and Justin Timberlake), and he'd been posting about the movie for a while. I made sure to catch the live promo that aired during A Christmas Story on Fox, and from that moment on, I was literally counting down the hours until I could see it.

I was kind of surprised when the theater only had 8 people in it, but there's something special about a movie that becomes big by word of mouth. News of this one traveled fast - all these weeks later, you have to fight to get a seat to the show (I had seats bought out from under me twice over the weekend).

I went to see it on Friday night with friends and on Saturday with my kids.

On Friday, we had a group of 13. Three of us had seen it before, and the other ten were newbies. I was so excited to watch it with my friends and to witness some of them seeing it for the first time. One of them commented afterward that he kept looking down the row during the movie, and everyone was smiling.

(It's true! You have to smile through the whole thing!)

On Saturday evening, we didn't have plans, so I took Nicky and Daisy to see it. Since we've listened to the soundtrack so much at home, they both knew the music. Daisy sang through the whole movie, and every time a new song started, she would turn to me and say, "This song is in the movie, too?" (She doesn't quite grasp the concept of a soundtrack). I knew a little bit of the movie would be over their heads, and sure enough, I had to have a follow-up discussion with Daisy about the "oddities" (she was particularly worried about the probability of growing a beard someday). They liked it, though.

I love the whole movie (the story is good, the characters are wonderful, the songs are fantastic, and the choreography is superb) but there are two parts that stand out as my favorites.

***Spoilers Ahead***

The first is when Jenny Lind is singing, and Carlyle brushes his hand against Anne's. This scene has so much emotion, and when they finally grasp hands, I just want to stand up and cheer. It's so tender. But then... Carlyle lets go because he sees his parents watching. Anne is hurt and walks away, and Phillip stares straight forward, processing what he'd just done while tears begin to well up in his eyes. Such a great acting moment for Zac Efron. Bravo, Zac! Bravo!

My other favorite part is during "From Now On" when P.T. takes off in a dead sprint toward his family. I think Hugh Jackman's inner Wolverine shows a little. I love that he can't get there fast enough, and it almost, kind of, sort of makes me want to run too.

Add a few coattail flips, some slow motion camera work, and a handful of shot glasses (because all the best musical numbers take place in bars and caverns), and you've got one excellent movie.

Thank you for this, Hugh Jackman. It is the highlight of my winter.