The Greatest Showman is the story of The Elephant Man told from the villain's point of view.

I thought Greatest Showman was fine as a movie, but what really bothered me was the PT Barnum character is essentially 2 dimensional. It ignores how PT Barnum's defining trait was being America's greatest con man. He's responsible for us believing T-Rexes stand on their hind legs (the bones he bought were unimpressive so he stood the thing upright). (I'm an idiot at research sometimes). And of course his famous quote "There's a sucker born every minute" is never really addressed in the movie. He is, by all accounts of the movie, just a poor hero with a dream to accomplish.

The worst part is that the movie wants us to believe he "gave 'freaks' a place to belong." Let me just say... there's a reason why freak shows aren't prevalent anymore. I highly recommend watching The Elephant Man for that story. Nominated for 8 Oscars (including Best Pic, Director, Screenplay, and Actor). David Lynch's directing is spot-on, and John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins give impeccable, haunting performances. Fun fact: Mel Brooks is an uncredited producer, and he hired Lynch based on Eraserhead.

If you're going for the triple feature, I recommend "Freaks" (1932).

Submitted April 11, 2018 at 06:05AM by HooptyDooDooMeister https://ift.tt/2HcqP1y