What are you watching?

[NateDog]

Rewatched The Greatest Showman. Forgot how incredibly cheesy and caricaturish it was. Certainly brought me back to that summer it came out and Leelee and I saw a trailer for it when seeing something else and decided to see it on release day, not realising it was going to be completely packed given the interest in it with people like Zendaya and Zac Efron starring.

Hugh Jackman wasn’t sure about the soundtrack and nearly didn’t do the film. Michael Gracey kept saying to him “you just have to get into it, get the crowd going!” and Jackman kept saying “like Robbie Williams?” Gracey found out Robbie Williams was nearby at one point and met up with him to play him the songs and recorded him saying they were bangers so that Jackman would do the film (This is also why Better Man exists as Gracey went on to make it).

Best song:

I liked Jackman in it to be fair, still felt like there was a lot of autotune across the board but he was clearly well capable of doing it without it so it felt like his performance was one of the more legitimate ones in places. After "Rewrite The Stars" I couldn't believe when Leelee (a former High-School Musical lover) turned to me and remarked how stiff Efron's dancing is in it. Didn't really notice it myself until she said it, wonder if he just felt a bit uncomfortable with that sort of a part after trying to break away from HSM for a while, don't know for sure but he probably didn't exactly do many dancing roles after that. Also I agree on the best track.

I don't think it registered with me first time around either but the CGI is so laughably bad in this, felt like I was watching a modern Marvel movie in places.