History YMMV / TheGreatestShowman

* TastesLikeDiabetes: People who thought Barnum's real life story would have made a far more interesting story (or even thought a movie about the circus troupe would have made for a more interesting plot) find the movie way too sugarcoated, cutesy, and sentimental. Lines like "I wanna marry Santa Claus" don't exactly help.

* CriticalDissonance: Critics have overall been very mixed about the film, with a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 48 Metacritic score, mostly for straying really far from the actual history. The general audience, on the other hand, overall has a very positive view of the film; with an 8.0 score on IMDB, an "A" rating on Cinemascore, and a 90% Audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also became a surprise hit, grossing over $400 million worldwide.

* {{Glurge}}: A major factor in the film's HypeBacklash is that not only is it an OscarBait pop musical, but shamelessly whitewashes P.T. Barnum into a LovableRogue who follows his dreams, celebrates diversity, and makes money by organizing a circus that toplines society's diasbled and/or odd-looking outcasts as opposed to the shrewd businessman who exploited otherness for profit. The antagonists range from a StrawCritic to dyed-in-the-wool bigots, but the lesson Barnum ends up learning is not to aim for "respectability" when he tries to break into upper-crust society and forgets about the needs of his troupe and family. Those who don't like the movie see it as phony and manipulative, particularly with its platitudes about acceptance and pride as they are undercut by the film not letting the audience get to know the circus performers as individuals and instead focusing the bulk of the narrative on the WhiteMaleLead and his redemption, with its choice of villains shaming the viewer into not questioning/analyzing what they're watching lest they be seen as enemies of joy and diversity.

* {{Glurge}}: A major factor in the film's HypeBacklash is that not only is it an OscarBait pop musical, but shamelessly whitewashes P.T. Barnum into a LovableRogue who follows his dreams, celebrates diversity, and makes money by organizing a circus that toplines society's differently-abled and/or odd-looking outcasts as opposed to the shrewd businessman who exploited otherness for profit. The antagonists range from a StrawCritic to dyed-in-the-wool bigots, but the lesson Barnum ends up learning is not to aim for "respectability" when he tries to break into upper-crust society and forgets about the needs of his troupe and family. Those who don't like the movie see it as phony and manipulative, particularly with its platitudes about acceptance and pride as they are undercut by the film not letting the audience get to know the circus performers as individuals and instead focusing the bulk of the narrative on the WhiteMaleLead and his redemption, with its choice of villains shaming the viewer into not questioning/analyzing what they're watching lest they be seen as enemies of joy and diversity.

* SignatureSong: "This is Me", to the point that it got a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song and ''numerous'' fan covers along with comments on Youtube explaining how much this song means to them.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: People who thought Barnum's real life story would have made a far more interesting story (or even thought a movie about the circus troupe would have made for a more interesting plot) find the movie way too sugarcoated, cutesy, and sentimental. Lines like "I wanna marry Santa Clause" don't exactly help.

** The lyrics are mostly generic uplifting/motivational homilies strung together and set to music. On one hand, the songs are thus very radio-friendly, especially "This Is Me" and "Never Enough". But the setting and story don't come off as strongly as in many other musicals.

** The lyrics are mostly generic uplifting/motivational homilies strung together and set to music.

* DontShootTheMessage: While "This is Me" has caught on as a huge anthem for any and all marginalized groups, this hasn't saved it from the criticism that it's still from a movie where the P.T. Barnum's exploitation of otherness is whitewashed into a BeYourself story.

** During ''This is Me'', Tom/Charles disappears and re-appears throughout the scene, especially when the characters start dancing, to hide the fact that, as the actor is spending the movie on his knees and has a pair of knees digitally inserted to make him look even shorter, he can't really dance like everyone else can. He does dance a little bit in ''From Now On'' but his dancing is limited to swaying his arms back and forth and kicking his "legs" a few times while everyone else performs much more complex looking dance steps. The movie even seems to be trying to hide the limitations this effect has on his dancing in this scene by hiding him behind a pole in a couple shots. And, in ''Come Alive'', he's too busy riding on the horse while everyone else dances, most likely again to hide the fact that, yeah, the effect they used to make him look shorter makes him unable to do much dancing.

* UnfortunateImplications: The movie tries to frame itself as a movie about how [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped people shouldn't]] [[BeYourself judge others for how they look]]. But, because the circus troupe is in a business that is well known for exploiting people for their looks in real life, and because the movie didn't really show what their talents ''were'', besides the Wheelers and the Bearded Lady, one could argue the movie says it's okay to only define people by their looks as long as they aren't "mean" about it and doing stuff like protesting their very existence or shutting them out of high class parties. But doing stuff like, say, paying to gawk at them is a-okay[[note]]What makes it weirder is that the [[https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/the-greatest-showman-2017.pdf original shooting script]] had a throwaway line where the protestors call the circus a "freak show" as an insult, implying that this circus is supposed to be more progressive than your usual "freak show" yet they decided to cut that out[[/note]]. P.T. Barnum being the protagonist of the movie, even if he isn't always shown in the right, doesn't exactly help. It also doesn't help that [[WordOfGod the filmmakers themselves]] have said that the movie is framed as the type of hagiography P.T. Barnum would make to "make his life look more fantastical than it really was". See that opinion [[https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-greatest-showman-fails-disabled-audiences-by-masking-pt-barnums-monstrous-past here]].

** Phillip's parents' reaction to his interracial relationship seems a bit overblown considering that his girlfriend is played by a biracial actress who's the same color as Zac Efron with a tan. If one of the main subplots of the movie is society's horror at seeing a white man and black woman together, why cast an actress who could easily pass for white?

** Zendaya is not just showcased for her singing, and manages to portray a lot of subtle emotion -- often just through facial expressions alone.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: To Barnum & Bailey's Circus. The [[VocalDissonance incongrous 2010's pop songs]] in an 1800s setting and the forced in messages about [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped how people shouldn't judge others for being different and how it's bad to be racist]] without [[BrokenAesop bothering to develop either sub-plot]] really make it seem like it's trying to come off as hip and progressive just to sell movie tickets for a P.T. Barnum movie rather than because it actually WANTS to talk about these things or use this style. As the podcast Twin Picks said, [[https://player.fm/series/twin-picks/ep-04-freaks-the-greatest-showman it's really interested in making a story about following your dreams but pretends to be interested in being a story about how you need to love and accept yourself]].

* HarsherInHindsight: Casting Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the generic [[ScaryBlackMan overprotective brother]] might count as this. Now that he's an [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct Emmy winner]], it does come off as a waste of his talent to not only not give him much to do but cast him in such a stereotypical role for a black man may come off as awkward and possibly [[FairForItsDay unintentionally racist]] to some now.

** The plot in general has a check list of cliches. [[UptownGirl Poor boy that grows up befriending and falling in love with a rich girl]]? Check. [[ParentalMarriageVeto Rich girl's parents don't like them being together]]? Check. They eventually end up together against the parent's wishes? Check. [[SocialClimber Man tries to impress high society]] and, in the process, leaves his family and friends behind? Check. Social outcasts [[FamilyOfChoice form a family together]], bonding over their the fact that they've never been accepted by anyone before? Check. And the list goes on and on.

* {{Glurge}}: A major factor in the film's HypeBacklash is that not only is it an OscarBait pop musical, but shamelessly whitewashes P.T. Barnum into a a LovableRogue who follows his dreams, celebrates diversity, and makes money by organizing a circus that toplines society's differently-abled and/or odd-looking outcasts as opposed to the shrewd businessman who exploited otherness for profit. The antagonists range from a StrawCritic to dyed-in-the-wool bigots, but the lesson Barnum ends up learning is not to aim for "respectability" when he tries to break into upper-crust society and forgets about the needs of his troupe and family. Those who don't like the movie see it as phony and manipulative, particularly with its platitudes about acceptance and pride as they are undercut by the film not letting the audience get to know the circus performers as individuals and instead focusing the bulk of the narrative on the WhiteMaleLead and his redemption, with its choice of villains shaming the viewer into not questioning/analyzing what they're watching lest they be seen as enemies of joy and diversity.

* HollywoodHomely: Aside from their one deformity (being a bearded lady, a dwarf, albinos, having a third leg, etc.), the circus troupe is mostly average looking to attractive, people who for the most part no one would really bat an eye at if it wasn't for their one physical trait. Some of them don't even have a physical trait that makes them "ugly", they just dress a bit weird (the tattooed guy, the bald black lady, and the samurai all come to mind). The only possible exception is Charles, whose physical trait isn't something you could easily take away and he'd look much more attractive. But even then, one could make an argument even that he could be considered UglyCute.
* JustHereForGodzilla: Even diehard fans of the film have said that the story and characters are nothing special (especially considering the liberties it takes with it's main character) and that they mainly love it for the spectacular songs, choreography, and production design.

** This also isn't the first musical biography of P.T. Barnum. That would be the 1980's ''Barnum'' with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, starring Creator/GlennClose and Jim Dale in the title role. And while it still portrays it's title character as a LovableRogue, it also doesn't skimp on the fact that he was, first and foremost, a shameless con artist who was OnlyInItForTheMoney. The biggest hit from the show was "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-9KiBRYps Join the Circus]]".
* OneSceneWonder: The bartender with the large 1880's baseball mustache (played by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_(dancer) Daniel Campos]], who was the assistant choreographer) while Barnum tries to convince Carlyle into joining the circus as they sing "The Other Side" doesn't say a single word -- and still manages to nearly steal the scene. Critics have singled him out as a highlight of choreography, even in negative reviews of the film.

** Some of the animals, like the lions and elephants, are obviously CGI. The Horse Charles rides on in particular looks like the Tristar Horse.
** A lot of the circus troupe members, not just Tom Thumb, don't look particularly convincing. The Bearded Lady's beard is obviously pasted onto her face, the three legged man's third leg is just a fake wooden leg that doesn't even move (and is hidden in most of the shots he's in, most likely to hide how unconvincing it looks), the siamese twins are just two asian actors who have their arms around their shoulders all the time, and most of the other troupe members, besides the albinos, are just able bodied people dressed in weird costumes. The only troupe members whose oddities look fake and can get away with it are the fat guy and the tall guy, as the movie itself shows Barnum made them look taller and/or fatter by having the tall guy stand on stilts and the fat guy stuff things in his shirt to make him look bigger.
*** Averted with The Dog Boy and The Old Lady Barnum meets at the beginning, whose deformities actually do look convincing. The albinos also don't look so bad because they are played by people who actually have albinism.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: People who thought Barnum's real life story would have made a far more interesting story (or even thought a movie about the circus troupe would have made for a more interesting plot) find the movie way too sugar coated, cutesy, and sentimental. Lines like "I wanna marry Santa Clause" don't exactly help.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:

** Many reviewers have commented that the actual historical personages in the movie are all entirely worthy of movies as they were complex, fascinating individuals. Carlyle replaces James Bailey, for instance, despite the fact he ''was'' Barnum's partner. Hell, even PT Barnum himself is [[WartsAndAll arguably a more fascinating individual]] {{Antihero}} than the [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade character he's portrayed as.]]
** Hands up everyone who thought [[ReformedCriminal O'Malley]] was responsible for [[spoiler:all the money being gone during the building fire.]]
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot

** Barnum's relationship with slavery obviously isn't a good feel good movie subject. While he tortured and abused a woman he illegally enslaved (he lived in the North) in the 1830's, he was so disgusted with himself and slavery, he spent the latter half of his life tirelessly campaigning against slavery and using his showmanship skills to have it outlawed nationwide. He even played a not-insignificant role in getting the 13th Amendment ratified. In addition, he campaigned hard for women's suffrage.

* UnfortunateImplications: The movie tries to frame itself as a movie about how [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped people shouldn't]] [[BeYourself judge others for how they look]]. But, because the circus troupe is in a business that is well known for exploiting people for their looks in real life, and because the movie didn't really show what their talents ''were'', besides The Wheelers and The Bearded Lady, one could argue the movie says it's okay to only define people by their looks as long as they aren't "mean" about it and doing stuff like protesting their very existence or shutting them out of high class parties. But doing stuff like, say, paying to gawk at them is a-okay[[note]]What makes it weirder is that the [[https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/the-greatest-showman-2017.pdf original shooting script]] had a throwaway line where the protestors call the circus a "freak show" as an insult, implying that this circus is supposed to be more progressive than your usual "freak show" yet they decided to cut that out[[/note]]. P.T. Barnum being the protagonist of the movie, even if he isn't always shown in the right, doesn't exactly help. It also doesn't help that [[WordOfGod the filmmakers themselves]] have said that the movie is framed as the type of hagiography P.T. Barnum would make to "make his life look more fantastical than it really was". See that opinion [[https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-greatest-showman-fails-disabled-audiences-by-masking-pt-barnums-monstrous-past here]].
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Jenny's indiscretion with PT Barnum is presented as LaserGuidedKarma, and it ties into the DarkestHour part of the narrative. Except it's entirely possible that PT never had any romantic interest in Jenny and she only assumed he did, yet she freely made a pass at him. He promptly turns her down. While being upset is perfectly reasonable, and one could see how she might feel used (as she accuses him), deliberately trying to sabotage his reputation because she was denied a man with a wife and two children is going a bit too far.
* WereStillRelevantDammit: To Barnum & Bailey's Circus. The [[VocalDissonance incongrous 2010's pop songs]] in an 1800s setting and the forced in messages about [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped how people shouldn't judge others for being different and how its bad to be racist]] without [[BrokenAesop bothering to develop either sub-plot]] really make it seem like it's trying to come off as hip and progressive just to sell movie tickets for a P.T. Barnum movie rather than because it actually WANTS to talk about these things or use this style. As the podcast Twin Picks said, [[https://player.fm/series/twin-picks/ep-04-freaks-the-greatest-showman it's really interested in making a story about following your dreams but pretends to be interested in being a story about how you need to love and accept yourself]].
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The real Barnum called himself "only ever a showman" and knew from the get-go that he was peddling hoaxes and sideshow attractions, complete with mistreatment of animals, for entertainment's sake. The trailers paint his creation of the world-famous circus as gathering a RagtagBunchOfMisfits to give them a place where they can be themselves while showing the public at large that they are just as worthy of respect as anyone "normal." The actual movie still has Barnum as a shyster whose quick wit and ability to read people for all intents and purposes hoodwinks the circus performers into joining them rather than stay in their shadowed and ignored stations. The performers must take it upon themselves to shuck society's opinion of them after Barnum shuts them out of Jenny Lind's first-performance after-party. Barnum's HeelRealization conveniently comes when the people he's shunned and scammed are the only ones who'll have anything to do with him anymore.
* WTHCastingAgency:

* WTHCostumingDepartment: Nobody was expecting total historical accuracy down to the kind of lace, but in some scenes it's like they weren't even trying. [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cgIdPd0-lhk/WjyNuRjzXVI/AAAAAAAAToU/V9pL7yudeS88FKc6nQIWVxz6QZbrRUiCgCKgBGAs/s320/IMG_1382.JPG This dress]] of Jenny Lind's, for example, looks like something from the nearest Anne Taylor. (At least her hair is up?) WordOfGod has stated that this was invoked intentionally in order to give the movie a more fantastical feel and less grounded in reality, as well as the costumes needing to work around various choreography requirements.
* TheWoobie: All the performers to an extent, given that they're shunned for being different. Anne, however, gets more screen time, showing what she has to put up with in every-day life. Just look at when she's about to go to theatre. She sounds so timid when saying P.T. reserved a ticket for her, like she expects the box office clerk to look at her sideways.

* UnfortunateImplications: The movie tries to frame itself as a movie about how [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped people shouldn't]] [[BeYourself judge others for how they look]]. But, because the circus troupe is in a business that is well known for exploiting for people for their looks in real life, which is shown as a good thing in-universe, and because the movie doesn't bother to characterize the troupe outside of how they look, one could argue the movie says it's okay to only define people by their looks, not their personalities, as long as they aren't "mean" about it and doing stuff like protesting their very existence or shutting them out of high class parties. But doing stuff like, say, paying to gawk at them is a-okay[[note]]What makes it weirder is that the [[https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/uploads/scripts/the-greatest-showman-2017.pdf original shooting script]] had a throwaway line where the protestors call the circus a "freak show" as an insult, implying that this circus is supposed to be more progressive than your usual "freak show" yet they decided to cut that out[[/note]]. P.T. Barnum being the protagonist of the movie, even if he isn't always shown in the right, doesn't exactly help. It also doesn't help that [[WordOfGod the filmmakers themselves]] have said that the movie is framed as the type of hagiography P.T. Barnum would make to "make his life look more fantastical than it really was". See that opinion [[https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-greatest-showman-fails-disabled-audiences-by-masking-pt-barnums-monstrous-past here]].

** Carlyle letting go of Anne's hand when his parents look at them may have less to do with his bowing to societal pressure and more to do with the fact that they're living in a time period where anti-miscegenation laws were the norm and interracial relationships between white and black people were actually illegal in many places[[note]]Of note, neither New York nor Connecticut ever had any anti-miscegenation laws in place, but it was still not really considered socially acceptable[[/note]]. In the context of the film, it's the former, however.

* There are some who feel that Charity’s father deserved a more satisfying comeuppance, like his own daughter calling him for being an asshole to Barnum.

* DontShootTheMessage: While "This is Me" has caught on as a huge anthem for any and all marginalized groups, especially in an age where nationalism and bigotry are at an all-time high, this hasn't saved it from the criticism that it's still from a movie where the P.T. Barnum's exploitation of otherness is whitewashed into a BeYourself story.

* UncannyValley: To some, Tom Thumb/Charles Stratton can fall into this, considering that it's REALLY obvious the actor playing him is obviously walking on his knees and having his legs being replaced with CGI legs to make him look shorter. What also doesn't help is that the actor has a baby face yet he's been dubbed over with an [[VocalDissonance actor with a much deeper voice]], which comes off as more creepy than funny, even though the latter is probably what they were going for. It doesn't help that the [[SpecialEffectsFailure dubbing is rather obvious]], making it almost comparable to something out of an old Godzilla movie.

* SpecialEffectsFailure:

* HarsherInHindsight: Casting Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the generic [[ScaryBlackMan overprotective brother]] might count as this. Now that he's an [[HeReallyCanAct Emmy winner]], it does come off as a waste of his talent to not only not give him much to do but cast him in such a stereotypical role for a black man may come off as awkward and possibly [[FairForItsDay unintentionally racist]] to some now.
* HilariousInHindsight: Both ''Creator/{{Zendaya}}'' and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II won Emmys in 2020, which is funny considering they played brother and sister in this movie.

* HollywoodHomely: Aside from their one deformity (being a bearded lady, a dwarf, albinos, having a third leg, etc.), the circus troupe is mostly average looking to attractive, people who for the most part no one would really bat an eye at if it wasn't for their one physical trait. Some of them don't even have a physical trait that makes them "ugly", they just dress a bit weird (the tattooed guy, the bald black lady, the samurai all come to mind). The only possible exception is Charles, whose physical trait isn't something you could easily take away and he'd look much more attractive. But even then, one could make an argument even that he could be considered UglyCute.

** This also isn't the first musical biography of P.T. Barnum. That would be the 1980's ''Barnum'' with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, starring Creator/GlennClose and Jim Dale in the title role. And while it still portrays it's title character as a LovableRogue, it also doesn't skimp on the fact that he was, first and foremost, a shameless con artist who was OnlyInItForTheMoney. The biggest hit from the show was the EarWorm-y "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-9KiBRYps Join the Circus]]".

** This also isn't the first musical biography of P.T. Barnum. That would be the 1980's ''Barnum'' with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, starring ''Creator/GlennClose'' and Jim Dale in the title role. And while it still portrays it's title character as a LovableRogue, it also doesn't skimp on the fact that he was, first and foremost, a shameless con artist who was OnlyInItForTheMoney. The biggest hit from the show was the EarWorm-y "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-9KiBRYps Join the Circus]]".

** This also isn't the first musical biography of P.T. Barnum. That would be the 1980's ''Barnum'' with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, starring ''Creator/GlennClose'' and Jim Dale in the title role. And while it still portrays it's title character as a LovableRogue, it also doesn't skimp on the fact that he was, first and foremost, a shameless con artist who was OnlyInItForTheMoney. The biggest hit from the show was the SugarWiki/EarWorm-y "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-9KiBRYps Join the Circus]]".