Sunday, December 31, 2017

“Inspired” by the Grestest Showman

We all know that I love a good movie musical.  (And yet, I still haven’t seen La La Land.....)

And because I have that BA in History, I actually looked up P.T. Barnum.  And all I can say is wow.. the movie is very, very loosely based on the real person.  But then, how many musicals based on real people got everything accurate?


P.T. Barnum was a racist who built an empire on lying, cheating and exploiting people.  This is pretty clear by any account of his life.

I think my best guess is that this movie is more fan fiction than a biography.  The movie takes four or five plot points from the guy’s life and synthasizes them into a rather pleasant and coherent plot.

The movies changes this story of a man who built a fortune on the backs of the others into a story of a many that teams up with society’s rejects to built a family.  The soundtrack even has two songs that might become the anthem of the weird and different (This Is Me, and From Now On). This movie shows the “circus freaks” as people who possess talent that the circus uses to entertain (instead of  simply putting them on display).

At times, songs transcend the show that they are in to become anthems in their own right.  This song is simply amazing.  And I like it here... no sets or costumes...


(I've shared this all over the place.  The energy in that room was electric.)


In my opinion, the movie shines in the music and choreography category.  I think the choreography is the tightest and move amazing that I’ve seen in ages.

In this age of taking a movie and turning it into a musical, I don’t think this can happen in this case.  The movie is so reliant on CG fades and fake animals to tell it’s story that anything else would come off as weird.

In that way, it’s almost appropriate.  The movie musical about the master of deception had almost nothing to do with his life, involved a lot of computer graphics and slicks songs and choreography.

It also takes a story of oppression and turns it into an uplifting story about family.

And in sprite of everything, I loved it!

Sunday, December 24, 2017

There’s no place like home for the holidays

Christmas time is my FAVORITE time of the year.  It always has been, and it will always be.

But this year has been distinctly weird.

It all started at the beginning of December.  After a rather trying 2017 we decided to go to Disne World for my birthday.  Disney full of Christmas decorations and holiday parties.  (There’s a post coming about it.  I just need to write it up!)

When we got back I somehow got it stuck in my head that Christmas had already passed.

Fast forward to right now.  Work has been closed since Wednesday afternoon.  I’ve been on vacation for 5 days, and it’s just now Christmas Eve.  And we’re not traveling for the holiday this year.  This is our year to stay home.

We have a nice small tree with a few things under it.  After Disney World we decided that Disney was our presents to each other.  It’s not that presents make the holiday, but our tree does look a bit bare.  At least the pets have some things in their stockings!  I can’t wait for Misty to see her toys!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  Then comes Christmas Day, and a day of cleaning and getting ready for the next day.  My mom flies in on the 26th.  For me, that has been the beginning of the Christmas season.  Ironically, it starts the day after.

There were tears yesterday.  And after a bit of teenage hooligan mischief, I don’t want to leave the house.

Hopefully a trip to Christmas Town after the holiday will kick these blues.

Merry Christmas Everyone!