The Steves discuss the surprise 2017 blockbuster, The Greatest Showman, along with what's making them happy and their Binge & Purge Recommendations
Tune in next week for a trip across the pond to Downton Abbey!
Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.
The Steves discuss the surprise 2017 blockbuster, The Greatest Showman, along with what's making them happy and their Binge & Purge Recommendations
Tune in next week for a trip across the pond to Downton Abbey!
Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.
hello or returning happies and new listeners. This is Steve Bennet- Martin,
Stephen:and this is Stephen Martin Bennet. And welcome to a lifetime of happiness. The podcast where we take you on our journey through some of the movies, television shows, and other bits of pop culture that are helping keep us happy. We'll hopefully bring a smile to your face along the way. And today we're going to be joining the circus and discussing the greatest showman.
Steve:Yes, but first my love what's been making you
Stephen:happy. So as our listeners know, we went on a full-on mini break vacation last week to new Orleans for our fifth wedding anniversary and had the best time ever I had the best time ever. And as we were driving away, I like from Sarasota. I kept saying, you can already feel it. You can feel the stress just. Going away. It just melts off of you in that first night, we were there and we were sitting outside at dinner. We just felt more relaxed and we felt more at ease. And it was another proof that this pandemic just builds things up on you. And it builds and builds and it builds, but this vacation and getting away, it melted a year's worth of stress off. And I was able to go back to work refreshed. Better prepared to do my job and existing on a day-to-day basis as a better version of myself. So if you can get the vaccine and you get the vaccine and you feel it's safe and you can get away for a few days, I recommend doing it because it is honestly life-changing yes.
Steve:And similarly, coming back to work from vacation, I also had the exciting opportunity to be in my actual community, because those of you who either know me personally, or I've been following along, I work in a senior living community that is in the process of being finished up and almost ready to open. And so we took the big step of moving into the building and I was able to come back from vacation and be in the new building and start showing depositors there too. Apartments. And it was, it was an excellent happy week. That was well worth well, not well worth the wait, cause I wish it was a month ago, but it was, it was, it was enjoyable and really gratifying. And it seems like your work we've been
Stephen:doing. Yeah. It seems like your residents are excited to get to see their apartments
Steve:too. Yes. Except the one or two who thought that they could, like, because we were a new build, they can customize it. Like it was like a HG TV project. Nope.
Stephen:So I would really like, if you could just take out this slider and put in French doors. No, I'm not kidding. I know we get the same thing.
Steve:Exactly. So, yes. But being in that building is making me very happy. That's fantastic. And something that made us happy last night when, before we were recording, was the toll the movie. Yes. So that goes into our binge and parts section. Yeah.
Stephen:So we have two binges again this week and. Well, you know, we love horror movies and sometimes it is hard to find good horror, horror movies when you're streaming. Like, I love a good B horror flick that knows exactly what it is, but some movies are made with a sincerity and they screw up and they don't stick the landing.
Steve:And some also you can tell, like saw a movie that they really were inspired by. That helps inform a lot of what they made in their new movie. Not that it's the same, but it's very similar. And this movie we found on the iTunes using our Apple TV, but I'm sure it is available on demand and other paid sources because it is a brand new release. So it was about$6
Stephen:and it showed at the South by Southwest film festival and won an award there. And it did not start anybody that I was familiar with, but they were both. Quite good in their roles. The writing was good. The pacing was good. The atmosphere and the music really set things up. And there was a point in it where it was getting stressful. And I said, Oh my gosh, look at my legs. And honest to goodness the hair on my legs standing
Steve:up. Exactly. I mean, the whole premise of the movie is that like 3:00 AM in the morning, almost a girl gets in with, to an Uber driver to take her to her dad's house because her dad's sick. And then like along the way they find themselves on this path and the car breaks down and they start suspecting each other and things go insane from there. Yeah. And so if that, if that plot or that set up sounds interesting to you, like definitely check it out. And if
Stephen:you ever see that someone says. Please pay the toll,
Steve:just murder the person next to you. Run. Okay. Sorry, run.
Stephen:And, but in game wise this week from Capcom is Monter monster for
Steve:Hunter rise. Yes. Mantra Hunter rise is not out yet, but a monster Hunter rise is a thing and it is out and we both got it for the Nintendo switch, which is right now the only system you could play it on PC gamers will have to wait another year and everybody
Stephen:else just
Steve:will not get it, but you should have a switch anyway.
Stephen:Yes. And this is my first monster
Steve:Hunter game. Yes. Now I fell in love with monster Hunter world. I was one of the many millions of monster Hunter players that like, kind of like hopped on board at that point, because beforehand it was considered very niche, mostly popular in Japan and mostly popular in Japan, on the PSP consoles. So that just shows most of us even gamers here, what's the PSP, or it takes you a moment to remember that at one point in PlayStation broken to the portal bull market, more successfully in Japan than they did here.
Stephen:I've been hearing about the monster Hunter games for several years because of the Nintendo enthusiast. It's a website and forum that I frequent and the guys on the forum love the monster Hunter games and they will. Coordinate and go out hunting big game together and they always talked about it and really enjoyed it. I was gonna
Steve:say it is one of those games where if you love it, you love it. Yes. Like it's like, you either love it or you play it. You're like, it's not for me now, when you love it, you get become obsessed and sync hours and hours and days into
Stephen:it. And now I'm like, I wonder if the guys on TNE are going to be hunting, I need to post on there and be like, Hey. We're hunting now too for the first time.
Steve:Exactly. So we are just starting into the game. We were both at the two star rank right now in the main town stories, but we will be climbing the ranks together very soon. So if you're interested in hunting with us as well, email us@happylifepodatgmail.com with your Nintendo switch friend code, and we will be sure to add.
Stephen:Yep, absolutely. Because the hunting is more fun whenever you go out and larger
Steve:groups. Yes. What's the line it's, it's dangerous to go
Stephen:alone here. Take this. Yeah, exactly.
Steve:Yes. And speaking of an intended end Zelda, we also have our fan of the week. It's Harrison Ponce off on Apple podcasts is his username or their username, and they left us a five-star review. What did it say?
Stephen:My love? I said, I found this podcast from a Facebook group. When I saw there was an episode about Zelda breath of the wild I had to immediately. Immediately click I'm part of the LGBTQ plus community and was super excited to hear about gaming from the perspective of members of the community. Thank you for being positive and spreading happiness.
Steve:So that was just so lovely to hear. We love hearing from our fans. And so you should certainly leave us a review if you haven't already, and you could be our next fan that we can get the shout out as well. Absolutely. Yes. So thank you. If your real name is Harrison. Thanks Harrison. If it's just, you're using them. Harrison ponds. Thank you, Harrison ponds. Yep.
Stephen:And for Harrison and everybody else, we will be doing more game centric episodes as well.
Steve:Future we, the Mario, when we did recently was horrible. Oh really? Oh no. I have to find that button.
Stephen:So I'll just say it myself. It's me, Mario.
Steve:Okay. Yes. All right. Awesome. Still no it's still happens, but yes, getting into the topic for this week, it's the greatest
Stephen:showman. And so why did we pick this
Steve:movie? Because I was thinking about our anniversary and we were making playlists for the road and I stumbled upon the soundtrack and I realized that this is a movie that I can listen to and watch again and again and again and again. And so it needs to be covered and especially around the month of our anniversary, because really I am Hugh Jackman and you are my Michelle Bello. Yes. And
Stephen:I am okay with
Steve:that. Yes, certainly. So with this movie, I am DB. I found the description very interesting cause the, the description in full says it's celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who Rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. Period. End of sentence. That was the end of the description.
Stephen:I mean, they're not going to even say it's PT, Barnum that like for years, like children in the eighties and nineties knew that name because no Barnum and Bailey
Steve:circus. Exactly. And so I just love that. They're like, it's, you know, circus, but we're not going to tell you and they didn't even say circus. Yeah. So like, how do you know you weren't watching burlesque from that description? So I am DB. You could do a little bit better. Yes, exactly. So how would you summarize the movie?
Stephen:So me personally cause then we'll go into like what the actual description is. But for me it talks about this child, PT Barnum, who grew up with nothing, but always dreamed of what could be. And he had. A love of his life from the time he was a child and his two main goals in his life were to be with her and create a family and to take all the things from his imagination and make them real. And the film deals with kind of like an Icarus type of thing of, you know, you can fly too close to the sun and your wings are going to melt and you have to make sure that you stay focused on the things that were important to you and not lose sight of that while you're going after your quote unquote dreams and things that you think you need to make you fulfilled.
Steve:Yes. And when talking about the Icarus trope, I mean, that's something that I, I kind of knew what it was based off of kid Icarus and the idea of that, but can you tell our listeners a little bit more about that? The tale of
Stephen:Icarus it's based in Greek mythology where this. Inventor in Greek mythology made a set of wings for his son, and they were made out of a wax like material and it gave us on the chance to fly. And he always kept saying, don't fly too high. Don't fly too close to the sun. Obviously there are wings are made of wax. They will melt and all without Greek mythology, it's a lesson and a story that you're supposed to take things from. And this one is don't fly too high. Don't go too much without staying grounded to reality. And what's important. And Icarus flew too high. The wings melted and he crashed to the earth.
Steve:Yes. Well, yes. That is a good story. And I'm very surprised that you were able to do that so willingly, because we did not research. That was not part of our outline. I just put you on the spot and you landed that. Yes. And that, that does, that is certainly a trope that you see through this movie and summarizes it very well, as well as it gets into lots of circusy fun stuff along the way. So the greatest showman is a 2017 American musical drama film. It was directed by Michael. The greatest showman was directed by Michael Gracey and was a 2017 American musical drama film. It was written by Jenny Bicks and bill Condon. And who did it star my love since you're so great with your actors and actresses.
Stephen:Well, obviously it stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson Keala settle. And Zendaya featuring nine original songs from binge Pasek and Justin Paul, the film was inspired by the story of PT Barnum's creation of Barnum's American museum and the lives of its star attractions. Yes.
Steve:And it ended up being a huge success, which was interesting because it was one of those movies that when it came out the first like week or two, it kind of came out with a whimper. And then just like, you know, a lot of the circus performers in the, you know, the other kind of thing that goes through about being true to yourself and being loud for being different, you know, it got praised for what made it. So, you know, with the things that the critics were complaining about, you
Stephen:remember, you didn't want to see it.
Steve:Well, because all the reviews were like, you know, the, the, the reviews were awful. Yeah. What were some of the negative critiques? I can't even remember at this point, because I think part like people, some people were hating on it because of circus stuff, because, but I don't think the tail was about the circuits about his life and his
Stephen:life and the people that were there with him. Like, I don't remember the negative critiques either. I do remember that original Lenny, the critics were saying negative things, but word of mouth is what was spreading. And people were saying, this is what your soul needs. Like go to an end. There were two viral videos. On YouTube. And one of them was Keela singing. This is me and it was in the rehearsal. I remember that. And then the other one was Hugh Jackman. Post-surgery from a cancer singing from now on. And both of them captured the raw emotional intensity of the show and seeing both of those, I was sold and I came home and I showed him, I was gonna say, I am,
Steve:once I saw them, I was down for it. I said like, count me in. Cause those videos had like chills before I even knew the context of the song.
Stephen:Yeah. And we took mom and dad to see it and they loved
Steve:it. Yes. And that, that was one that we love so much that we saw it, I think with just the two of us first, when we took them back. Because you know, when you're willing to, to go to twice, but that money yeah. Twice, that means, you know, that, that movie is
Stephen:good. Yeah. Yeah. And what I love is Hugh Jackman. He is. A very versatile actor because a lot of people know him as Wolverine, but what's amazing is whenever they found him for Wolverine, he was on London's West end, starring in Oklahoma, the musical.
Steve:Yeah, I was gonna say. And he also did Les
Stephen:MIS generally, Ms. And it's been great that he's been able to blend his love of musical theater and being a bad-ass action star. And he's been able to do both. I mean,
Steve:can we have the stereotype that you can be this like big burly, like quote unquote straight dude, but still be singing and dancing awesomely.
Stephen:And I also love his relationship with his wife because like on social media and things, it's one of those He just loves her so much and it's so pure. And so honest.
Steve:I also love his relationship with Ryan Reynolds. Yes. He and Ryan and Reynolds best romance Hollywood. It's fantastic. But the movie itself ended up ultimately becoming a huge success. It was a budget of$84 million and had the box office of$435 million. And not only that, it won a bunch of
Stephen:awards, Academy awards billboard, golden gloves, Grammys, even kids and teen choice awards for both the movie and the soundtrack. It's one of those soundtracks that it's so good that they took it and they did the greatest showman re-imagined and took pop stars and allowed them to cover the second,
Steve:like big pop stars, pain and panic at the disco, like, like they were, cause they were like fighting to sing these songs. Like it wasn't like they were reaching out to celebrities. It's probably celebrities being like, please, I want to cover this place. Exactly. So getting into the movie itself and just some of the highlights of it that made us happy and kind of tells this great story. It does actually start off with him as a child singing the song a million dreams. Yes. And the whole idea, as you can tell by the title of the song, it is very much like we talked about with Ariel, from the Disney, it was his, I want song. And he was saying how you, once you know, all of his things and you see them, you know him with his childhood sweetheart, a charity exploring this, you know, abandoned, but beautiful mansion. And as you seeing it, he's singing about all the things that he could see that it could be. And I just, you know, I think all of us have these, you know, dreams that even it goes into the, his transition of him growing up and their relationship building through distance in him going through poverty. But you know, it ends up ultimately with them together with this little bit of the song. Yes. The world could be efficient. The one 900 million dreams is all at dreams for the world. However, let me be Yes. And so before we get into sharing our dreams with each other, what were your dreams when you, when you were a little about what you wanted to be, when you grew up, I wanted to be an actor.
Stephen:I wanted to be an actor so
Steve:much, and specifically it was a soap. I wanted to be a
Stephen:soap star, 100%. I wanted to be a soap star. I wanted to win a daytime. Emmy. I wanted to go on to the talk shows and talk about the things I wanted to be. One of the Panelists on Hollywood squares. Like you get famous enough, then you can get to be on the Hollywood squares. And I just, I wanted to be an actor and be in Hollywood. And then another part of me from watching soaps and LA law and a lot of other things, I was like, Oh, I could be a lawyer. And I was like, so I either want to be an actor or a lawyer. And dad was like, why don't you just be a lawyer? And you can do both.
Steve:Yeah, of course.
Stephen:What about you,
Steve:darling? I remember for the longest part of my childhood and even young adolescents, I wanted to be a teacher. I came from like a family of teachers where my mom was a teacher's aid. My uncle was a bio teacher. So teaching was always around in the family and I had a gift for it, even when I was younger, you know, tutoring other friends and then teaching swimming lessons. So I was committed. I was going to be a teacher, but I also just dreamed of having the most basic bitch, simple life other than my teaching. Like I just dreamed of just like going to class and having like a normal day of boring lectures to then go home and grade papers to then like watch TV with my husband and 2.5 kids and one dog, and then like have nothing exciting ever happened to me for whatever reason. I just, when I was younger, I want it to be so boring when I grew up
Stephen:and mine was like, You were like the opposite. And I w I was already working on all of my acceptance speeches
Steve:that, that did change for us together, because I mean, by the time that we met each other, I certainly wasn't looking to pursue education anymore.
Stephen:No. And I was only acting when the right role came along.
Steve:Yes. But in terms of, they ended up running off together and charities, father did not approve of it. He, he, at one point even said, she's like, she she'll be okay. I'll be back. She'll be back. Yes.
Stephen:You will be the hook like
Steve:before. Yes. It was another road trip playlist for us. But with that, I forget. Did you ask my parents for their hand? My, your hand in my marriage, or however that works.
Stephen:I did ask your parents for your hand in marriage. I went over I'd already purchased the ring. And that I had told you I had stayed I had to stay late at work and work on the commercial we were filming. And what I had done is I had gotten out of work early and picked up my friend, Dennis, and then we met. Our friend Jessica up in Tampa and we went and shopped for rings up there and found the one I wanted immediately and see what we were back. So I was only like half an hour late getting home. And so
Steve:you had just recently gotten me a video game as a gift while you were planning the engagement. I forget which one it was. I want to say it was Witcher three. It could have been, but it was because you saw like parts of that game, but there were other big parts of that game. I'm sure when you were playing, you were like, I wasn't around when he was playing. So I think that that was one of those, like when you bite, you bait me with a gift and you know that I'm going to be looking the other way. And normally if you were half an hour later from work, I'd be like, are you okay? What happened? But I was like, I was in my own little video game world. So you could get away with your, your tomfoolery planning are engaged. Yup. And then
Stephen:I told your parents, I said, can I come over and talk to you guys? And so I left work. Then my mom
Steve:asked you what's wrong. Yes. I was gonna say that that's a her reaction when I sometimes even called to say hi, and I'm like, Hey mom. And she's like, what's wrong. So I can only imagine I need to talk to you in person. She would have been like, Oh my God, is he dead?
Stephen:And your dad had gotten home from work. And so I went over and I asked and they of course said, yes. And. Then that led to the surprise engagement on the beach at sunset. Yes.
Steve:And that was a wonderful engagement. It was very us because you plan this beautiful pathway for me to walk down past our loved ones and a trail of, of
Stephen:global six that were blue and purple and it was going to be this whole path. And everyone was going to be off to the
Steve:right, excited and lost and jumped in and found myself right behind him and scared the living shit out of him. The moment I tapped him on the soldiers. And so that is very us though. It's very odd. Yes. But I'm going into the marriage. They sh they show really early on. Like they kind of do a time jump to when they have two children, but even with that, the, the life that he had dreamed of for them when they were younger was not exactly what he had hoped for. Do I know anything about having, you know, jobs that didn't work out the way that I had. Hmm. Hmm. So I'm sure we'll touch back on that later when we can talk about it in a happier sentence, because there will be that opportunity. But yes, I mean, it is common for couples to go through peaks and valleys with careers, but throughout it all, you have been my rock the entire time, because you've been able to, you know, you've been at Lake house West forever. I said, I've going anywhere ever. Nope.
Stephen:I mean, since I moved to Florida, I've been very steady with jobs, but coming out of college, I went a couple of different routes. Like I worked at a hair salon or I managed a restaurant and was a bartender. I did nightclub promotion. So all these things that I thought would bring me happiness and bring me joy. Now I loved working at the restaurant because of the people I worked with, not the customers.
Steve:Yes. I can understand that because
Stephen:that was working in the service industry. I was like, you know what. Anybody that's going out to find dining should be required to do one full shift
Steve:in a restaurant just to know what it's like to be on the
Stephen:other side. Yep. I bet you, they will not act the way they do anymore,
Steve:but I couldn't make it through a shift. When I was working at the Y at one point I wanted to like scramble for a little bit of extra money, just in case going into like high school and being part of every extracurricular club and being, you know, the shift supervisor at the pool. Wasn't enough. I tried like one shift at a restaurant as a bus boy, and I left halfway through crying and I was like, I can't take it.
Stephen:But like you were saying you know, I've been. Steady there for you. So I didn't
Steve:want to go on all these little different adventures, just like PT. Yeah. And
Stephen:we're a charity says you know, just share your dreams with me and I'll be right there. And I was like, that's kind of how I feel in
Steve:the whole thing. Yes. And they certainly have been adventurous in themselves and helped me grow into the person that I am now because I was a lot more sine withdrawn when we first met. That was true. Like
Stephen:I was the outgoing one and you're like, I don't want to talk to anybody.
Steve:Exactly. But I think that all of these difficulties have also been kind of like they say in the movie, it's what makes our life together so exciting. Yes. But one of his leaps of faith that ended up ultimately working out and that was starting off though with something that gave a little bit of a head and that was the museum of oddities.
Stephen:It was a real museum with just a lot of wax things and stuffed things. And it like, he saw what it could be, what it could be, but what it was. Wasn't great. And I think that happens a lot in real life where somebody's designing something or they're building something and they see what it can be, but everybody else sees what it currently is and they don't see the vision.
Steve:Yeah. And I mean, I can certainly understand. Cause I mean, he ended up like adapting through the advice of his family you know, to find something alive because the museum was filled with things that were right. Yeah. I mean,
Stephen:his daughter was clear on that. Daddy there's too many dead things.
Steve:Yeah. And so he wanted to find something that was alive and, you know, alive. Oddity people. He, you know, flash back to a time when he was young and someone, you know, who was disfigured, you know, was kind to him and started kindness. And while he was going to get alone, that he was rejected from, or whatever you saw at one point a little person. So he went to that little person that started his search for the unique, but I could relate to it because this podcast, isn't what it was on episode one.
Stephen:You mean we're still not talking about aging and children and, and
Steve:we're not yet, we're not talking about children and young adults and seniors and happiness and wellbeing and mental health, all in one, all, all on one episode. Yes it took me a while to get to, you know, ultimately my main goal when I started this podcast was to, you know, be searching for a lifetime of happiness. And it took me a while to figure out that, talking about this with you is
Stephen:what that was was, and what's nice is that we've seen even recently My friend Ronnie's sister Elizabeth messaged me on Facebook and she was like so I'm late to the game. I just found your podcast. It made me so happy. And it was like,
Steve:look what we're doing. And our terror reading in new Orleans also said that, like, we didn't tell her that we podcast and we didn't tell her what it was about. Yes. We're not delusional enough to think that she knew, huh?
Stephen:No. Oh gosh, no. But we said that we had a family business.
Steve:Yes. And she was like, whatever, like she like was able to like figure out that it was something entertainment and that whatever it does, it makes people happy. And
Stephen:that was pretty interesting. She goes in, keep doing what you're doing because it's working and it is bringing happiness
Steve:to people. But then in the past we struggled with the format a little bit. And so it was, the Tara was awesome. I love it. And so we eventually did get it right. And one might say we came alive. And the world comes up fantasy and you're more than you could ever be. You're drawing dream and with your eyes wide open, and you know, you can't go back again to the world. You wouldn't money with your eyes wide open. So come alive. Yes. And now this clip in the song in the movie is that the time when, you know, he finally has this crew together and they're getting ready for, you know, one of their first shows and you know, or at least one of their big successful shows. And, but what is the song, you know, come alive? How does that speak to you? Cause I, you know, I've wrote out what it means to me and you pretty much hit the same exact thing. So what,
Stephen:whenever I saw it on screen, but even more, whenever you listen to it back, it sounds a lot more like the LGBT. Plus community, or, you know, people of color that, you know, your finding your found family and that you are embracing, you know, that you're different and just existing and
Steve:yeah, because I mean, it's, it's this whole group of people, you know, easily by that point, there was at least 24. Like there was like at least two dozen performers and all of them individually been living their entire lives, thinking that they were so different, that they were the only one likes themselves. And now all of a sudden they're all together and you love it when people are all together and they're all wearing their differences and unified. And so, you know, that's similar to what you know, for us when we, when you find your community you know, it spoke to me when he's like, you know, when he told Healey you know, they don't know yet, but they're gonna love you. Trust me. And
Stephen:I love that. And especially whenever. She walked out. And, and also the bigger guy though, 700 pound guy, whenever he went out there and he was a little scared at first. And then he saw this child looking at him and all of a sudden he felt powerful and brave and he puffed out his chest and smiled. And it's those things where these people have lived an entire life to have been told that you're different, that you're wrong, that you're bad. And suddenly someone is showing you that you're worthwhile that you belong. And then you start seeing other people who you normally wouldn't. Get that positive experience from also saying that that builds you up so
Steve:much. Yeah. Yes. And I mean, finding your community is something that I, you know, I struggle with for a while, where, to the point where, when I was in high school, you know, even though I was gay, I'd make fun of like the lesbians and like, I wasn't, as I wasn't like, you know, as woke as the kids call it nowadays, is that what they call it or not anymore? Not anymore.
Stephen:I'm an old man. The right-wingers have now turned, woke into a
Steve:bad word. Oh, well then I don't want to use that. But have you always been so embracing of everyone who's different or is that something that like you learned as you went through with experiences? So
Stephen:it has been a progression to where I am now, but even from when I was younger, I was not one though. We had a more privileged childhood than some I was not one that. Somebody not having money or having advantages. And I couldn't be friends with them. And I saw growing up in West Virginia the disparities and you know, how certain people were looked down upon and I never drew those lines. And then, like I had a friend that I brought home from college who was mixed race. And unfortunately being in my small town got a lot of looks and it was those things where I was like, these people need to open up their eyes and realize that there's a world outside of them and their experiences. You're not responsible for your upbringing, but I do believe you're responsible for growing beyond that
Steve:upbringing. Exactly. Cause that's exactly what I had to do is grow beyond it because I look back to my behaviors, actions, jokes that I thought were funny back then. And I was just like, and, and it was the way that I was raised where like, you know, if, if you know, still to this day, you know, we hang out with my family and we cringe at my dad's jokes. It's just really not okay now. But you know, I grew up thinking that that's what humor was. And so I'm like, I was a racist little kid and I, you know, I, it's sad and it's unfortunate, but I have grown past that an hour. I'm so far beyond that in our well, and that's
Stephen:not just you and I growing up in the Hills of West Virginia. Yeah. Like I grew up with a lot of, there were people that in my town that you would call racist you 100%. My cousin, Maria is black and she was adopted. And like, I even saw that she was too black for the white kids and she was too white for the black kids. And so that's a struggle. And so she had that a lot and she's fantastic. And I hope you get to meet her at some point, because I think she would really, really like her. But I do think that. Becoming who you are, is a constant progression and you have to be willing to look and learn and grow.
Steve:Yes. And with growing, you know, while the biggest villain in this movie was PT to himself. Absolutely. He did have a friendly antagonist in the character of James Gordon Bennett, who was the repeater quarter. And he spelled his last name the right way,
Stephen:did spell his last name the right way. And he was the theater critic. Yeah. And one of my favorite lines in the movie was Oh, it's unfortunate that you're a theater critic who doesn't find joy in theater. Yes. And that is something that unfortunately can happen. I see it on social media, a lot with the gay community who. Professors to love musicals and Broadway, but the moment any of those go on to like Greece live or any of those, and they spend time live messaging about it and tearing it apart. And I'm like, you didn't take the time to enjoy it.
Steve:You're not going to get anyone else to like musicals or make this more successful or happen more often. If you're just going to be saying, I hate the thing I asked or like,
Stephen:and there, and none of not right now, Greece live was almost perfect. That was really good. But there are some that could have used a little extra work, but something that I've found in life in general, it works better for your heart and your soul. Look for the things that you enjoyed in it. Exactly. Not the things that. You can nitpick. Exactly.
Steve:And I mean, pro of a rent live is the number of roast jokes that Valentina is expensive that we got to have recently on Ru Paul. So, you know, that in itself was worth watching rent live to understand how bad she was for those jokes.
Stephen:Now, some of them, I will admit some of her performance was good and there were a lot of the performances in that that
Steve:were great. But you know that she went home thinking she was perfect. Yes. But yes. Did you have anyone like James Gordon Bennett for you, like in your career or in your life trying to help push you or make you better?
Stephen:So one of my bosses at peanuts his name was Jim Gleason and it wasn't a friendly antagonist, but it was more of a mentor wanting more from me and pushing me to be better and not be complacent. Yeah. And to be willing to grow and take on more responsibilities. And I really appreciated that from him. And I actually messaged him a couple of years ago and said I wouldn't be where I am today. If I hadn't had you helping me take advantage of the things that were there
Steve:in front of me. And I mean, I understand cause I had a similar and you got to experience that kind of through. But when I was working at a Windsor, similarly for the PT at the beginning, when he, you know, at first he would have seen James Gordon Bennett, just not as a friendly antagonist as a full on antagonist. When I started working at Windsor reflections, I thought my regional Diana was just a pure old villain. Like at that point pretty much. Yeah. Because everyone else around me was always telling me how awesome I was at everything I did, because I'm good at my job. And I work hard. And I guess that, that makes us personally and minority in some places. But you know, was doing the business office manager job in a community. And I just picked up, you know, all of the stuff really quickly. So everyone else was very complimentary at all times. And they, everyone just assumed like, Oh, he'll just train himself all the way up to the top. But she just was like, No, you could do better. And it wasn't that late, you know? And she was like, that's not good. And I was like, everyone else says, it's good. The way that I do it. And she's like, yes, but like, you could be better. And it took me a while to understand that that's what she was doing. Cause at first I was like, no, someone's not complimenting me and telling me I'm perfect all the time, but you know, I could do better. I just didn't know at the time, because I was being told I was good enough and that was good enough for me. And now I know, you know, whatever job I go to that even, you know, when I get to that point where I'm comfortable and I feel that I'm killing it at my job every day, without really having to put too much effort into it, that's when I needed to like find something more, to work harder. And that's what she taught me. So she was my, I guess James Gordon Bennett. Absolutely. Yes, but eventually through all of that working at Windsor, I did come out the other side, see what I did there as a transition to this, Get a wave on the paci. Cause I got what she needs to come with me and take the ride. It'll take you to the side cause you can, you knew, Oh, you can do like me stay in the cage or you find on the King don't take it too.
Stephen:So the other side was when PT, Barnum decided this is whenever he was getting into his Icarus state and he was trying to grow beyond where he was because he was not being taken seriously by the wealthy and the elite. And he felt that he needed to gravel on to someone that was part of that life. That could give him more respectability. And he wasn't content with where he was, which is great and about growing. But I don't think at this point he was growing for the right. Yes.
Steve:And so he finds Phillip Carlisle played by Zac Efron. And you know, that the movie is good enough. If you were able to get Zach Efron to go back to singing and dancing. Cause you know, he tries to hide that shit.
Stephen:Yeah. And one, this is also one of the best choreographed. Oh, just watching this clip in the bar. With even the bartender moving along, they're doing their dancing. He's moving the shots around. It's fine. Yeah. It is
Steve:perfectly choreographed that, you know, that alone. If you haven't watched the movie, you need to watch the movie for at least find that clip because it is. Phenomenal, but it's also that song is a song that I related to because, you know, it's him trying to convince Phillip Carlisle to take this new, exciting job, and it's a big risk, but it has this big reward as well. And I mean, have I know turning my whole search for a job in the past thing before I've kind of had this also positive experience a couple of times, haven't I as well. You absolutely have. Yes. And so you know, that's, it's always exciting whenever you start the new opportunity and in this case, it worked out really well as it's working out really well for me at hardest. Exactly. Yes. Now with that and the kind of oomph to get to the next level, they find themselves with an invite for the entire group of performance to go smoke the queen.
Stephen:Yes. The queen of England, England. Yes. They are going to meet the queen of England and It's a big deal because originally it was the invitation was just for Carlisle and Barnum. And he was like, no, if my people aren't going, we're not going. And so they all get to go. And I mean, this is a huge deal. Like if any of us got to meet the queen of England, that would be a very, very big deal. But for these people who grew up being outcast, outsiders, forgotten downtrodden, like this is legendary and you know, it can be a big deal. Just meeting any famous person, like who's the most famous person you've ever met. You might've
Steve:heard this once or twice really, but I met Reba McEntire at a meet and greet after her concert once in college. And she was wonderful. And just as fabulous as you would hope and really, really little and pocket-sized, I could have picked her up and put her in my pocket, take her home if I wanted to. But I think the security guards would have stopped me, but she was lovely. And I know how much you love her, even though I haven't always been like the biggest fan of her music. It was just so great of an experience getting to meet her. Now, who is your queen that you met her? Like, that would be
Stephen:absolutely Paula Juul. And I got to meet her in person here in Sarasota and I got a hug and she signed my album cover and took a picture with me and talked to me. And it was fantastic.
Steve:Yes. I can imagine that you came home that night. Just floating on clouds.
Stephen:Oh my goodness. It was. Just to be in the same room with her was a thing. Like my insides were shaking. And then when I got to go up there and talk to her and she put her arm around me, I thought I was going to paint it. Pass out.
Steve:Yes. Now something to bring you a little bit down to earth, even though this podcast is all about happiness, we do have to acknowledge Jenny Lind,
Stephen:any land who I need to take a moment and talk about the actress who plays her Rebecca Ferguson, which I did not put these together at first. Rebecca Ferguson is also in Dr. Sleep, the sequel to the sequel
Steve:to the shining brilliance. There. Love her
Stephen:there. Yes. And she is phenomenal in Dr. Sleep and like that her performance in that is the highlight of the movie for me. She. Just there was something about her performance and her delivery and her facial expressions. She's so, so good. And, but in this, it she's a great performance, but she is also a villainous
Steve:character. Yes. I was going to say, and she performed so well that you
Stephen:hated her. And, but, and what's interesting is that people hear the song never enough, which we also need to acknowledge that though Rebecca Ferguson can sing well, she is not the voice that sings never enough in the movie. It is who it is. Lauren, all red and the producers were like, No Rebecca Ferguson is who's going to embody Jenny Lind, but we need this freak of nature voice for this song. And Lauren, all red was great with being the voice. Rebecca Ferguson was great being the face and it all worked out Lauren over. It deserves a lot of credit. Her voice in never enough is beautiful, but the song itself. Yeah. When you listen to the words, if you actually listened to the words you realize that she's telling you she's the
Steve:villain and then nothing she gets will ever be enough. Yes. Have you ever had that experience in your life where someone's like, Hey, I'm a villain and you were like, it's all right. I'll fix you.
Stephen:Well, no, absolutely. I mean, we've all dated that person too. And it's Well, it's also kind of like if somebody tells you, Oh, once you get to know them, you'll like them at, which is actually saying they're an awful person, but you get used to it.
Steve:Yes. Yes. That is
Stephen:true. And I mean, I'm sure you
Steve:have. Yeah. I mean, I have my share of people that you know, that I never even thought of it that way with the code, but yeah. Th when people, or when people are like, I, it's hard for me to find friends. I don't know why, like I wonder why.
Stephen:Right. And it's probably because you forget
Steve:people like the bad roommate, if you keep on having bad roommates, you're the bad roommate. Yeah. If you keep on having all these bad friends, you're the bad friend. Yup. Yes, but ultimately, while she ends up causing like, you know, the big train wreck with staging the kiss to, to bring him down, it ultimately was his also just not being great to his people at the party. No, because
Stephen:he was reaching again and he, yeah. He's forgetting about the people that got him. To where he was. And I think we're all guilty of that sometimes of forgetting the people that have always been there for us. Yeah. And whenever you know that, you know, you could be in a community and you're like, Oh, this person is the, a level in that community. And if I could get into their orbit yeah. Things would be better or more exciting or whatever. And you can sometimes forget that the people that have always been in your orbit and been there for you while you're trying to social
Steve:climb. Yes. But you know, as well, and I'm sure we'll get into it. Cause he just keeps flying closer and closer and closer to that sign and his, his wings haven't melted yet. But it does give us the chance to have this beautiful performance that helps win them all the awards. Yes. This is me. yes. I mean, with this, I would say, I mean, this is right up there with, you know, born this way, in terms of being an iconic O role for, you know, song for the LGBTQ plus community, the gay
Stephen:community immediately latched on to the song. Drag Queens had it memorized within two hours and. It's it's just a really good song. It makes you feel good when you're listening to it in the movie. Their performance is fantastic, especially whenever they're going through the crowd of protesters and just
Steve:that like, you know, power behind it and that
Stephen:confidence. Yeah. It's so, so
Steve:God. Yes. And meanwhile, one of the other background stories that go on throughout this is Phil and Anne also known as Zendaya and their relationship you know, that we hear and that we see progress through the movie. Now with felon and what did you think
Stephen:their relationship was really interesting. Because it deals a lot with racism because she is mixed race in the movie. And the, his parents, he comes from wealth and prestige and he, I mean, just to even join the circus was giving up a lot and then to be seen in public and to be seen romancing her gets him scorn from regular people, like during Jenny Lynn's performance or from his parents, whenever he's going to take her to the theater. And and at first he Is not brave enough to push back because of the genuine performance he's holding her hand. People look back, see him holding her hand and he lets go. And then when they're at the theater and his parents are saying, you know, what are you doing? He decides to defender, but it's too late to hear. He didn't defend her immediately. He only defended her after she ran off. And so exactly. And like he did do the right thing, but it was the potential of him losing her that finally made him realize I need to stand up, be loud and be proud about who I care about and that I don't care about society's rules anymore. It would have been nice if it had come sooner, but then also it wouldn't have been as an entertaining of a story for
Steve:the two of them. Yes. And I mean, for the time, it, I mean, this was something that, you know, it was really hard, but I also want to just remind listeners right now, who are privileged enough to be in a relationship with someone, the same color of their skin, but mixed relationships still this day get mixed, you know, looks gay couples still get, looks, lesbians, still get looks. You know, if you are not the traditional couple that people expect of a man and a woman walking down the street, holding hands, if you know, who are both of the same skin color, people will look at you bad. And
Stephen:it can be even small things like we were out to dinner and the waiter said is this one check or two? And we were
Steve:out to dinner with our dog holding hands, like at the table. And we were
Stephen:asking if it was one check or two, and I have to think if it had been a straight couple a man and a woman together, would they have been asked. If it was one check or two, or would it have just been assumed? Yeah.
Steve:And like many. And I, I, I learned as I, you you've taught me that those are called microaggressions and a lot of those are not even conscious. Most of them are not conscious that the person who did it had no idea that they were doing it because it's just part of just how they've been raised themselves.
Stephen:And I didn't feel that it was a antagonistic thing on his part. Exactly. I just was a little, it just made me think
Steve:it caught you off guard. It caught me off guard. And so just, you know, as you're watching it, don't think that like, Oh, that's so sad that that used to happen. Cause it still does. Yeah, absolutely still does.
Stephen:Now that's a happy, happy re rewrite the stars itself.
Steve:Whenever that choreography too, that's my second favorite choreographed. It's
Stephen:just so beautiful as she's flying around the performance space. And you know, she has this gorgeous pink hair in the movie from the wig she wears and it's so well, I mean, Zendaya is stunning, like her bone structure and she's just so pretty. And she emotes so well during the song that her face and body portray all the emotions she's trying to get out. And it's so really
Steve:well done. People will give, you know, like, is she a Disney kid or a Nickelodeon kid? I think one of them, she was one of them. And I know that they give like those child stars crap, but I mean, sometimes they pick them out young for a good reason and she has talent. So they're
Stephen:just won an Emmy or a golden globe for best lead actress in a drama, which I believe. You know, she is the youngest person of color to have one lead actress in a drama series.
Steve:Awesome. And good for her now, before the big climax of the movie. And before the, you know, the big blunder of him is you know, charity is warning him, you know, with the drama going on with the house. Yeah. You know, you're, you're getting a little too close to the sun. You know, at the right before he leaves with her on that last faithful trip out of town, she, she warns him. You don't need everyone to love you, just a few good people. That leads into the song tightrope. now, that was one of the quieter songs in the movie that when you watch it through the first time, I didn't have the, biggest impact on me. Well, what do you think of the song?
Stephen:So with that, it was for me, a continuation of her line from a million, little, a million dreams about, you know, whatever it is, I'll go with you. And with her saying, you know, your hand in my hand, we'll walk the tight rope, we'll navigate life and all of its joys and pains and sorrows together. And that As long as we're together, we can do this. Yeah. That's how I
Steve:interpreted it. Yeah. And that's something that, you know, while my job struggles have gone through and you've been my rock through it all, but like that wasn't half as hard as the struggle that we've gone through over the past couple of years with my mental health and our mental health. But especially mine. And so going back after living through those experiences and listening to the song, I mean, for those of us who struggle with depression and anxiety, the, the whole idea of walking a tight rope, I never thought of it that way, but that's what it is, is like there are days when I'm walking that tight rope and you're always there to kind of, kind of help steady me
Stephen:and I will always be there. And, but I also feel that you're also there with me and that's just what our marriage is and what marriage is, should be that as long as we are walking it together, your hand in my hand, That we can get through my anxiety, your depression, anything that comes our way. Yes. And we'll always do it together. And I think that's what she's saying is I wish he could realize yes. That all he needs is. That all P TeenAIDS is charity and the kids and the people that he's closest with. And that, that isn't. Yes,
Steve:but he doesn't get it. Unfortunately he is, he is not there yet. He goes off with Jenny Lind and she does what every. Male in Hollywood does with their actresses or actors typically in the back room at some point and like get away with, but because she was a woman, people look bad at it, but yes, she tried to seduce him and tried to even do the I've given you the world you owe me. Yeah. Which you are never owed to do anything sexually that you don't want to do. And that's something that when I was younger, I didn't know. Even when I was, you know, dating in college, like you like you, it's natural when people are being nice to you for you to feel like you owe them something and never owe anyone, anything, especially when it comes to your body or your acting 100%. And so he, yeah, you did the right thing. He did say no, he did. And so what she does is the bitch thing and she stages that fake kiss with the pictures. And then she
Stephen:quits the tour, which sends him into financial ruin. He loses the house. Yes. And he loses his
Steve:wife. Yes, but, but with that also, when we were watching that you said something about the whole idea of it being done with the picture taken at that time, is that how it works with pictures back then? So
Stephen:no, she would have had to, so for the movie, it works well to be something that was caught for the plot, it works for the plot. But so if you actually look at pictures from the late 18 hundreds people aren't usually smiling because it took over 30 seconds to get a picture to click. You had to stand still while it was happening. And so it was easier for people to have just a normal somber, neutral, neutral face, because how many people can keep the cheese. For that long. And because if you move your mouth, then it's going to mess up the picture, but everybody can just keep a
Steve:face. Yes. So for, so for all of you, you know, his history nerds, just like my lovely husband that we're like, that's not how it works, but it does work for the story. But it does, you know, in addition to her messing him up with that, then, then there's the whole drama at home with the townsfolk getting into the fight where the whole place literally burns down as his life figuratively burns down. So it does match very poetically. Yep. So
Stephen:charity takes the kids and goes back to her parent's house where the I'm sure her father is like,
Steve:I knew it. I knew it and pouring himself that whiskey. Yeah.
Stephen:And the performers are out of a job and a place and he.'cause he had put up the house as collateral for the loan to do the tour, to rent the train and everything and rent out the large places because they didn't finish the tour. The bank calls on the collateral, which means he loses the house.
Steve:And he wasn't even saying, she was saying, she wasn't even mad about the house. It was the fact that he didn't ask her. Cause she probably would've said yes, because she always says yes, but it's the, it was the dishonesty, which I think is a lesson that everyone has to learn. Yeah.
Stephen:And that they weren't involved in it together because they're supposed to be partners. In life together, whether they're not partners in business, the house was theirs.
Steve:Yes. But it does end up leading to one of your favorite songs from it. And one of the ones that went viral at the beginning. So let's it just in case you haven't heard it before, it sounds a little like
Stephen:So, what is an, I just made this note a few minutes ago while we were talking about his million dreams was his, I want song, he's a character that gets a second. I want song from now on is his grownup. I want song.
Steve:Oh yes. I do see that, that way because you know what it ultimately is, you know, with contexts you can hear from the song, you know, it's that from now on, like, I will be happy with what I have and that's, it took me the longest time. I thought I only say that in the past, maybe six to eight months, that I've really gotten to that point with you where, you know, my job isn't about the next job or the next position I'm going to have, or the next, you know, I'm not always chasing what is coming next in our lives, you know, because now that we're here, we get to do this with our lives. And now that we achieve that, we get to do that. Like, this is one of the first times where I'm just like, from now on, I'm happy with just having you and having Remi. And having, you know, my, my job at hardest and just I'm happy with what we have from now.
Stephen:And that's where, kind of like where the PT and charity, where I have been so happy with us and our life for a while. And
Steve:it took me a minute or two longer to get there. But I also a little bit younger too. Yes, I'm old,
Stephen:but no, it's, this is one of those things that I think is an epiphany that most people will achieve at some point where they realize that they're going to appreciate the things that they have in their life. And they're going to hold close. Those people that are always there for them. And you're just going to be able to, you know, Focused on what's important.
Steve:Yes. And in addition to the powerful message behind the song, it also could have been called and we will come back home while they had the entire ensemble doing a dance number in the background and just showcasing how truly talented and beautiful each of them are. So
Stephen:I have to admit that my favorite non-speaking performer of the oddities are the albino twins and those two girls who aren't related. It was through the magic of movies that made you think that they were honest to goodness twins or some people didn't notice that there were two of them. They are so talented with their dancing, especially in this song. It really focuses how good they truly are. And this song was one of the ones. That really showed off the background performers and gave them center stage to be like, Here are our ensemble dancers. You get, we're going to highlight them. And with the most joyful yeah, yeah.
Steve:Song. Yeah. I also a shout out. Cause I mean, Zendaya's part was such a huge focus that you forget that she also has a brother, but he's also heavily focused in that number as well. And you're like, yeah, he had one line maybe when they were like introducing the two of them together as brother and sister, but then he kind of disappears in the background. And this was one chance where you're like, Oh no, he was hard. Cause he's also a hell of a dancer. And he got to show his skills really
Stephen:upfront. Cause at this point Zendaya's off at the hospital with Phillip Carlisle because whenever the circus was burning down, they had to seal up, ran back in thinking Zendaya was in there. And he was willing to risk his life to save hers. And it was when she found that out, that she realized that he had had that change in his heart and in his life that he was willing to risk it all.
Steve:Exactly. And that was one of many happy endings, and that's what we love in it because he also saved his money enough so that they can continue on with the show, but not property this time. What's this crazy wild idea that he had.
Stephen:So they did buy a little plot of land down by the river. But they decided to just put it under a giant tempt
Steve:tea. You're if that ends up kicking off for sticking around. I don't
Stephen:know. Have you ever heard of a circus tent before?
Steve:Yeah. Well, if you haven't really
Stephen:go see a circus, but that was one of those things that in when a does that line and then everyone's like, Oh my gosh, the circus that's
Steve:where it started. Yeah. So I, yeah, I I've loved that. Him and charity are back on the, on, back on the equal footing and happy with each other again, and working towards our futures together as a family, focusing on what's important, which is watching their children grow up or watching your little dog grow up.
Stephen:And what's great is, you know, he goes back to the circus and gets things started with the tent. And then he realized, you know what? I can focus more on. My family, I don't need to grow beyond where the circus is now. And Phillip is enough that I can hand things off to him when I need to and
Steve:watch my daughters grow up. Yeah. And I love that they ended up passing it off, along to the intro and like the same song that we hear in the beginning of the greatest show and how, you know, it has huge Jackman singing. The part that we saw starting in the beginning about how it's the greatest show, but then he passes over the cane, choose Zac Efron, Phillip Carlisle, to take over for hopefully the secret. Yeah.
Stephen:Oh, that would be fantastic if there was, and I love that, you know, he gets to the ballet to see his daughters and he's just kind of whisper singing the lines from the song that this is what he's always wanted. And it's nice that. You know, it's finally, he stayed true to his from now on and he met charity where she was, and that they're going towards this in a new mature sense, just full
Steve:of love. Yes. And by the way the SQL is, was wasn't early development before COVID happens. So it's just a matter of seeing how things land. Oh,
Stephen:well, fingers crossed because that would be fantastic. Especially if they get the two guys back that wrote the songs for the first time.
Steve:Oh yeah. And that was because it was back in February, 2019 director, Michael Gracey told the son that discussions during SQL had already started. And then Jackson later confirmed on the radio show. Steve writes big guests. That SQL was an early development, but it wasn't a sure thing yet. Well, I
Stephen:mean, they had to go through seven years. To get financing for this
Steve:one, because, you know, people don't unfortunately believe in musicals anymore, the way that they used to. And hopefully, you know, this has been the kind of show that that's wrong. People are ready for music and happiness in their lives. We need it now more
Stephen:than ever. Right. And especially because this was an original musical, not based on a Broadway show, you don't have a built-in audience.
Steve:So it was one of those built-in expectations that come with it. Right. And
Stephen:so I think that's why this was able to really tap into something in humanity and in each of us that we may be able to see. Different parts of ourself in each of the
Steve:songs. Yes. And so if you haven't listened to, in a rewatch, the movie, listen to soundtrack wherever you listen to your music, because I'm in the mood to
Stephen:watch it again. Yes,
Steve:righty. So before we go back to that though, let's let the listeners know how they can find us. Yes.
Stephen:So you can find us on all the socials, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, all at happy life
Steve:pod that's H a P P Y L I F E P O D. It's also our email address, happy life pod@gmail.com. And don't forget to stay tuned next week.
Stephen:Yes. My longtime friend, Ronald Wilson diamond. The second is joining us all the way from France to talk about season one of Downton. Yeah.
Steve:Abby you mean series one because it's British and stuff. That's right. My bad. Yes. So let's head on over to the pond next week, but until then everyone stay happy.