La La Land – 2016
This was a good movie, there is no doubt about that. But I don’t think it was as good as it thinks it was, and certainly not as good as all the attention it got. When this film came out, movie-goers thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. But was it innovative? No. Look at the 2001 Best Picture nominee, Moulin Rouge. That musical was better with just as many sparkly special effects and stronger dancing. Was it deep? Not really. I would call this movie bittersweet, but not deep. Was it groundbreaking? Not at all. It was a rehashed story that we have seen over and over again, this time set to music that was supposed to be a reminder of the golden age of musicals. Was the music spectacular? I don’t think so. It was alright, but like most music from those old Hollywood films, most of the songs ended up being pretty vapid and unmemorable. It may sound like I didn’t enjoy the film, but I did. It just wasn’t as awesome as everyone made it out to be.
All that being said, I applaud the filmmakers for making an original musical specifically intended for the big screen, though I have no doubt that at some point someone will probably adapt it for Broadway. As such, it was smart of Director, Damien Chazelle to use a ton of recognizable locations in Los Angeles, the city in which the story takes place, something that would be incredibly challenging to do in a live performance. The film was praised for many things, including the directing, the lead actors, the music, and the fantastic aesthetics.
The movie starred Emma Stone as aspiring actress Mia Dolan, and Ryan Gosling as passionate jazz pianist, Sebastian Wilder. The two have been living in the City of Angels, trying to follow their dreams, but not having much success. They have several chance meetings and a relationship slowly develops. But once the romance begins to take off, it seems like smooth sailing. Sebastian dreams of opening his own jazz club and being able to play the kind of music he wants to play. Eventually he encourages Mia to write and produce her own show.
But as their relationship soars and stumbles, their careers eventually pull them apart. Sebastian tries to be responsible for Mia’s sake and takes a steady job as a pianist in a band that performs music he doesn’t like. It takes him out on the road for months at a time. Mia’s one woman show is a flop, and when Sebastian’s career makes him miss her one performance, She has had enough. She ends their floundering romance and abandons her dreams of becoming an actress. But a casting director had actually gone to Mia’s show. The only way she can find Mia is to go through Sebastian, who goes out of his way to find her and convince her to give her acting career one last chance.
Flash forward five years. Mia becomes a successful actress, but we quickly see that she has married another man. She and her husband stop into a random jazz club that happens to be owned by Sebastian. In a beautifully done little montage, the two former lovers lock eyes, Sebastian begins to play their love theme on the piano, and together they imagine what their lives could have been if they had somehow stayed together. When it is over, Sebastian gives her a fond smile, and Mia and her husband leave.
Tis true that we have seen the story played out before, but why not? It is a good story, and this ending was not the stereotypical ending. In an old Hollywood musical from the 1930s, the protagonists would have ended up together. For that matter, the romance would probably have been ridiculously instantaneous instead of slowly and maturely developed, one more thing La La Land did well.
I have to give special accolades to Gosling who took his role very seriously. He learned to both tap dance and play the piano for the part. I was actually quite impressed! While watching the movie, I could tell that he was really playing the piano, and playing it well. He was doing things that were incredibly hard and making them look easy. However, it was Stone that took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her efforts. And I have to mention another bright spot in the movie, Sebastian’s friend who was doing the jazz fusion music that Sebastian hated was John Legend. Now there is a real musician who really did a great job with his limited screen time.
Unfortunately, it was Gosling’s dancing and Stone’s singing that were my biggest issues. They cast actors, whereas I think they should have cast dancers and singers. After all, the singing and dancing were supposed to be the movie’s big draw, and when it came down to it, Gosling’s dance moves seemed somehow hesitant and yet forced at the same time, and Stone’s singing voice sounded untrained and too breathy for my tastes. And you wouldn’t even have to sacrifice your big names to get higher quality. Just look at Catherine Zeta-Jones in the 2002 Best Picture Winner, Chicago. Both her singing and her dancing were incredible, proving that such a level of performance is still possible, even today. Stone and Gosling acted their parts well, but didn’t seem to measure up where it counted.