In La La Land, we follow Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) as they fall in love and try to follow their dreams in Los Angeles. Sebastian is a struggling jazz pianist who wants to open up his own jazz club someday. Mia is an aspiring actress who wants to make her way onto the silver screen. Together, they traverse the ins and outs of L.A., learning about themselves, who they are, and what it takes to make your dreams a reality along the way.
In case you couldn't tell, La La Land's plot, story, and even characters are ones we've seen before. So, Los Angeles isn't all stardust and bright lights, and making your dreams come true is a real struggle? Gosh, tell me something I don't know. Yes, this particular tale has been told a trillion times over. It's quite telling that I had to look up our two lead character's names before writing this review because I had forgotten them.
Luckily, there is a certain element of La La Land that is joyous, original, and memorable: The musical numbers. The music is by Justin Hurwitz, and the lyrics are done by Benj Paske and Justin Paul, who also made Edges and Dear Justin Hansen. The film starts out with a musical dance number set in the middle of backed up L.A. traffic, and immediately sets the tone of what we are about to see....or so it would seem. Yes, the musical numbers are simply fantastic, and the choreography (by Mandy Moore) and cinematography (by Linus Sandgren) are freaking great (My favorite number is Someone In The Crowd)! That said, as the film jogs on, the musical numbers seem to lessen. For a film that proudly bills itself as a musical, it's a confusing choice.
La La Land is directed by Damian Chizele. Once again, like Whiplash before (which I consider the better film of the two), he has made another film about music. He does a fine directing job, but I still consider Whiplash to be more impressive.
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone share fantastic chemistry (as already evidenced in Stupid Crazy Love). I really bought their romance and was rooting for these two crazy dreamers to make it to the finish line together. Ryan Gosling in particular looks constantly dapper throughout the film (impressively so, I'd say). That said, their characters are ones similar to those we have seen before and aren't all that memorable. They are very likable, but they aren't the selling point of this film (the music is, duh).
La La Land is a film that tries to mash together both fantastical elements and realistic elements, with middling results. The tone and pacing are all over the place, there are parts that fly by and parts that seem to drag on for quite a bit. The ending also is nice, but I felt didn't fit super well. Ultimately, I appreciate what the film was trying to do but still feel it was best when focusing on the fantastical. That's why I say the best part of this film is the first act, which is where most of the musical numbers lie.
I've never seen a film reach out and stroke that Oscar statue so hard and fast. Yes, La La Land is indeed Oscar bait, and I wouldn't be surprised if it won best picture (though I feel that's a title the film doesn't deserve. Hollywood loves nothing more than glorifying itself, after all). Looking at just the story, plot, characters and pacing I'd say La La Land isn't all that great of a film. It's the musical numbers that make this one watchable and fun. La La Land is an ode to old school Hollywood musicals (It even opes with a large "Filmed in CinemaScope" logo), life in L.A., and all those crazy dreamers out there. The musical numbers are so fun, creative, imaginative, and unique that it kind of hurts when the rest of the film can't quite match up. That said, La La Land is still a cute little film that is sure to bring a smile to your face (despite some downer moments).
3.5 Stars
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