Review of La La Land (2016) by Patrick L — 16 Mar 2017

"Damien Chazelle's "La La Land" is a mind-blowing spectacular. It totally revives the movie musical in the most magical way possible".

Movie Review: La La Land.

Date Viewed: January 2 2017.

Written and Directed By Damien Chazelle (Whiplash).

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, Sonoya Mizuno, Callie Hernandez, Jessica Rothe, Tom Everett Scott, Meagan Fay and J.K. Simmons.

Damien Chazelle's "La La Land" is a mind-blowing spectacular. It totally revives the movie musical in the most magical way possible. The writing is pitch-perfect and the performances are top-notch. Even though "La La Land" takes place in the modern present, it still has the charm, passion and feel from those classic MGM musicals from the 1950s and early 60s like "Guys and Dolls" and "West Side Story".

"La La Land" tells the story of an aspiring actress and struggling jazz musician who meet up and try to find their place in the world. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have amazing chemistry together, the songs are terrific and this picture has a heart that's tough to crack. It's one of the best movies of 2016.

The movie greatly begins with an opening musical number on a crowded highway in Los Angeles where all the drivers get out of their cars and sing "Another Day of Sun". After that delightful scene, we jump to an aspiring actress named Mia (Stone) as tries out auditions for possible roles. She later hangs out with her roommates at a lavish party in the Hollywood Hills but she decides to go to a gig at a restaurant where she meets a struggling jazz musician named Sebastian (Gosling) who Mia earlier encountered during a moment of road rage. Sebastian later gets fired by the restaurant's owner (J.K. Simmons) for not playing the songs on the setlist and for his disobedience. Mia attempts to compliment him for his beautiful song but Sebastian furiously brushes her off.

Several months later, Mia and Sebastian meet up again at a party where he plays for a pop cover band. After the gig and teasing Sebastian a little, the two of them walk together to find their cars and they talk about their passions for their two different arts. Sebastian dreams about becoming a famous jazz musician and opening up a jazz club for himself and Mia dreams about becoming an actress and hitting it big in Hollywood.

Mia's passion for acting is in there but apparently that's not enough as she fails more auditions but she decides to take Sebastian's suggestion and that is writing a personal single-actress play. As Sebastian begins to perform jazz more regularly, his relationship with Mia grows more romantic and they move in together.

Soon, Sebastian meets up with an old high school classmate, Keith (John Legend) and he wants him to be the keyboardist in his jazz band. Sebastian is dismayed by the group's pop-oriented style but he still joins the band anyway as their keyboardist and this news disturbs Mia as she and Sebastian argue over their careers and their relationships. The ending maybe hard for some viewers to swallow and is much different from most musical movies but "La La Land" is an old-fashioned musical that works on it's own merits and it earns it's five stars.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone previously worked together and had a romantic relationship in the 2011 comedy "Crazy, Stupid, Love" but it was a different kind of movie, their relationship in this movie fires on all cylinders and their performances shine as brightly as the bright lights of Los Angeles. Writer and director Damien Chazelle (who previously helmed the hardcore musical drama "Whiplash") could've turned "La La Land" into another musical extravaganza with sheer lunacy and annoying supporting characters but not this time, he turns "La La Land" into an enchanting musical with hard-headed bite, delightful songs, great performances and a real sense of place.

Some people have said that the movie musical is dead. They should talk to movie critics and the Academy voters and explain why because "La La Land" is one of the best musicals I have seen.