To See or Not to See: La La Land

Let me preface this review by saying that 1) I am a huge fan of musicals and 2) I am a huge fan of old Hollywood musicals like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Singing in the Rain.

With that being said, I think it’s pretty clear that I went into seeing La La Land with decently high expectations. I’d been excited to see La La Land ever since I first saw the teaser a few months ago:

I mean, come on. If that doesn’t make you excited, are you sure you have a heart? Because really. Maybe someone stole it in the middle of night while you were too busy torturing animals to notice.

I realize that musicals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. Obviously. But do I really have to associate with those people?

Anyway. Total digression. La La Land tells the story of Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a struggling jazz pianist. Emma Stone plays Mia with her typical expressiveness and Ryan Gosling is Sebastian with his usual quick wit and excellent sense of comedic timing. The two bump into each other a few times, somewhat disastrously, until they decide that they actually like one another. The film is ultimately about the intersection of love and work, and whether it’s possible to have both while succeeding.

The movie opens with a big song-and-dance number that takes place amidst an L.A. traffic jam–a perfect example of how this movie pays homage to old Hollywood musicals while looking ahead to today’s times. Kudos to the costume designer, Mary Zophres, and the production designers, David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, for the saturated kaleidoscope of Technicolor throughout the movie, both in Mia’s beautiful, classic dresses and the backdrops. And what would a musical be without catchy music? I’ve been listening to Justin Hurwitz’s soundtrack on repeat since leaving the theater on Friday night and secretly wishing that people would break out into song and choreographed dance spontaneously in real life.

Director Damien Chazelle’s whimsical, bittersweet homage to musicals is truly a must-see.

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 4

Photo Credit: Summit Entertainment