La La Land
Thomas Williams

Review by Thomas Williams Pro

La La Land 2016

★★★★★

Watched 19 Jan 2017

A 'technicolor' daydream about two struggling artists -- one an actress and the other a jazz musician -- going after what they think they want in life sunny, palm tree-lined Los Angeles ... the "City of Stars".

Expecting a full-fledged musical of yesteryear, I was slightly let down after my initial watch as I actually wanted MORE song and dance as the film becomes more of a drama some 45-minutes in; but after a rewatch I wasn't disappointed at all and my smile never once left my face.

Emma Stone (The Help) shines as the struggling actress hoping to one day make it big who meets a down-on-his luck pianist played by Ryan Gosling (Drive) who dreams of one day opening a jazz club in the heart of LA. The duo have some outstanding chemistry and I am beginning to believe Stone has the ability to pull off dazzling displays of chemistry with just about anybody as she wowed in Spiderman films opposite her then-boyfriend Andrew Garfield and even in Birdman with just a few scenes with the much older Edward Norton.

As Stone's Mia struggles to get a call-back, Gosling's Sebastian compromises his hopes and dreams by taking on a job as a supporting player in a popular musical act led by his friend Keith, John Legend (an Oscar-winning musician for Selma). For such a spectacle film, the supporting cast is kept rather minimal as few have more than a small number of scenes with Rosemarie DeWitt (Your Sister's Sister) playing Sebastian's sister and JK Simmons appearing as his very brief boss (Simmons just won an Oscar in director Damien Chazelle's last film, Whiplash). Callie Hernandez (Blair Witch), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!), Jason Fuchs (Holy Rollers) and Finn Wittrock (Unbroken) all basically cameo.

Director Damien Chazelle has shown promise and precision in his earlier features and finally won much acclaim for his recent, Whiplash. La La Land has won him even more as a tribute/throwback/ode to grand movie musicals. We know we are in for something grand with the film's opening scene on a traffic-clogged California highway.

When fame finally comes knocking for Mia, can the two overcome fame and celebrity to remain together? In a film about hopes and dreams, can they have it all? Or what is it that they want most?

LA is a concrete jungle but it has never been more beautifully filmed than it is here. The film looks and feels vibrantly alive and the few moments of heartbreak make the film even feel real. La La Land is wonderful escapist fare and after 2016 I cannot think of anything we -- in the US -- need more.

If the nation's vote was actually one of "protest" over LA, celebrities and Hollywood, they are rebelling against the magic of La La Land. It actually makes me appreciate the film even more. I'd rather dance among the stars ... I want to live there!

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