I have been waiting to see this movie for awhile now. I knew I’d most likely have to see it on my own as from the outset it was branded a chick flick by my hubby. There’s no way he would go even though he does enjoy musical theatre. And after all the golden globe awards… Best actress in a musical or comedy, Best actor in a musical or comedy, best original score… etc.. I really wanted to see it at the cinema while it was still on.
So last night I went.
And warning to those who have not seen the movie – there are spoilers ahead so if you haven’t seen it, it may be time to move along and go see it for yourself.
I really did not want to poke holes in this movie, I wanted to sit there and be thoroughly enthralled and reminisce about old hollywood and how it used to be. Dream about possibility that we could be entering a new era of musicals at the cinema, but mostly I wanted to be lost in this La La Land world for a couple of hours. For the most part that’s just what I experienced, the plot was charming and predictable, the dancing numbers were beautiful and remindful of a bygone era. The camera work was especially lovely in the first scene where Mia & Sebastian dance, it’s all filmed in one take from one camera just like a scene out of old hollywood.
The problem was that crazy opening scene. You don’t have to be an avid musical connoisseur to know that the opening scene is the warm up act and sets the tone for the whole piece. It’s design is to lull you into their world where it’s ok to sing and dance. Think of Grease, (summer loving) perfect example of a great warm up opening. But I was not lulled. At the risk of sounding like my parents it was completely un-melodic with no catchy tune in earshot. It was a whole carpark of strangers with weak voices jumping out of their cars and dancing super mega way over-enthusiastically together on a deadlocked highway overpass unsuccessfully trying to pull off this opening number.
I wanted to get into it – I was willing myself to, but I just couldn’t. It failed to warm me up, instead of being drawn into the movie, watching that opening scene made me squirm in my seat and check my phone (I was the only one in the cinema) and I was just staring at the screen thinking – is the rest of the movie going to be this bad?? If the writers were struggling with this opening they could have opted for a well known cover of a song that people know and love and actually related to the movie, it may have been a cop out but it would have been more forgivable than the train wreck is in place now.
Unfortunately it took me quite awhile to get into the story but eventually Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone won me over and I allowed myself to be taken slowly into this La La Land. And for the most part it was beautiful. But let me ask you something. If you go to a movie entitled: “La La Land” do you expect to be taken away to “La La Land”? Do you expect a gooey happy ending? Or do you want to land back into reality on your head on the concrete before the movie is over? If you are like me and maybe I’m in the minority here, when I go to a movie, a pre-branded chick flick entitled “La La Land” I expect a boy meets girl, girl loses boy, boy finds girl, happily ever after flick. If you have been reading this and you haven’t seen the movie and I’ve essentially spoiled it for you and you were expecting an ending as I described, well, think again. The gods of hollywood have deemed that this musical was to have a modern reality twist and not a happy ever after. No happily ever after for you viewers. Not this time. This movie messed with my head, especially after they played the “what could have been” scene.
This movie had some good meat in this musical sandwich, some good elements, but left me unsatisfied and unconvinced and considering it won so many golden globes I have to ask, is hollywood that stale that it is handing out awards like a pez dispenser to La La Land?
Edit:
For those that know me well I cry a lot – especially in movies so I have to have a cry factor on my review – a few tears dropped but it was mostly at the bitter end.
Cry factor – 4/10
As I was driving home, I found myself humming a song from a movie I’d seen the week before. It was from Sing – the great Stevie Wonder’s: Don’t you worry ’bout a thing and an Elephant sang it. Now there’s a great movie!
Wen's Procrastinations 