La La Land: a 21st century Fred
Astaire/Ginger Rogers flick. When was the last time you saw a good
old fashioned Hollywood musical? If you’ve been jonesing for a big
screen romantic music & dance fete, this is your film. In fact,
even if you are not a big fan of those Gene Kelly/Fred Astaire films, I
think you’ll enjoy this movie written and directed by Damien Chazelle. The
spontaneous dance numbers that pop up throughout the film are well integrated
into the romantic tale of Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) and Mia Dolan (Emma
Stone), who have a refreshing on-screen chemistry. La La Land
opens with a dance number out of the 1930’s and the movie takes place almost
entirely in – of course – L.A. Mia works at a coffee shop located
on a movie studio lot and has been auditioning for various
roles. Sebastian is a piano player who wants to open a traditional
jazz club. After a few chance meetings, Mia and Sebastian connect at a
Hollywood party, which leads to a beautiful dance number at the Griffith Park
Observatory. The film unfolds in unexpected ways. The musical
score by Justin Hurwitz should earn him an Oscar nomination. The
jazz is first rate. Also, there’s an excellent number by and performed by John Legend a little more than
halfway through this 127 minute film. J. K. Simmons has two brief
appearances; he doesn’t dance. Gosling and Stone do dance and their
scenes carry this delightful movie. Gosling and Stone have paired up
twice before in Crazy Stupid Love and Gangster Squad. This
film is totally different. I don’t remember seeing a big time musical
that has delighted me as much as La La Land. The only comparable
films I’ve seen have been relegated to the Turner Classic Movies
venue.
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