Has the backlash started for La La Land? It seems inevitable, as much as the people that love this movie love this movie.
I’ll just drill it down – ignore the “musical for people who don’t like musicals” tag. The defining line here is whether you buy into – whimsically or in some sort of historical reality – that the old school trope of
boy-meets-girl, little guys struggling to be BIG, plot of old, set in shiny locations within a snowglobe world with its own rules, doesn’t deserve to be dusted off and explored in a fun, somewhat modern way. Buy that, and you’re in.
This movie is good. When it lags or deviates from its own directorial feel, you’re cheering it to get back to the magic. And magic there is, courtesy of the charismatic combo of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, imperfect characters who feel like the prettiest most talented people you could actually know. Much has been made of the classic musical references touched upon in the plot and the set pieces but you can dive in without being versed in all of the homages. This film takes the chance that you love the idea of “Hollywood”, and, why not? It might even make you like jazz. Well…
It’s not perfect, but it’s perfectly where it wants to be.
A former ABC National, Dallas and Atlanta radio personality, Martina O'Boyle is now making movies and covering culture in London, Dublin, and as far in Europe as the cheapie flights will take her, for Pop Culture Beast.