La La Land Review: It’s La La Lovely

“La La Land,” the 2016 romantic comedy film, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, certainly lived up to all the hype it got from fans- especially from those who are into musicals. Yes, it’s a rom-com musical, styled to older types like those in the 50’s or like the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals. It centers on Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) who is a barista but at the same time an aspiring actress and Sebastian ‘Seb’ Wilder (Ryan Gosling), a frustrated but talented jazz pianist who aims to open his own club someday to prevent jazz from dying.

‘La La land:’ A Movie Review

You’d think of the start of the film as just a normal traffic jam in the Los Angeles freeway but of course it breaks out into a song and dance number and right then and there you’re hooked. How could you not be with all the bright colored clothes, singing, and dancing on top of cars in traffic all this happening in La La Land (an old nickname of Los Angeles).

When the song number ends, and the traffic jam is a normal traffic jam once more, here’s where our main characters first meet. Sebastian angrily honks and passes Mia’s car and she replies by giving him the middle finger. Ah, smells like romance already. From that, the story progresses to showing both Mia and Sebastian’s individual lifestyle and struggles in an oldies musical style matched with beautiful scenery, catchy song numbers and casual but striking lines.

The two struggling creatives would often meet each other coincidentally. Sure, they were there to achieve their own dreams but life led them to find each other instead- and maybe that isn’t so bad.

Love at first Tapdance

Mia and Sebastian’s relationship wasn’t great to start with. It’s not the usual love at first sight but that made it refreshing. Stone and Gosling were perfect as Mia and Seb hurling snarky and sarcastic comments at each other. Stone delivered beautifully, with expressions that really helped build up her character, Mia, and leave you entranced. While Gosling really had it going with his grumpy but charismatic character, Seb. What made it even better was that they were perfectly in sync with each other throughout the love and hate phases in their relationship with attitudes to match.

One of the Mia and Seb’s most iconic moments in the film is the scene where they tap dance and sing to “A lovely night”, still showing their dislike for each other but also exhibiting chemistry with romantic banter in their complex relationship. Although this scene made many swoon over the pair, there are also those criticizing and questioning Stone and Gosling’s ability to sing and dance.

The pair’s singing and dancing skills may not be that of professional broadway actors, but it wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be. Actually, it added more believability with the characters because they weren’t picture perfect. It shows their humanity and emphasizes on their struggles. Plus it’s nice to watch since comes off naturally and less flashy, giving you genuine feelings.

Love and Ambition

The playful banter blossoms into love, as expected. The two even have a fantasy filled night at the observatory, complete with floating and dancing among the stars. Everything just seems to fall into place for Mia and Seb. Well, at least that’s what they thought. Everyone in La La land was struggling to reach their dreams, they were no exception.

The conflict between love and ambition brought frustration for both characters. Are they sure they’re going to make it? Are all their efforts worth it? Is there any point to doing this anymore? This ultimately led to their breaking up. Chazelle did an amazing job for the build up of emotions matched with the set design, it definitely draws you into what the characters are feeling and you’re caught anticipating what’s next for these dreamers.

The ending strayed away from what most would expect. Depending on the person, it could have been a happy or sad ending for both Mia and Seb. The ending scenes were of mixed emotions, showing what was, what wasn’t, and what could have been. Happy and at the same time, incredibly heart-wrenching. Welcome to La La Land.