La La Land - Liked It

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt
Run Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes

​La La Land shows us the lives of two different individuals trying to make their way in Hollywood. Mia (Emma Stone) is a barista who is trying to make it on the big screen. She wants nothing more than to be a movie star. And then there is Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who is currently unemployed, but loves jazz so much that his dream is to open a jazz club for all to enjoy. One day Mia is walking down the street when she hears Sebastian playing the piano, she is so enthralled by the beauty of it, she enters the restaurants and watches as he finishes and then proceeds to get fired (because he was supposed to be playing Christmas music). She tries to say something and he blows her off.
 
A few scenes later (and what I’m assuming to be a few weeks) Mia is at a party and Sebastian is playing in a cover band. In spite of how he treated her that day, she requests a song she knows he detests and does not want to play, for he is a professional. Here is where their friendship starts. He walks her to the car, they sing a little duet, and then she’s on her way to meet her boyfriend. Sebastian doesn’t give up though, and the two start a relationship that seems magnificent. Being turned down for every audition she goes to, Mia decides to write and star in her very own play. This becomes her life just as Sebastian finds his way into a band that is making it big. He is away all the time, not paying as much attention to Mia, not being there for her.
 
When things start to break down, Mia returns home. Sebastian, knowing he lost something good but not knowing what to do, gets a phone call and drives to Boulder to get Mia. She has gotten another audition. Will this one pan out?

• I liked the chemistry that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have with each other (just like in Crazy Stupid Love).
• The songs were okay, nothing special in my opinion, but I did like the jazz music played throughout the film.
• I liked the scene when Sebastian picks Mia up, that was definitely hilarious.
• I hated the ending, I felt like it wasn’t necessary for her to have the flash “back” or whatever you want to call it. It just prolonged the film.
• I hated how they kept playing the same tune over and over again. It started to get annoying.
• I loved the colors of this film. Each scene had colors that reflected what the mood was supposed to be i.e. joyous, romantic, sad, etc.

​Being a musical, I was under the impression that I would love this film. However, I wouldn’t say that is the case. Yes, I love the colors and some of the music, but mostly just the acting. I didn’t care for the story itself and I felt like there were a bunch of parts that the film could have done without. Even with all this though, I still liked the movie and didn’t regret going to see it. I’ll give this movie a “Liked It.” I can see why it received 14 nominations for the Oscars, but I wouldn’t say that I would choose it if I were judging. Guess we will find out on February 26th what the results are. Stay tuned for more Oscar Nominee Reviews!
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