La La Land is La La Lovely
Myla Tosatto
La La Land is a movie divided into four seasons. In the winter, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) don’t “meet cute.” In fact, they meet hostile. By spring their relationship blossoms into summer’s love. When fall comes, you are ready to follow the relationship of Sebastian and Mia anywhere it may go — dancing and singing the whole way! Is La La Land a musical? A comedy? A drama? No. And yes. We do know that it is Damien Chazelle’s latest movie to focus on a difficult musician (the first was one of my favorites of all time, Whiplash). Having raised a difficult musician, I can tell you that Ryan Gosling’s character rings true! Some parts of that movie were nonfiction to me.
The City of Los Angeles is the third main character in this movie, and it has a profound effect on Mia and Sebastian. This movie is an homage to Los Angeles in the era when Jazz was in its heyday. Beautiful scenes and musical numbers with singing and dancing are interspersed throughout the movie.
This is a fun date night movie or one to watch with friends after a long day of holiday shopping. It is also a great movie for music lovers, especially those that love jazz. Both Sebastian and Keith (John Legend) have interesting theories about jazz and its future. Of course, you don’t have to be a jazz lover to enjoy it! Kids as young as middle school will probably enjoy it.
Now playing in theaters!