Musicals in the modern era tend to fall into three camps for me. Film adaptations of musicals that had successful Broadway runs (The Producers, Into the Woods); remakes of past musical movies (nothing comes to mind but I know it’s been done); and lastly, something completely original (Xanadau). La La Land thankfully falls into the last camp. I’m actually surprised it was even made despite the casting of two popular stars.
La La is the journey of two young people trying to make their way in Hollywood. Mia is a struggling actress getting by at the coffee shop on the Warner Brothers lot. Sebastian is a jazz pianist getting by with odd gigs, saving up to start his own club. They’re an odd couple, especially when their previous encounters ended badly: cursing at each other in LA traffic and Sebastian’s firing from a restaurant. Third time is a charm; a party hosted by some big shot with Sebastian as the slumming keyboardist in an Eighties cover band. Their antagonistic relationship then evolves into a romantic one with them encouraging each other. Sebastian gets Mia to like jazz and inspires her to write a one-person play to compensate for all her heartbreaking auditions. Mia’s presence steels Sebastian to keep playing and take up an offer from an old college buddy (John Legend) to join his Pop band (it does have jazz influences). Eventually, matters start to go their way…or will they in the long run?
Personally, I have grown to love musicals in the last twenty years so La La piqued my interest but I prefer the Broadway iterations and even then, just the songs. I highly recommend La La with a money-back guarantee. The director did a kick-ass job integrating the musical/dancing segments without them feeling wedged-in or forced, see most Disney princess flicks in the Nineties on this complaint. My favorite song was Mia’s big audition in which the director and producer ask her to tell a story. Mia “talks” about the aunt who inspired her to be an actress; “Audition (The Fools Who Dream).” The performance made me weep a tad for it reminded me of “Hole in the River” by Crowded House and “Earthbound Starlight” by Duncan Sheik due to their emotional resonance. Lastly, there’s very little tied to modern technology with the dancing or songs so I think it will remain timeless, letting the viewers focus on the story today or ten years later.
Will La La join the ranks of other legends like Singing in the Rain, Funny Face, My Fair Lady, An American in Paris and Grease? Or will it be a sleeper aficionados promote a generation later like Pennies from Heaven and New York, New York? Given Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as the stars, it can only be the former or nothing.
Alamo Extras: Black and white pieces from the Thirties; scenes from The Young Girls of Rochefort; trailers for Rebel without a Cause, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; Tim & Eric doing a skit mocking jazz; an awful Eighties kid show from the UK involving singing/dancing; an Alamo presentation recommending the audience to check out Pennies from Heaven and New York New York (they were flops when they were originally released); finally, a list of four things that make musicals are great via clips from numerous films: set pieces, great dancing duos, the pretty women and their overall joyful mood.