Lighthearted La La Land’s Lyrically Lovely

If in doubt about wanting to see a musical, just go. La La Land won’t disappoint!

There have been Broadway musicals that have been made for the big screen but this is the first original musical to be made in Hollywood since the days of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers. Director Damien Chazelle wrote the story but it sat unproduced until after his Oscar sweeping success with Whiplash (2014).

Recently nominated for seven Golden Globe awards, La La Land is an old-fashioned love story about following your dreams and making them happen. It follows the unlikely romance between Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) a jazz pianist and aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone). The movie opens with a spectacular dance scene on a traffic-filled freeway leading into LA.

The scene set the tone for the dream versus reality theme that plagues the main characters and is the justification for the title. The cast performs all their own signing and dancing — Gosling’s piano playing is very impressive. Movie buffs will appreciate the semblance to movie making of old that works well with the addition of Chazelle’s ‘whirling’ camera style.

This is a feel good movie that pulls at your heartstrings and is the perfect film the extended family can enjoy together over the Christmas break.