Not the best 2016 film, but much better than the one that won the Oscar!

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2018)

Despite the very obvious contrivances, I enjoyed this film. Let's face it, films where two people singing loudly in one another's ear is not realistic. But often we find we'd like the world to be more like that - look at the opening routine, in response to traffic congestion, for example.
I sympathise with the desire to popularise jazz, which at its best is wonderful music, but all too often sounds like a combo all playing different tunes, or the same indulgence as much late 60s progressive rock, where the performers take a long detour so each instrumentalist can show off what they can do with the instrument. For me music is, essentially, melody and anything else tends to be just showing off (which is why so many young singers over-sing songs today). I also find the ethnic ownership battles foolish, veering on repugnant. The Beatles and Michael Jackson didn't produce music for 'white' or 'black' people! They just produced great music that could be enjoyed by anyone who appreciated the style. So the backlash against a 'white' guy trying to save jazz, and rejection of the film in favour of a much inferior one that had the right skin tone (it might be considered in some spheres to have introduced homosexuality to 'the black audience' but I think that's ludicrous; the guy wasn't gay, he was just grabbing onto affection in the one place he found it - in every other respect he followed the 'black' cliches of drug trafficker with gold teeth and flashy car) really turned me off the whole 'Oscars' crap.
With so many reviews, I'm sure the major aspects have been more than adequately covered by others, so I will limit myself to something that most people who I've talked to about this film have overlooked, in relation to the ending. Of course we all (well most people, surely) wanted them to get together in the end. But what I really liked about the ending and those ironic smiles is that - because they truly loved one another - they were really pleased that each had followed their dream and achieved it. And that's what love is all about - putting somebody else's well-being and success ahead of our own desires. Sadly, those desires are far too often expressed in a desire for ownership and control of the other person, who needs to be constrained within our shadow. That's not love, that's slavery! So it was wonderful to see this film rise up above that and send out the positive message of following our dreams and translating our love into helping and encouraging others to follow their dreams too!