Not bad...not a cinematic masterpiece either

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2018)

After hearing hype about this movie from critics and friends alike, my friends and I went to see it, expecting to be blown away. As a huge fan of modern musicals, I thought I would really enjoy this. After it ended, however, my friend and I both felt kind of "meh" about the movie. Here's why:
-Maybe it's just not really my cup of tea, but I thought both the story and the characters were boring. There are long shots of Gosling and Stone just staring at the camera. Gosling's character is incredibly snobby about jazz and how it should be kept "pure" which is kind of annoying. Even though a lot of people praise the chemistry between the two leads, personally I didn't feel it. And I still don't really understand the point of the overly long observatory dance sequence. Why??
-Neither the two leads nor the ensemble are really good singers. Any Broadway actor, or even some of the people in my high school theatre group, are more capable of performing in a movie MUSICAL.
-While the ensemble dancers were fabulous, Gosling and Stone's dancing was just mediocre. Again, hiring professional musical theatre performers might have helped add some shine to a lackluster story.
-I don't really like City of Stars. And hearing it played 7 times throughout the movie definitely didn't make me like it more. The song from Moana and the "Audition" song were both better contenders for Best Original Song, in my opinion. I know I'm in the minority here.
However, here are some things I liked a lot:
-Most of songs are very good, and I've added many of them to my musical playlist on Spotify. I know Pasek and Paul are incredible based on their work in Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman, so that is no surprise. The music and lyrics shine despite the ok singing. So, even though I'm not a fan of City of Stars, I really like the music in this movie.
-The instrumental stuff is amazing. The jazz was delightful to listen to, and so was Gosling's piano playing.
-I love the ending. By the last half hour, I really thought this was going to be another "boy meets girl, they fall in love, both achieve their dreams and stay together forever" cliche ending. That they didn't end up together was both a surprising twist and a refreshing representation of what real life is like. Sometimes, you have to choose between the career of your dreams and a relationship, and this movie showed that beautifully.