Lady La La and the Jazz Pontificator

Rating: 1/10 (9 January 2017)

Bottom-line: Once upon a time there was the American musical which could inspire the world by wielding great visuals, music, story and characters. Today we have the perfect lobotomy instrument called La La Land.
I began theorizing that it would only be possible to understand the praise and delight of the general populace if lobotomy would have been performed on a universal scale. I know not of any such undertaking and I'm no fan of conspiracy theories. Alas, I have to assume that there are shortcomings of mine which do not let me enjoy this so called jewel of a movie which purportedly restores the glamour of the Golden Era of Hollywood.
Plus points: 1) Pretty Emma Stone, who can act
Minus points: 1) Emma Stone can't sing, 2) Emma Stone can't dance too well, 3) Ryan Gosling can't sing or dance, 4) Weak plot delivered in a unbelievable manner, 5) Silly and overused musical score, 6) Uninteresting dialogue, 7) No character depth and actually no chemistry between the two protagonists.
Overall feel to the movie was that of silliness beyond measure. My personal reaction was that of uncontrolled, roaring laughter. It is strange indeed that while I cried at the "funny" moments, I laughed at the "sad" and "serious" moments. I have to admit that rarely have I laughed this way during a movie. The ratings and nominations are oftentimes so unfair to real cinematic talent that I had to give a 1 (one) mark for the balance. It is really sad that the Renaissance of the American musical is trumpeted by this hollow shell of a movie.