Disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (9 August 2018)

I am a HUGE musical fan. I've been involved with musical theatre for the past twelve years and I always enjoy watching new musicals. For all of the praise this movie got, I thought it was going to be a showstopper to stand the test of time. I had listened to the first song and loved it, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Suffice to say this movie is VERY disappointing and VERY overrated.
Before I get through with this review, I'll give some positives. The cinematography was awesome, the jazz in the show is fantastic and the first song is hype as hell.
Now let's get into this. The premise involves two struggling artists trying to find themselves in LA. They find each other, start a relationship, which is ultimately ended abruptly before the two go on their separate ways. The movie tries to play out as a romance, but that's sorely missing seeing as both Stone and Gosling's characters abandon their obvious feelings for each other for their careers, which in a sense is an ironic yet realistic representation of Hollywood. The story is nothing special and the plot advances almost nowhere before making a huge timeskip out of nowhere at the end of the movie. If you want a long romance movie featuring Ryan Gosling, you're better off with "The Notebook."
Despite being a musical, this show has a surprising lack of songs that are memorable. The ONLY song I like is the opening "Another Day of Sun", which, despite being awesome is extremely misleading. The tone of the movie is vastly different from the fun and cheery opening, taking a more depressing route and not really veering from it. There really isn't a variety of songs either.
And while I like the lead actors, specifically Stone, who I LOVED in The Help, neither of them could carry a tune or dance to save their life. Now, actors don't necessarily have to have a musical past to be good singers or dancers. For example, Renee Zellweiger had almost no experience in musical theatre but KILLED IT in "Chicago". Natalie Wood wasn't a good singer, but the directors had the sense to have someone sing over her in "West Side Story". Neither actor in this movie had particularly any talent in singing or dancing and it showed.
As a romance musical, "La La Land" was devoid of any meaningful romance or memorable music. Movie musicals like "West Side Story", "Grease" and even to an extent "Hairspray" drive the romance and musical aspect home without losing any charm; something "La La Land" was not able to do.
If you're looking for a better movie musical that didn't start on Broadway, "The Greatest Showman" is loads better. The music and choreography are both fantastic and memorable. It's loud, colorful and vivacious without being distracting.
In short, "La La Land" is about two moody hopefuls in Hollywood who get into a shallow relationship that shatters after one fight, ultimately abandoning each other for their careers. In the age of social media, neither character bother to contact the other about their success.
All in all, after watching the movie, I feel both disappointed and robbed of my time. What I thought was going to be a showstopping, upbeat modern recreation of shows like "42nd Street" and "Singin' in the Rain" turned out to be a depressing and hollow movie not worth your time or money. Don't let the bright colors or jazzy beats fool you. This was simply a pandering to Hollywood and the elitists who live there.
You'd be better off watching any other movie musical. It's just simply not worth the hype.