La La land: Singing in the Gosylingstone rain

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2017)

If you were into films around 2016 you would have heard of La La land, even if you were just a causal movie goer you would have at least heard the name. People were(still are ) in love with this film, so much so in fact that there was popular backlash to La La land during the time leading up and after the Oscars. Only now has this backlash appeared to have vanished. This was partly the reason why I, someone who loves musicals did not see La La Land sooner. I wanted to wait until things had cooled down.
La La Land tells the tale of a struggling actress Mia (Emma Stone) and wannabe Jazz musician Sebastian(Ryan Gosling) crossing paths and falling in love in the back drop of Hollywood and trying to keep themselves together as professional ambition threatens to drive the two apart.
I love musicals, always have done. One of my favorite movies is Singing in the Rain and La La Land is a clear inspiration/ spiritual successor to the 1952 classic. That if anything was one of the biggest selling points for La La Land and I think it does it very well. From the opening song and dance number to Sebastian and Mia tap dancing against a sun setting bathed hill breathes Singing in the rain that has just enough identity of its own so it does not rip off the inspiration but respect and honor it. There is not one musical number that feels out of place or does not add to the movie in some form which I do think is an improvement to Singing in the rain which did suffer from some dance numbers that felt like padding( Looking at you Broadway Melody).
La La Land's plot might not be the most complex plot in the world but it is compelling and is well paced. The music numbers do not feel out of place and do not derail the plot in any way as well as being spaced out enough so both can exist without diminishing the other. Mia And Sebastian are interesting and likeable, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone give it their all in terms of performances, the romance not only feels believable but also goes to different places then Singing in the rain took it's romance in a ending that is bittersweet and poignant. The ending helps the movie stand apart from its inspiration and give it its own identity, I love it.
Unfortunately as a true successor to Singing in the rain La La land falls short by one key factor. The dancing, the dance choreography is weak and stilted in comparison to other musicals especially to Singing in the rain which as most would know was well known for its ground breaking dance numbers. Another reason why most the dancing is weak would be because none of the main stars were professional dancers (Ryan Gosling did take dancing lessons for this movie, not sure about Emma Stone) so the dancing would be very simple and a little out of step with the music which is almost always upbeat and cheerful, the choreography could have been better if it was going to be a real successor to Singing in the rain. But without the comparison it is fine, not the best but works well enough.
La La Land is a great musical, I would not say that it is one of the best movie musicals but it is one hell of an enjoyable watch. A must see for any musical fan.