A pleasant break from reality - just like during the Great Depression

Rating: 8/10 (29 January 2017)

Usually, musicals are about a boy, a girl, a bunch of good songs and some dancing. I am not a big fan of the genre, but I definitely prefer any Astaire-Rogers movie than later productions with loud, long songs and too much dancing (anything with Gene Kelly).
Therefore, I enjoyed La La Land. It has a very simple plot, some pleasant songs, among which the great "City of stars" and most of the dance numbers are not overdone - apart from the first one, of course.
The opening scene made me fear for the worst, being a bombastic number with amazing acrobatics and many people involved. But then boy and girl meet not so cute, with some minor road-rage, and the show tones down a bit. Gosling is Sebastian, a would-be jazz pianist and Stone is Mia, a would-be actress.
After the bumpy start, they get together and support each other's dream, until their professional success becomes the main problem. Not a groundbreaking plot: from poor and happy, to rich and famous but not so happy anymore. The slightly melancholic ending wraps up the story perfectly.
I usually do not like much Gosling, but he was OK as Sebastian and Stone is lovely. However, in too many close-ups of her face, her eyes and lips look disproportionately huge. Neither is a great singer, but their imperfection is quite endearing. They had enough chemistry and their songs and dances were fine.
My only negative remark is about some corny dialogue. Both Sebastian and Mia encourage each other "not to care about what people think, but to do to what they like". As performers, they should care a lot about pleasing people. Lots of "artists" are out there doing what they like, with zero or very little following - and very rightly so, because they don't respect the public. While integrity is appreciated, self-absorption not so much....
I left the cinema feeling better than when entered, which lately happens quite rarely. Maybe it is the hard times or the stress of life, but this movie was definitely a pleasant break from reality.