Why I didn't like La La Land

Rating: 5/10 (26 October 2017)

A few days ago, my friends showed me La La Land. They loved it and raved about how amazing and beautiful it is, and got mad at me when I said i didn't really care for it. Why is there such a hype about this film? I don't understand why it's gotten nominated for so many awards. I just didn't like it. The beginning starts out like any other musical: a huge catchy dance number. We meet Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a wannabe jazz musician. Both aren't succeeding with their dreams. They keep bumping into each other, and eventually fall in love. But Mia breaks it off when Sebastian seems to be giving up on his dreams. He got to her, takes her to one last audition, and she makes it as a huge actress. They don't stay together. At the end, Mia and her husband go to a jazz cafe, she sees Sebastian, and there's a montage of what their relationship could've been. I loved the music, and I love the costumes. That's about it. The movie is centered around jazz, which is historically from an African-American background. Yet Sebastian, who absolutely loves jazz, is white. And so is Mia. I think it would've been a lot better with a more diverse cast. To me, the first part didn't match the second. The first part is like a regular musical, except Emma Stone can't sing. But the second part tries really hard to be an artistic, abstract, unique film. Those two parts didn't mesh together at all. Was this meant to be artistic, or a big musical? When I mentioned to my friends that Emma Stone cant sing, they said that that's the point. That it's meant to feel realistic. Yet, the singing audio of her is obviously inserted from a studio. If it's meant to be realistic, why didn't they sing live? Also, why were none of the main songs in the musical jazz songs, if it's meant to be centered around jazz? I did like that Mia and Sebastian didn't end up together. However, I think it could've been done so much better, with a smaller cast, smaller budget, live singing, and a diverse cast. Overall, I thought La La Land wasn't too horrible, but it definitely wasn't great. I don't understand how a movie can be beautiful with such a mismatched style. I wouldn't watch it again. But I do listen to the soundtrack.