Just Like Their Romance, It Never Comes Together

Rating: 5/10 (16 September 2017)

I really expected much more considering how much word of mouth this movie has got. I'm a fan of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. I LOVE Gosling's "Lost River' he wrote and directed and am looking forward to him in the new 'Bladerunner' movie.
This movie seems to flirt with becoming something really good but never gets there. The most memorable scene is in the observatory when they dance in the stars. Other than that the movie is flat, the romance is never really realized and the story is weak.
This is no epic romance. It's just a couple of people who knock around LA, become sort of lovers for a while and then go their separate ways. It's a strange subject for a musical. There's nothing really new or original here and none of songs standout.
The choreography is so safe that there's no dynamism in any of the dance numbers. They seem like a bunch of sequenced moves with none of fire or grace of a Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire musical. I don't get the point of this. Why did they pick non-dancer, non-singer Gosling and the only marginally better singer dancer, Emma Stone, for this? Why the hell didn't they use Channing Tatum? At least he can dance. Why didn't they get some A list talent to write the score?
Frankly, any one of the'Step Up' movies, even with their cheezy plots and sometimes embarrassingly bad acting kick this movie's ass.
The best part of the movie was the banter between Ryan and Emma. It seemed the only time there was a real spark of romance. I thought it was going to explode from that. instead just like the romance, the movie fizzles.
In a few years people will wonder what the fuss was all about.