LA LA LAND is a lullaby

Rating: 2/10 (16 September 2017)

I am a big fan of Hollywood Musicals (From Busby Berkley ones to Hedwig and the Angry Inch from the Directors, Choreographers and Dancers like Astaire, Kelly, Caron, Fosse, Dandridge, Charisse, Rivera, Nicolas Brothers, Tune, Moreno, etc... even little Shirley Temple) the ones done "back in the day" and some of the more recent ones, which is why I cannot express my disappointment in watching LA LA LAND. So much so, turned to another premium channel that showed the late artist's Prince's "Sign O' The Times" (which hadn't been shown in 20 years) and found that more on track for a "tip to stage musicals" than LA LA LAND (and let me add I was not a big Prince fan, and I know this was a 'concert' stage film of one of his recordings more than a 'musical' so this is making a point).
LA LA LAND tells the old tale of a struggling (jazz) musician and budding actress in Los Angeles trying to make it. Yes, you've seen it over 100 times, and this is just one more telling. They run into each other at 'meaningless but hoping to get discovered while making ends meet' Hollywood functions they are at. They're dreamers in the land where dreams can or may not come true, Los Angeles - or a reasonable facsimile thereof. One of the biggest problems is that I found the leads, 'eh' - no spark for me between the two, no real 'heart' for me between the two, no reason to make me want to root for their success OR failure whether they were in Los Angeles or anyplace else.
The production numbers are -'eh'. The music is - 'eh'. The dancing is 'eh'. The story is - 'eh'. And 'eh' seems perfect for this 'eh' generation that seems to want to like anything that is a way-watered down or blatantly copied (oops, 'sampled' now called 'homage') version of something that was done infinitely better before.
The emphasis on colors throughout this film are like the colors on products from "The Price is Right" - bright, attention-grabbing and staged to where you want to buy them where you can find them. But I didn't buy into this. Want to see good musicals with bright colors, bright music, boy meets girl and dancing..? Bollywood has done it better, much, much, MUCH better and I am as American as apple-pie mind you! I just love musicals.(For example, Bollywood films like 'Jab We Met' or 'Bajirao Mastani' or even 'Cocktail' are done much better).
I would never compare LA LA LAND to ANY the musicals of its past - they are classics and you root for the subjects, tape your feet, get transported to their world, watch amazing choreography and whimsy - even in the more tragic of musical tales. So is LA LA LAND a homage to the old musicals? Tries to be, however just didn't work for me.