A lot of potential wasted

Rating: 5/10 (23 January 2017)

While La La Land is certainly entertaining, it isn't up to the level of expectations that critics and awards have been creating. The first half hour suggests that this is going somewhere fun--among others, the scene of Gosling playing the 80s piano man at a pool party is hilarious--but then it turns out to be an emotionally flat movie. Gosling and Stone are great actors and superb at their jobs but... the script turns out to have no "tension" and you find yourself not caring for whatever happens to them. Regardless of how much you may enjoy the dancing scenes (which are clever to be "correct" and cool), Emma Stone can't sing and I felt embarrassed at times; Gosling didn't bother me as much but the songs are really not interesting or catchy, I can't remember any of them so as a "musical" I'd say FAIL (of course, I hadn't watched the trailer a zillion times). The only scene were I could feel some emotional involvement with the story was at the very end with the "parallel story" thing... I truly cannot understand all the accolades it is getting from movie experts, unless they are all falling for its Hollywood nostalgia... as one critic said, it's the endless story about Hollywood in love with itself.