A Delightful Modern Musical

Rating: 9/10 (26 March 2017)

I certainly enjoyed this musical and definitely recommend it for anyone to see. I did give it a 9 rating out of 10 simply because I think that it could have been done much BETTER. I had to watch the movie with the thought in mind that both Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are not Debbie Reynolds and Fred Astaire, but I think that they did the absolute best that they could for modern times. Therefore, it is wrong to expect them to meet the standards of 50's actors who could sing and dance on top of acting.
I really loved the storyline and loved it how they showed that in order to reach your dream, you have to sacrifice. It definitely showed me how we take what actors do, very for granted and how society has this one-sided understanding of what sacrifice really is. They certainly sacrifice no less just to keep the public entertained.
I somehow feel that they could have trained them up a bit more in tap dancing to do the main dance montage scene in the movie which is mainly why I gave the movie a 9 rating. The singing wasn't bad at all for actors who are not accustomed singing in movies. I have heard a lot worse in my life. Once again, I feel it's not fair to have West Side Story-like expectations of actors in today's musicals simply because they are not cheap to make in today's market and there's not a big demand for them like there was in the 50's and before. Chicago is the only Musical (in my humble opinion) that strongly rivals the classics in movie form.
While a lot of folks didn't like the ending too much, and yes, it is indeed an emotional ending. I like it that it was made to be open to interpretation. It certainly got me thinking deep about all the other possibilities that could have happened between the two main characters while watching the movie at the theater. I certainly do recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys musicals, but would advise to watch it without high expectations that it's going to be just as good as a 50's musical.