I was going to post about my picks for the best movies of the year and I’ve held off doing so because I’m trying to see everything that is under consideration or that I’ve heard good things about so I can make a better informed list. I foolishly went into La La Land thinking maybe this film might be a part of it. But now, having just left the theater, I don’t think my thoughts on it can wait. With 14 Oscar nominations it was sure to receive some backlash, but what surprised me was just how little I connected with it.

 

I’ve never unfairly hated on a movie, and I’m not hating on this one. I didn’t hate it, I don’t think it’s a BAD movie really, so let’s get that out of the way. When a movie like this comes out that seems to be universally praised and then showered with almost the max amount of accolades there are always going to be haters. And, as usual, between the praise and the hate, I find myself in the middle. Hype has never hindered my experiences as a movie goer, I’ve never really described anything as “underrated” or “overrated” because those terms mean your very opinion is defined by those around you instead of you judging something yourself. Sure, you can certainly have your feelings towards something be augmented by how its received. For instance, if you saw Frozen when it came out and didn’t like it and then once it blew up and everyone and their mother was singing that song your feelings turned to hatred of the film that’s fine. But to flip 180 from love to hate or hate to love solely because people feel differently than you is wrong. Because then, why are you going to the movies again? I always try and judge a movie by its own merit, expectations get in the way sometimes sure, but it’s impossible for anyone to really go into a movie without any expecting something (unless you really do go in not knowing a single thing about it). That being said, had I seen this movie a month ago before all the nominations and hate came in I still would have said exactly what I’m about to tell you.

 

Damien Chazelle, the man who made one of the greatest films of all time (Whiplash) just TWO years ago has made a step way down in quality here. Of course this movie wasn’t going to be anywhere near the level of Whiplash, that film is a masterpiece, and I didn’t expect this one to be. I did, however, expect something fresh and new and exciting, but what I got was something more or less the same to what we’ve all seen before. Is it unfair for me to think about movies like that? Well, maybe, but I think once directors prove themselves to have a special gift of bringing greatness onto the screen that we should probably expect some kind of continuation in those efforts. The dude blew the ENTIRE world’s mind with Whiplash, a movie that HAD to exist, you could see its greatness in every frame. It’s a movie that every single person I have talked with that has seen it has LOVED. Not just liked, LOVED. I don’t think its unreasonable for me to have wanted him to deliver a great musical, rather than one that is basically mediocre.

 

So, what’s wrong with the movie then? Sadly, it’s yet another story about people trying to make it in LA. About dreamers and artists, and a love story thrown in. It seems to me if you’re going to make a movie about something that has been done to death you’ve got to go all out on it. I didn’t feel this movie did. I didn’t feel this movie had to exist. For the majority of the movie I was asking myself ,”WHY DO YOU HAVE TO EXIST LA LA LAND”. Where is the motivation and urgency in a work like this? I didn’t find the musical numbers all that special either. There is ONE scene that Emma Stone is GREAT in and that shut me up for it’s duration. And there was one other song I liked. But the rest, the music of this MUSICAL wasn’t very memorable to me. I wasn’t humming or thinking about the songs on my drive home. I sort of felt they were all instantly forgettable the moment I had listened to them.

 

At the core of this story is the romance between Stone and Gosling. And, as a love story, I think La La Land fails. I don’t blame the actors, on the contrary actually, I think Stone and Gosling were carrying the movie as best they could, especially Stone. It’s not the dialogue either that’s really to blame. The problem here I think is the scenes and what connects them all. They don’t add up to much. There’s a scene when Emma Stone realizes she’s actually in love with Gosling and rushes to where he is to be with him, leaving her current boyfriend at dinner. What’s the problem with this scene? It comes way, WAY too early in the movie after her and Gosling have barely had a few interactions together. And that boyfriend she has? Yeah he was just introduced to existing in the movie not five minutes prior. All of this happens maybe 30 to 40 minutes into the film. And when Stone finds Gosling the whole scene is filmed like the big finale in a better movie where we have had more time to care about the characters, you’ve gotta be kidding me.

 

The whole set up here feels lazy, with Emma Stone as a struggling actress who is a barista as a day job. And Ryan Gosling playing Christmas tunes on a piano in a club when really he wants to play jazz. Now that’s not to say these things couldn’t have worked better. They just feel rushed and placed there rather than feeling like they need to be. That’s another problem, as great as these two actors are, I really mostly only saw Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling acting on that screen rather than Mia and Sebastian.

 

The opening song and dance number in the middle of a traffic jam is also getting a lot of praise, and uh I don’t see it. I really didn’t care for that opening number, I really don’t see what’s so great about it. Can someone inform me please? I’d like to hear a different perspective because I just can’t see the love for it. I was actually almost hating this movie for its first ten or so minutes, but some parts of it did grow on me a little as it went on. I liked the look of the film, I liked Stone and Gosling’s efforts (futile as they may have been at times) and there were some very funny moments along the way. I also appreciated the references and call backs to older films.

 

Another big issue I had with this movie was that Chazelle aped himself. There is so much of Whiplash in this movie, or inferior try hard versions of it. This movie shockingly hits some of the same beats, has some of the same shots, and even similar dialogue from Whiplash. It hurt me honestly, to see a director just recycle his previous efforts to poor effect. This isn’t like Stanley Kubrick or any of the great directors having recurring imagery and tackling similar themes as their other films. Oh no, this is Chazelle literally taking pages from his previous film and inserting bits and pieces in this one. That’s what disappoints me the most I think. Reusing your previous work just for the sake of reusing it. Come on man, you’ve shown us all you’re better than that.

 

Two seats to my right in the theater sat a teenage girl, who was with her family and talking excitedly about the movie before it started. It was evidently her second viewing and she loved it. Good for her I thought. She also talked during a lot of the scenes because she couldn’t contain how happy she was. I was glad at least someone was loving the movie. And I think this film will play great for a younger crowd. The ones who maybe haven’t had a chance to see Singing in the Rain or other mind blowing musicals. Again, this movie isn’t bad, it’s just I fail to see why it had to be made. But oh yes, that brings me to another point.

 

Oscar bait. There’s a term you’ll hear thrown around a lot during award seasons. And I think that’s exactly what this movie is. The Oscars have repeatedly shown they do not care about a film’s quality as much as the idea or marketing or politics of it. Watch them every year and you’ll see they rarely reward the best movies of the year. That’s not just my opinion either, talk to most people and you’ll see the frustration at what won and what wasn’t even nominated. As much as they anger me, they are still a celebration of film, and that’s why I’ll always watch them.

 

But don’t believe me about the Oscars not caring about quality? Take a look at 4 years ago when LES MISERABLES, one of the WORST movies of that year got 7 noms including best picture. They even had the whole cast up on stage singing one of the songs during the oscars. I cringed so hard. Les Miserables was one of the biggest disasters I have ever seen unfold on the screen. It will go down in history as one of the biggest disappointments in cinematic history. So much potential, and so much awful (save for Anne Hathaway’s one scene, and even then they tried so hard to ruin it). Did it matter to the Academy? NOPE. Why? Because it was oscar bait. It was an ensemble cast performing one of the most well known musicals. And everyone in it was trying so hard to win an oscar instead of make a good movie. It was destined to get nominated before anyone had even seen it.

 

La La Land isn’t anywhere near as bad as 2012’s Les Miserables, but I don’t think it’s even very good. Barely good is how I would put it. I would recommend it but just so slightly. You don’t need to rush to see this one. It got 14 noms because it’s pretty, it’s a musical, it’s about people struggling to make it in Hollywood. And Chris Stuckmann, the youtube critic himself, said “it’s probably the greatest musical ever made”. Goddammit Chris. I would almost bet my life he hasn’t even seen Singing in the Rain. I think maybe most people will enjoy this movie more than I did. Please, someone, ANYONE tell me what you thought about this movie? Am I just out of touch with the mainstream? I really wish I could have loved it. Singing in the Rain isn’t just an amazing musical, it’s one of the best movies ever made. And I was hoping maybe I could have a similarly great experience watching this as I did that.

 

But I just can’t. The elements of this movie aren’t very consistent either. There’s a scene where Stone and Gosling float in mid air and dance in the stars in the Griffith Observatory, and me, along with several audiences members, went “what?”. This movie has barely prepared us for this kind of thing. Aside from people breaking out to song and dance in a few earlier moments, and people moving in slow motion behind Emma Stone in a club as she walks forward in normal speed, was there really anything to ready us for these characters to start flying? Came out of fucking nowhere.
I also really didn’t like the ending. It didn’t sit with me too well and I thought it was a pretty straightforward and uninteresting way to close things. There are certainly more things I could talk about but I think I’ve gone and written way too much again. But please, any of you who have seen La La Land tell me what you think about all this.