By RICHMOND B. ADAMS
One way to see LA LA Land is to ask “whatever happened to Rick and Ilsa?” Fans of Casablanca will note the somewhat ham-handedly drawn parallels as we start to hope that Claude Rains will“round up the usual suspects,” only to discover that in the Los Angeles of 2016, they are not card gamblers, but jazz musicians. That playfulness, mixed with political satire and notably solid acting by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, make Damien Chazelle’s film a fun experience. Using jazz as a metaphor for America at mid-decade, Gosling (Sebastian Wilder) meets Stone (Mia Dolan) in a Los Angeles traffic jam which suddenly, well, “riffs” into a highway-long dance, and ends several years later by imagining what might have happened if another musical path had been allowed to express itself. As a central American art, jazz reflects our ongoing tension between freedom, or following one’s passion, and the American Dream of economic stability. The manner of the film’s ending, with both Wilder, a jazz musician who wants to open a club that plays only the “pure jazz” that he knows is an oxymoron, and Dolan, whose passion leads her to produce her own one-woman play that launches her acting career, portrays that tension, but thankfully does not resolve it. Both Wilder, in his club with the name suggested by her, and Dolan, in the career saved by him, are content with the traditional American idea of having fulfilled their desires. At the same time, each recognizes how those achievements undermine the very passions and “riffs” which brought them about in the first place. Using jazz as a motif through which to explore that unresolved American paradox is the film’s underlying strength.
While thankfully reintroducing Americans to part of their cultural heritage, the film does drag before reaching its final sequence. It might also have developed other characters and perhaps dubbed some of Stone and Gosling’s singing. As a whole, however, La La Land is worth seeing and ends, one suspects, with Rick and Ilsa (err, Sebastian and Mia) saying to each other that “we’ll always have LA.”
By DEITRA WEDD
This movie was a little confusing in the beginning. Switching proverbs so suddenly can be off putting for audience members. The characters on the other hand were cute together, with their quirky natures bringing about some humor to the story.
The bright clothing seen throughout this film enhance the playful vibes that come from the music while the main characters sing and dance. As far as the music goes, many of the songs are cute and catchy. However, the beginning of the movie began with a musical number that felt long and drawn out.
After getting past the beginning, the story line slowly began to become more interesting. La La Land’s story line is about a Jazz pianist living in a world where Jazz has become unappreciated, and an aspiring actress for whom finding a job is nearly impossible.
While Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) struggles to create a career through his Jazz music, Mia (Emma Stone) faces her own struggles. Mia’s struggles are the exact opposite of Sebastian’s. Instead of a job that’s slowly fading away, Mia struggles to fight for her dreams in a time when being an actress is a very sought after job leaving no room for just another actress. One thing they do have in common is, if they hope to accomplish their dreams, they will both have to prove their talents to be beyond ordinary. Meeting each other might be just what they both need to become the stars they hope to be.
Three and one-half stars from five.