Film No. 78 (2016) La La Land December 29th.

Film No. 78 (2016) December 29th.  6.40 PM LUNA PALACE, Leederville. 

"How are you going to be a revolutionary if you're such a traditionalist. Jazz is about the future (Sebastian, Ryan Gosling) is given some advice about the future by a contemporary).

Who hasn't heard about La La Land since it's Boxing Day opening three days ago? Not too many folk I would imagine. So while the film underwhelmed me I have to say it is a crowd pleaser with all the sparkle, razzle and absolute dazzle of musicals from a bygone era. It does deserve its praise because it unashamedly carries off the genre it emulates fantastically well.

From the opening number on an L.A. freeway where the traffic is bumper to bumper and the only escape is a song and dance spectacular to while away the time, we know we are in for a world of fantasy. It's where we meet Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone), the two potential love birds, both lost in their dreams of stardom fuelled by their artistic pursuits. For Seb it's his passion for Jazz while Mia is an actor working to get her lucky break. 

It's inevitable they meet. It's inevitable they fall in love. It's inevitable they drive each other to fulfil their dreams. So the risk with a BIG film like this lies in the casting. In Gosling and Stone the producers, distributors and backers alike must be rubbing their collective hands together. Their chemistry on screen is magnetic. It's the reason people who catch two movies a year will break-out and catch a third.

Unashamedly (yes here is that word again) La La Land is totally un original. Every scene is a cliche of 10 films that came before it. But it is the first to use digital advancements to enhance the sum of it's parts. This crowd pleaser will dominate the box office, awards and both multiplexes and independent cinemas alike for months ahead all because they got the casting and the formula right. It sounds simple but as most producers will tell you, it's never easy to achieve. Yes, I was underwhelmed but forget my view, La La Land works. 10GUMS.