Lalaland- worth 7 Golden Globes?
The short answer is no. To justify these accolades a musical must have a better score and Lalaland barely has one memorable song. Think of the great MGM musicals of the fifties, Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, Gigi and the songs are memorable. The much and justifiably revived Oliver! does not have one bad song from the title number onwards. Lloyd Webber and Rice usually manage 2/3 memorable numbers per show. A great musical also has brilliant dance sequences and here Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, though neither Astaire and Rogers nor Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, do well. Neither are instinctive dancers but work hard at the choreography and the chemistry between the two gells. One has the impression that it is a slick vehicle for a popular actor in Ryan Gosling but he did once tour with his own band and seems comfortable in his musical skin.
There are other oddities about the film. Set in 50s Los Angeles, the actors have mobile phones. I am not one of those anoraks that like to pick out minor discrepancies e.g. a credit card in the film Mephisto which is set in the thirties. However if you are going to set a film in a time period with dress and cars etc it makes little sense to have mobile phones. The central character Seb is a jazz pianist frustrated he has to pay the piano in restaurants and weddings with no opportunity for his beloved jazz. The problem here is that the syncopated rhythms of jazz are at odds with the musical melodies.
As a simple story of romance, of characters remaining true to their ambitions – of having a jazz club and succeeding as an actress to the detriment of their relationship – the film works better. It does show that the public still responds to a simple if cliched story line with no sex scenes nor special effects. I missed the glamour of the vintage musicals, think Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. Most musicals start their journey on stage not screen and it will be interesting to see if there will be a stage version. Musical lovers will have noted a twirl round the lamppost (Singing in the Rain) and a final fantasy scene (An American in Paris) but I have no problem in paying homage to the vintage musicals.
I saw the film on a Sunday afternoon in the local Cineworld. There was the ever-present munching of popcorn but the cinema was full which tells me that young cinema goers still come out in numbers in the age of Netflix and Amazon video. Lalaland may not merit seven Golden Globes but it does show that the age of cinema romance is not dead.
